The World Today...Not Such a Big Problem

We can look at happenings in the world in terms of the headlines on the papers...or we can choose another way. Is our world doomed to neverending war, suffering, environmental holocaust, etc., or can we look at it another way?

I think that there is only one problem, and it is a huge one if we look at its global implications...however, if we understand that the globe is nothing but a collection of human beings and other sentient and non-sentient beings, all with the capacity to change themselves at any second, it is not such a huge problem. In fact it only takes a simple looking-in.

I have been reading literature by Vietnamese Zen priest Thich Naht Hahn recently and have been learning much about the Vietnam war. He was present in Vietnam for much of the war before fleeing the violence. An interesting thing that he said was that the Communists thought that the Buddhists were too American, and the Americans thought that the Buddhists were too Communist. The Buddhists were the Middle Way!

And there's the rub. Our idea of dualism that has pervaded so much of society for so many years has finally begun took take its toll, and in a big way! Dualism is the idea that if something is up, it can't be down. If it's black, it can't be white. And Americans during the Vietnam War believed that if you weren't American (and lived it Vietnam and were proud of your Vietnamese heritage and spoke about non-violence), you were Communist. And Communists believed that if you weren't Communist (and didn't fight against the Americans, and were sympathetic to all beings, and spoke out about non-violence) you were pro-American. And so hundreds of peaceful Buddhist monks (and so many countless other innocents) were ruthlessly slaughtered during that war.

All because of a lack of compassion! All because of a simple misunderstanding that just because your eyes perceive a body standing apart from you, doesn't mean that that body is any separate from your own.

After all, we can't ever, ever in our own lives see our own eyes (which we rely on so much) except for through a mirror which completely reverses our image! So in some ways, we will never, ever see ourselves as accurately as others see us! It seems that some understanding and compassion are in order.

When I read the paper, I am less disturbed by the big headlines than by the small editorials. There are constant attacks by simple citizens on other citizens. On such small issues! It's not that I don't think that constant scrutiny and evaluations are necessary...it's that they are undertaken so often with a complete lack of compassion.

A recent example: pit bull terriers terrorizing mailmen in Southern California. The editorials seem to be of two viewpoints. Either the editorials are about feeling awful about the dog's probable future of death by chemicals or gas (with no mention of the mailman), or the editorials are about feeling awful about the mailman's horrific injury (and usually, a sideways remark about the uncallous dog owner). I have read well over ten editorials that fit the two about profiles. I have read only one where the reader expressed compassion for the mailman, the dog, and the dog-owner. Regardless of one's opinion of what should be done in the situation, the compassion is so incredibly important.

People may say...compassion for a dog that hurt another? I implore, yes, compassion for all creatures. It is because of this selective compassion (conditional love) that the world is in the state it's in. Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus...all of these religions contain in their principles...love your enemy. No, really, LOVE your enemy... And I don't think it means "love your enemy, than kill them". I think it means if you truly love another being, you won't kill them... So. LOVE YOUR ENEMY. It's easy to love your friend...anybody can do that. But it takes a superior, true, human being to extend those feelings out...

The world today, all it needs is more compassion, and it starts with you! Don't worry about anybody else...if you're really living it, they'll follow your example...

May this fall on open ears and open minds...

Namaste

My Thoughts on Democracy and Money

There are normally two distant camps when considering the American form of government and how it works. There is one camp that likes to blame the current administration for all the wrongs of the country. Then the other camp likes to believe that the country is going in the right direction and that the government is doing well in getting us there. Sometimes one camp is known as "democrats" but that same camp can also be known as "republicans" if the year is going poorly for them. It seems to be that this is just a case of using blame to take any responsibility off of oneself.

It is true that many Americans believe that voting is the cornerstone of democracy and that not-participation in elections makes that person the one to blame for a government gone wrong. But let me make an analogy here that I've been thinking of for some time.

Imagine that you are in a highly disfunctional family and that there are constantly money problems, communication issues, the whole works. Would we depend on a twice-a-year family meeting to make things better? Imagine that you have a dirty bathroom. Would you allow the grime to fester until you could afford the time and money to find and hire a good housekeeper?

So relying on the voting process is not a good strategy! Besides, there are millions of people who vote...there are times that one vote could make a difference, but more often, one vote does not make a difference.

The solution that I have come up with is...money consciousness! This is a capitalist society as well as a democratic society, and capitalism has been blamed for quite a long time. Well, the fact of the matter is that socialism has come up to the same problems that capitalism has. The solution is SIMPLE. We simply have to take responsibility for our actions. Our OWN actions.

Examples:

PROBLEM--We are tired of having repressed nations "bully" the U.S. around.
SOLUTION--Make sure that the products you buy (clothing, food, etc.) are ethically made and well compensated.

PROBLEM--Global warming...what do we do??
SOLUTION--Drive less. Use less energy. Donate money to organizations that help with the situation (wind farms, biofuel, etc.).

PROBLEM--The poor and disenfranchised of the U.S.
SOLUTION--Give away your money! Help out those who are in need! Remember, nobody got where they were of their own accord...everybody has used the goodwill of others.

There is a quote from the Buddha's sermons--"Be the change you wish to see in the world." We can not have peace, a happy world, and equality until we do it ourselves. Notice...the solutions that I gave to the above problems pretty much all have to do with the use of our money. The DOLLAR is your vote. You do not have to be slave to money, you can use it to tell the world what you think is good and right!

Next time you go grocery shopping, look to see where one piece of food that you buy was made, look to see what chemicals are in it, see how much of the packaging will end up in a landfill...then, take ten minutes to research the company and the chemicals at your home computer. Then it's up to you if you decide if the practices are good. And if they're not, it's up to you to decide to buy another product, even if it might cost a buck or two more.

This is how we can have a truly democratic society...So...how will you vote?