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DIALOGUE:

Frame 1:

King Flower: 3. Respect Sex. This is the third practice that is very important. Apriori Flower: How do I do that? I’m a flower.

Frame 2:

King Flower: We flowers have desire for beauty and each other. Our sex is simple. Our craving is what can lead to unhappiness. Apriori Flower: Craving?

Frame 3:

King Flower: When you crave for one flower, then you crave for another and another. You find yourself always hungry. Apriori Flower: I’m just appreciating beauty.

Frame 4:

King Flower: Do you think of other flowers? Do you wish to pull off their petals? Do you wish to remove their leaves? Apriori Flower: No! I just appreciate how they are and imagine nice things.

Frame 5:

King Flower: Making another being an object is a future of suffering. It is the same as destroying her. Apriori Flower: I want to increase compassion. I will practice this too.

CONCLUSION:

King Flower discusses the 3rd good practice which is also the 3rd of the Five Precepts. This is to Respect Sex. Apriori Flower finds himself in a bind. He is a flower. What does he have to do with respecting sex?

King Flower points out that Apriori has his mind on another flower. King knows that a young flower's mind will wonder. King also knows that unchecked this wandering will lead to depression and suffering.

Apriori justifies his daydreaming by not identifying it as craving. King Flower describes this thinking as craving. The craving becomes an artificial hunger.

King Flower finally relates that craving is as if doing violence. King Flower knows that everything is temporary. Thinking or dwelling on beauty is the same as destroying it. Whoever thinks over and over about this craving will never be satisfied. He or she will never be sincere. He or she will one day hurt the feelings of another. He or she may even physically abuse another.

In the end there is sex and then there is compassion. Apriori realizes his goal of mindfulness and good practice needs to include the respect of sex. Without the respect of sex there will be overpopulation, exploitation, and suffering.

DIALOGUE:

Frame 1:

King Flower: What is the forth petal in your corolla? Apriori Flower: 4. Respect Truth!

Frame 2:

King Flower: Why is this important? Apriori Flower: With wisdom we tell what is true without harm.

Frame 3:

King Flower: Thus the 4th jewel in your crown is polished and bright.

Frame 4:

Apriori Flower: My practice polishes the jewel. I tell the truth only if it will be helpful and do no harm. I also coordinate with the other 5 Practices.

Frame 5:

King Flower: What if a man wants to harm our friend Bee and he ask you for her address? Apriori Flower: I teach him about our Practice until he leaves.

Frame 6:

King Flower: What if he does not leave? Apriori Flower: I will teach him about the truth of patience.

Frame 7:

King Flower: What if he harms you? Apriori Flower: I will do my best to protect the Kingdom while I Respect Truth. I do not control anyone else.

CONCLUSION:

King asks about the 4th petal. What is it? Apriori provides an answer. The 4th Petal is also one of the 5 Precepts of Training.

The king asks if truth is worth anything if it is harmful. Apriori strongly answers that truth is only good if it is helpful and does no harm. A lot of ideas are covered here.

Oversimplification of this tough topic means that we are guided by wisdom to act with compassion. Any encounter is a teaching moment for both the aggressor and the the target of his or her aggression. We all can not escape harm if it is directed toward is with premeditation. We can protect ourselves with mindful practice and by also protecting others with truth and without harmful speech.

DIALOGUE:

Frame 1:

King Flower: 5. Respect Mind is the 5th Petal and practice. This makes our crown complete. Apriori Flower Flower: What does it mean to respect mind?

Frame 2:

King Flower: Our mind is a mix of biology and energy. This is consciousness. Apriori Flower Flower: My mind is clear with focused practice.

Frame 3:

King Flower: There are chemicals that affect our minds. They make us careless and even sick. Apriori Flower Flower: Has this happened?

Frame 4:

King Flower: One time Bee brought strange pollen? It made us feel different. We wanted more. Apriori Flower: Yes! I asked her to bring more.

Frame 5:

King Flower: It also made all of us sick. We ended up with trouble. Apriori Flower: I remember! We asked Bee not to bring anymore.

Frame 6:

King Flower: Bee is careful now. She was also affected. Apriori Flower: Yes, she was unable to get our nectar for her honey.

Frame 7:

King Flower: We realized that we had a craving. It changed us. Apriori Flower: We let the craving go. We improved our practice.

CONCLUSION:

King Flower has finally given Apriori Flower the teaching of the last of the Five Petals. The Five Petals are the jewels of the crown. The Five Petals are metaphorically the Five Precepts of Buddhism. Buddhism is the study of the Buddha who had awakened his mind.

The 5th Petal is Respect Mind. This also means to be sober. We are aware that certain chemicals affect us. Once we are aware there is the action of avoiding what we have determined is harmful because it affects our mind. Each individual in our society must make the decision.

It is like watching a train smash into a car. You see this happen. You hear about it happen. Do you need to park your car on the tracks to find out if this is true?

The mind is the most valuable tool that we have in liberating our selves from the mire of everyday life. Meditation will decompress the mind with practice. Making the mind distracted is only erratic practice.

MORE IN THE FUTURE! Stay Tuned...