The Ten Destructive Actions
Doing a life review to take stock of our harmful and beneficial actions enables us to purify the former and develop a strong intention to live wisely and compassionately in the future. To do this, reflect on which destructive actions you have done. Understand how you got involved in them, as well as their immediate and long-term results. The ten destructive actions are:
1. Killing: taking the life of any being, including animals.
2. Stealing: taking what has not been given to you. This includes not paying fees or taxes that you owe, using supplies at your workplace for your own personal use without permission, and not returning things you have borrowed.
3. Unwise sexual behavior: adultery and carelessly using sexuality that harms others physically or emotionally.
4. Lying: deliberately deceiving others. How about white lies, or exaggerating the truth?
5. Divisive speech: causing others to be disharmonious or preventing them from reconciling. Do we use our speech to create harmony and bring people together to help each other?
6. Harsh words: insulting, abusing, ridiculing, teasing, or deliberately hurting another’s feelings. How often do we use speech to encourage people and help them generate positive qualities?
7. Idle talk: talking about unimportant topics for no particular purpose. How careful are we about what we speak about?
8. Coveting: desiring possessions that belong to others and planning how to obtain them. How much time do we spend planning to shop and get things? Wanting stuff? Craving recognition?
9. Maliciousness: planning to hurt others or to take revenge on them. Do we plan how to get even with someone that has hurt us? To let them know who is in charge?
10. Wrong views: Strongly holding to cynical views that deny the existence of important things, such as the possibility to develop all of our positive potential, the cause and effect relationship between actions and results, and spiritual truths.
Conclusion: Experience a sense of relief because you have been honest with yourself about the past. Remember you can purify the imprints (habits of mind and emotions) of these mistaken actions. Resolve to direct your energy in constructive directions and to avoid acting in ways that harm yourself and others.