Greg Hartnett

I am frequently surprised, and often disappointed, by the way people treat each other. From the simplest interactions, to the major tests of character, so many of us act in a manner which we know, and have always known, is the improper way to act.

The great English literary figure Samuel Johnson once said that people more often need only to be reminded rather than instructed. Most of us already know what to do in a given situation.

25 centuries ago, the Buddha wrote on morality, telling us:

They speak the truth, are devoted to the truth, reliable, worthy of confidence… They never knowingly deceive others for the sake of their own advantage… What they have heard here, they do not repeat there, so as to cause dissension there… Thus they unite those that are divided, and those that are united they encourage. Concord gladdens them, they delight and rejoice in concord; and it is concord that they spread by their words. They avoid harsh language and speak such words as are gentle, soothing to the ear, loving, going to the heart, courteous and dear, and agreeable to many. They avoid vain talk and speak at the right time, in accordance with facts, speak what is useful, speak about right wisdom and right practice; their speech is like a treasure, at the right moment accompanied by arguments, moderate and full of sense.

I am not telling you anything that you didn’t already know. Just reminding you