Abandon poisonous food.

Vitis riparia photo by Allen Norcross; Menispermum canadense photo by John Hilty

Euell Gibbons launched the modern-day movement of ‘living off the land’ with his book, Stalking the Wild Asparagus. A variety of people, from survivalists and foodies to herbalists and nature lovers, have since embraced the trend of gathering wild foods and medicinal plants. However foraging does have one major drawback: many edible plants have a poisonous look-alike. Frost grape, for example, closely resembles and often intermingles with moonseed, a vine with poisonous drupes. One way to know for sure which vine is which is to cut open the fruits and look at the seeds. The grape safe for humans has several ovate seeds, while the moonseed has only a flat, crescent-shaped seed (for which it is named). In the same way, our words and actions may initially appear to be benevolent and noble, but we need to check within for any hidden agendas. If our behavior is motivated by a desire for the attention and admiration of others, this slogan cautions that such 'poison' will only nourish our ego. Our craving for recognition is like trying to fill a bucket with a hole in the bottom. That feeling of being unique and special is insubstantial; it will always leave us anxiously yearning for more.

It’s important to note that there’s a huge difference between personal gratification and ego gratification, for the latter compromises our virtuous qualities by infusing them with conflicting emotions. ~ Traleg Kyabgon

For more information on the twenty-ninth slogan, go here.