Ten Rules for a Happy and Fulfilling Community Experience
1. Keep skid chains on your tongue. Speak less. Listen more and think more. When you say something, remember that how you say it may be more significant than what you say.
2. Never forget your spiritual ideal and be mindful of your attitude toward others. What the community gives you will depend on what you contribute it.
3. Never let an opportunity pass by to say a kind and encouraging word. Praise good work, regardless of who did it.
4. Watch how you relate with others. Respect other members of the community even when you don't agree with them. Whatever we send out comes back to us.
5. Be cheerful. Don't depress those around you by dwelling on your own aches, pains and disappointments. Remember, everyone is carrying their own aches, pains and burden.
6. Keep an open mind. Discuss, but never argue. It is a quality of a superior mind to be able to disagree without being disagreeable.
7. Let your noble qualities show through your life. Refuse to talk about the faults of others Never participate in gossip: it is a waste of time and energy, and is destructive and harmful.
8. Take into consideration the feelings of others. Hurting others through our thoughts, words, or actions stores up bad karma and inevitably brings pain and sorrow.
9. Pay no attention to ill-natured remarks about you. Remember, the person who carried the message may not be the most accurate reporter in the world. Simply live by your principles and be true to yourself. Truth shall eventually triumph.
10. Don't be anxious whether your goodness is being recognized. Do your best and be patient. Even if nobody notices how good and hardworking you are, God always does. As a spiritual seeker, you are working to please God, not other human beings.
The above rules need to be practiced. Merely reading, knowing and understanding them will not produce any result.
