You need the Dharma as your guiding principle. Just winging it is not recommended. Gut feel, common sense, 'feel it out' and other nuggets of wisdom from the folklore are to be avoided at all costs.
Why do I say that? Because the Buddha had warned us that common sense people are heading in a ruinous direction. They take what's detrimental and treat it as if it's something beneficial. They take what's beneficial, and treat it as if it is something detrimental. Sources? You need sources to corroborate this? Here is one: "So long as an evil deed has not ripened, the fool thinks it as sweet as honey. But when the evil deed ripens, the fool comes to grief. " Dhammapada v.69 On 7/13/05, woof puppy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Focus on the present. Tearing at yourself for how you > SHOULD have behaved is pointless. Even if you come up > with the perfect way of handling the situation, > tomorrow is another day, and the exact circumstances > you encountered are not likely to repeat themselves. > (Even if Lizard Guy gives you the cold shoulder again, > it won't be second-for-second the same scene, and in > dealing with people, timing is everything). That's > why if you walk into a room expecting your plan to > read like a script, you're going to walk away > disappointed, and at a disadvantage to those who were > winging it. > > The only thing to do in a situation like you describe > is to feel it out. If your thoughts got muddied at > the time, and you're no good at feeling it out, no > ammount of dissecting it in hindsight is going to help > you. The only thing you can do is to get better at > "feeling it out." The best way to practice that is to > stay in the moment, as best you can, for as long as > you can. > > Lingering on past failures or shortcomings is not > going to help you. > > > SPROCKET > > > > > As I drove away from the store, I felt pretty > > pissed off. > > > > > > My questions are: A) Should I have just left the > > >store after it was apparent the employee had an > > >attitude? B) Should I have continued talking to > > >him after he was not responding? C) Should I have > > >just visualized some peaceful Zen saying and stood > > >there pleasantly asking over and over again for > some > > > help? D) Should I have complained to the manager > > >(on Monday)? E) Should I have assumed the Lotus > > >position in the middle of the aisle and begun > > > chanting sutras (or singing Kumbaya)? > > > > > > What do you do? What would you do? > > > > > > No flames please. > > > > > > Thank you. > > > > > > Al > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > > > Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZenForum/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
