We will meet again to talk and sit quietly together on Aug 5, Wednesday, 5:30 at the Quilt Museum.

Last week we discussed how ethics and action are always situational — dependent on the relational context we’re in at any given moment. Mindfulness helps us see that context clearly, so we can choose actions that don’t harm others or ourselves. The Buddha taught that this is our best chance for happiness.

This week we’ll go deeper into another element crucial to choosing the “right action”: intention. The Buddha taught that intention is the primary factor shaping our actions, so gaining clarity about our intentions matters just as much for our happiness. But intentions can be complex, mixed, and hard to see clearly — which brings to mind the old saying, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

Let’s look more closely at intentions on Wednesday night.