“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” And so, here we are, living in volatile times, even capable of eradicating ourselves from the face of the planet. If we are paying attention, days like these can provide us with a genuine learning opportunity for conscious evolution and enhancing our discernment, combined with a heartfelt need to build community for solace in kindred spirits and meaningful connection.
To help muster the energy required to face the challenges of our complex world, I rely on what Buddhist activists call
The Three Freedoms:
Freedom from undue hope & expectations
Freedom from fear & anxiety
Freedom from selfishness & bias
Buddhism teaches that nothing is more dangerous than an untrained or unhealthy mind, and nothing more conducive to great happiness and wellness than a well-trained clear and wise mind. Yet it’s not only all about mind and intellect, our emotions, body, energy and soulful dimension also come into play. Right action can be a way of achieving one’s goals. Practicing patient forbearance in the face of harm and abuse, without being overly passive in our pacifism, we find that nonviolence is and can be a dynamic multi-dimensional means of persuasion, a technique for political activism, and a recipe for peacemaking and harmonizing—a fearless and forceful way of living authentically as well as speaking truth to power. Right action equals appropriate morality, it carrying with it a sense of discerning wisdom, precision and skillful means.
That is why I am calling for a grassroots arising of a heartfelt and committed Lobby of Compassion, a participatory mandala of persons who are willing to link hands, heads and noble hearts in a measured, focused and sustained effort to develop sufficient clear vision and appropriate action to find and pursue another way—as an alternative to the slippery slope of partisan politics and vestiges of Cold War thinking that has afflicted us for centuries. So we may have a century of dialogue upon the heels of the last century of wars, bloodshed and environmental degradation.
You are the most powerful person in your world. Everything you do could be motivated by compassion. A better and more just and equitable world depends on your own clarity of mind, purity of heart, and a decisive spirit. It is within your reach and special power.
Help yourself, help us all.
