The Intimate Path of Zen

“Faced with issues of poverty and wealth, issues of racism, issues of isolation and suffering, and a multifaceted and ongoing environmental disaster in which we ourselves are actively complicit, how do we engage, with the recognition that even our best intentions cannot prevent our involvement from still causing harm?

“It needs to be a new kind of engagement, something generous, something generous. Walpola provides some helpful direction by quoting the Jataka tales, famous legends about the Buddha's life before he became a Buddha… These ten qualities are dana (compassion), sila (morality), paricaga (altruism), ajujava (sincerity), madhava (kindness), tapa (self-control), akoda (lack of anger), abhimsa (non-violence), kanti (patience) and avirodhana (honesty).

“I will reconstruct these…

1. Start with a generous heart. 2. Commit to standards of behavior that support our aspirations…(and) are consistent with our values. 3. Remember that this is not all about me. It is never just about me. 4. Commit to being brutally honest, especially about our thoughts and actions. 5. Commit to kindness, both toward ourselves and others. 6. Remember that we are never actually in charge, and it is our duty to act as if that were true. 7. Anger may be the only appropriate response in some situations. Nevertheless, there are valid warnings about clingy anger, what I call hatred. 8. Remember that the Buddhist path is the path of nonviolence. 9. Cultivate a sense of patience even in emergencies. 10. Return to ignorance…. At the same time, we are not exempt. We must act.

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