“Where would I find enough leather
To cover the entire surface of the earth?
But with leather soles beneath my feet,
It’s as if the whole world has been covered.”
― Shantideva

To walk an awakening path is to cultivate virtue or ‘good conduct’ — thoughts, words and actions that are ‘conducive to goodness.’ Goodness, not just externally evaluated, but goodness as in feels good, is aligned, whole or wholesome.

The traditional precepts (guidelines for conduct), developed during the time of the Buddha, are not to be understood as absolute rules. They aren’t meant to make us ‘nicer’ people, but are more like training wheels the Buddha suggested we can rely on to guide our practice while our mind is still unbalanced and clouded. We follow these guidelines in order to cultivate our alignment, and at least part of their value is in the context they provide for investigating results.

We align ourselves with what is wholesome so that the turbulence of the mind can subside and we can see more clearly how the mind is creating our experience.

How are you creating accountability for your 100 Days of Care? How do you maintain balance and energy? In what ways will you touch the lives of others on your journey?

Practice idea for self-discipline: when a strong feeling arises, drop the story that accompanies the feeling and drop into the body and breathe. Curb your reactivity with mindful restraint.

Accountability idea: take a photo of today’s journal page and send it to your accountability buddy, a friend or post it on Insta and tag @100.days.of.care