Idle talk. We can talk all day long. “Blah blah blah…” Hopefully, we try and watch our speech a little, like watch the topics we talk about, and the amount of talk we do.

Coveting is the greedy mind of attachment that says, “I want, I want, I want.” Or how we say it in America, “I need, I need, I need.” It can be for material things and wealth. It can be for relationships and sex. It can be for reputation, praise, popularity and…

The third mental non-virtue is wrong views, which means wrong views about conventional reality. It is not the wrong view about the ultimate nature, it is the wrong view that our actions do not have any ethical dimensions. Even if they have an…

Not doing one of the non-virtuous actions is itself doing a virtuous action. If there is an opportunity to kill, to speak harsh words, to blame somebody or whatever it is and you stop yourself, then that already is a virtuous action. The benefit of taking and…

Harsh speech is when you say things that are hurtful to other people. It includes when we are angry, and we yell and scream. You can also use harsh speech in a very pleasant tone of voice, the way it often happens in families when you…