"We often think the purpose of taking up a spiritual practice is to produce good actions as opposed to bad. According to the buddha-dharma, however, this is completely beside the point. The point is, rather, that we become aware of when and how we act out of our intent. Most of us, most of the time, tend to act with intent, trying to bring about some desired end. But nature doesn't act with intent. A buddha doesn't either. Acting without intent means acting out of Wholeness--out of seeing the Whole. But why not just learn to do good as opposed to bad? Because no solid, unchanging "good" or "bad" can be established.

Good and bad aren't absolutes. They are beliefs, judgments, ideas based on limited knowledge as well as on the inclinations of our minds. The situation we always live in is like that of the wise Chinese farmer whose horse ran off. When his neighbor came to console him the farmer said, "Who knows what's good or bad?" When his horse returned the next day with a herd of horses following her, the foolish neighbor came to congratulate him on his good fortune. "Who knows what's good or bad?" said the farmer. Then, when the farmer's son broke his leg trying to ride one of the new horses, the foolish neighbor came to console him again. "Who knows what's good or bad?" said the farmer. When the army passed through, conscripting men for war, they passed over the farmer's son because of his broken leg.

When the foolish man came to congratulate the farmer that his son would be spared, again the farmer said, "Who knows what's good or bad?" When do we expect the story to end? Socrates pointed out that we carry on as though death were the greatest of all calamities--yet, for all we know, it might be the greatest of all blessings. What are we going to call good? What are we going to call bad? Good or bad is never our choice, or even the issue. During the Civil War, both sides claimed the support of God. It was clear to each side that they were doing the righteous thing. Such sentiments were voiced often enough for President Lincoln to observe, "God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time." We'll only make ourselves ever more deluded the longer we play this game. Good versus bad is clearly not the issue. There's something more fundamental at stake.

But what do we look for? If your idea of good opposes something else, you can be sure that what you call "good" is not absolute or certain. It's only in seeing that we can hope to find what lies beyond our shaky, relative ideas of good and bad. If we would live in a way that is somehow beyond the uncertain dualities of the relative world, we must learn to observe our inclination of mind--our intention, our will, our thirsting desire. Don't squelch your desire, or try to stop it. You'll only feed and intensify it. The point is not to kill desire. The point is to see ." -- Buddhism Plain and Simple: The Practice of Being Aware, Right Now, Every Day , pp.

46-48.