The Archer And The Wind: A Dharma Talk On Right Intention

Hi.

Thank you for being here.

Before we begin,

Take one slow breath in.

Let your shoulders drop.

Let the noise of the day loosen its grip.

Feel your feet on the ground steady.

Real.

Alright.

Let's talk.

Right intention samah sankapa is the compass of the eightfold path.

That small,

Sacred moment before you move or speak.

The space where you decide what you're serving,

Greed or letting go.

Hatred or compassion.

Delusion or truth.

The Buddha said that single choice shapes everything that follows.

Because intention is the wind behind every arrow you fire into the world.

Here in modern America,

We live inside a storm of reaction.

Every feed,

Every headline,

Every argument trying to tell you who to hate and what to fear.

So right intention is in theory is rebellion of the heart.

A young archer once trained to hit the target at any cost.

He practiced day and night.

His arrows cutting through the air with anger.

Every miss,

He cursed the wind.

One day,

His teacher said,

The arrow doesn't miss the target,

The heart does.

The boy paused,

Took one breath and let the wind guide his shot.

The arrow struck center.

Right intention is that breath.

That pause,

That lines your aim with truth instead of ego.

When the heart's steady,

Even the wind becomes your ally.

Before we act,

We've got to remember the person in front of us is human,

Just like us.

They can suffer.

They are suffering.

So what are we serving harm or healing?

Intention in America means looking through anger and seeing shared pain.

Acting from the vow to ease suffering,

Not to score points.

Right intention is medicine.

It's called the intention check.

When a choice hits you,

Pause and ask three questions.

One,

Is this coming from love or fear?

Two,

Will this reduce suffering or feed it?

Three,

Does this serve truth or ego?

If the answer feels tight in your chest,

Breathe once more.

That breath,

That pause is the first right intention.

May your actions rise from clarity.

May your aim stay true,

Even in the storm.

Stillness is rebellion.

Compassion is a weapon.

Carry both.