1. To have little pride and envy.
2. To have few desires and find satisfaction with simple things.
3. To lack hypocrisy and deceit.
4. To act with awareness of the consequences of one’s actions.
5. To be faithful to one’s obligations.
6. To be capable of friendship even while regarding all with
impartiality.
7. To look with pity and not anger upon those who live evilly.
8. To allow others the victory, taking onto oneself the defeat.
9. To differ from the multitude in every thought and action.
10. To keep faithfully and without pride one’s vows of chastity
and piety.
––"The Ten Signs of a Superior Man,"
paraphrased from a Tibetan text
Monthly Practice:
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) wrote: “A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.” Use The Ten Signs of a Superior Person (one each day for ten days; then repeat for another ten days). At the end of each day, notice what you have learned, for example, about “1. To have little pride and envy.” What surfaced for you during the day surrounding this first sign of a superior person? Reflect on each sign and your learning from it at the end of each day for 10 days; and then repeat the process.
Which if the ten signs is the easiest to access? Which are the more difficult or challenging for you at this time?
“SOLVITUR
AMBULANDO: The problem will walk itself out.” ––Latin saying. Take a daily walk focusing on the most challenging or problematic Signs of a Superior Person for you, and have it “walk itself out.”
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