Know it for yourself
Today, test one habit by its results: does it lead toward harm or toward welfare?
- Read · about 2 minutes
Please, Kālāmas, don’t go by oral transmission, don’t go by lineage, don’t go by testament, don’t go by canonical authority, don’t rely on logic, don’t rely on inference, don’t go by reasoned train of thought, don’t go by the acceptance of a view after deliberation, don’t go by the appearance of competence, and don’t think ‘The ascetic is our respected teacher.’But when you know for yourselves:‘These things are unskillful, blameworthy, criticized by sensible people, and when you undertake them, they lead to harm and suffering’, then you should give them up.…But when you know for yourselves:‘These things are skillful, blameless, praised by sensible people, and when you undertake them, they lead to welfare and happiness’, then you should acquire them and keep them.AN 3.65 · Kalama Sutta · “With the Kālāmas of Kesamutta” · tr. Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0)
From the text
The passage lists grounds the Kālāmas, the people being addressed, should not go by, including oral transmission, lineage, logic, inference, and respect for a teacher. Instead, when they know for themselves that things are unskillful and lead to harm and suffering, they should give them up; when they know that things are skillful and lead to welfare and happiness, they should take them up and keep them.
In everyday life
It is easy to hear this as 'believe nothing', but the passage is more practical than that. It gives a test: whether a thing is blameworthy, what sensible people say of it, and where it leads. 'Skillful' and 'unskillful' are the text's words for what leads toward welfare and what leads toward harm. The Kālāmas are asked to notice which is which and act on what they see. This is not a license to do whatever feels good; it is an invitation to be honest about consequences, including slow ones. A habit that soothes tonight and costs you tomorrow morning fails the test. A small discipline that feels dull but leaves you steadier passes it. Today's sit with the breath is a laboratory for this kind of looking: you get to see what agitation and settling feel like from the inside. Then pick one ordinary habit and watch where it leads, without arguing with yourself about it.
- Sit · 3, 5 or 10 minutes
Breath Awareness
Sit comfortably upright, hands in your lap or on your knees. After reading a cue, you may close your eyes and rest with the breath until the next one appears.
- Live · during your day
Pick one small habit you repeat most days. Do it as usual, then notice honestly, an hour later, whether it left you steadier or more scattered. Just note the answer.
- Reflect · this evening
What did you learn by watching one habit's results instead of your opinion of it?
Answer on paper, or in the app’s journal, which stays on your iPhone.