Resolutions

[Greg Macdonald]

What is your New Year's resolution?  Does it involve your practice?

Maybe I should resolve to meditate at least an hour every day, or to give one day a month completely to my practice, or maybe to start each day reviewing a precept and then trying to be particularly mindful of that precept for the day, or to do something with metta or dana.  My slothful mind wants to resolve to not make a resolution.

What are your ideas?

[Kim Allen]

I found this note from Ayya Tathaaloka about resolutions and intentions to be meaningful:

--------------------------------------------------------------

What did the Buddha teach on resolutions?
 
Resolution or Determination - Adhitthana - is the eighth of the Ten Perfections or Paramis.
 
Determination or Resolution is needed for undertaking the Path of the Perfection...it gives focus, motivation and direction to the practice... The four aspects of skilled determination: wisdom, truth, relinquishment and peace, when studied carefully, cover all ten of the Perfections.
 
The Four Determinations or Resolutions

One should resolve:

to not be negligent of Wisdom
to guard the Truth
to be devoted to Release
and
to practice only for Peace
— MN 140

--Adapted from
The Ten Perfections: A Study Guide
Thanissaro Bhikkhu

 
Samma Sankappo or Right Resolve (aka Right Intention) is also the second of the eight path factors in the Noble Eightfold Path, and belongs to the wisdom division of the path.
 

 
"And what is right resolve?

Being resolved
on renunciation (giving up the harmful),
on freedom from ill-will,
on harmlessness:

This is called right resolve."
— SN 45.8

 
--from Ajahn Thanissaro's
brief and excellent article
on Right Resolve

 
Amongst the many teachings on Karma the mysterious, the Blessed One is said to have taught that "Kamma is Intention". If this is true then our Intention, our Resolutions, and how we apply our mind rightly -- "Samma Samkappo" -- becomes exceedingly important, for it is said:

 
All living beings
(each one of us)
are the owners of our kamma,
Heir to our kamma,
Born of our kamma,
Related through our kamma
And live dependant on our kamma.

Whatever we do,
for good or for evil,
to that will we fall heir.
-- A Chanting Guide
Thanissaro Bhikkhu

To learn more about this fascinating subject that determines our destiny, you may like to read the late Venerable Ayya Khema's talk "Kamma is Intention" in the e-book (To Be Seen) Here and Now.

Thus, with the power of kamma in mind, we set our intention, our determination and our resolution about the longterm welfare, peace, happiness and liberation of ourselves, all of our loved ones, all those unseen and unknown, and all that lives:

 

Sabbe satta sada hontu
Avera sukha jivino

May all living beings be happy
And live free from animosity.

Khemappadanca pappontu
Tesasa sijjhatam subha

May all attain the Serene State [of Nibbana]
And your radiant hopes and wishes be fulfilled

[Greg Macdonald]

Thanks, Kim

Here's the link to Ayya Khema's To Be Seen Here and Now

I like the Anumodana at the end and searching for its source took me (again) to Bhikkhu Khantipalo's article Lay Buddhist Practice.  It is also pretty appropriate for this discussion.

greg