As a member of the governance team at Seattle Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Meditation Center, I feel the pressure to speak out, say something, and/or do something about the violence in Gaza/Israel. As a Buddhist Dharma teacher, I feel more called to support all who seek the Buddha’s teachings, regardless of their political and/or social positions. I stand firmly with all those whose efforts would help alleviate harm in the world. I am committed to not add more harm into the world and to cultivating heart qualities of love and compassion. At this point in my life, however, I feel my greatest contribution is to support practitioners to have the capacity to speak out and respond to the issues of the world in any way they see fit. This statement represents my views on the ongoing violence in the world. I realize this is long and it may not be what you would like me to say, but I feel inspired to speak my own truth around this topic. I appreciate whatever amount of time you take to read it.
These are turbulent times, filled with violence. Such times bring with it uncertainty, anxiety, panic and even rage. Our practice tells us that this violence is a direct result of greed, hatred and delusion and is at the core of all human suffering. Even the Buddha was not immune to the emotional anguish of human violence. Before his awakening, he pointed out that his world completely lacked essence; that he had dreadful fear that caused him to shake all over. Seeing people locked in conflict he became completely distraught. The Buddha’s account is very much like our world today. It’s no wonder that many of us are distraught, afraid, and full of anger like he was.
Globally, there is the UN declared genocide in Darfur, the tyranny of miliary control in Burma (Myanmar), the invasion of Ukraine, mass killings here in the United States and now the terrorist attack by Hamas and destruction of Gaza by Israel. While the leaders of these countries don’t seem to be listening to anyone, every practitioner knows that acts based in greed, hatred and delusion will never lead to peace.
We are also living in a time of violence of a different sort. Global climate disasters are causing families to desperately seek shelter and safety elsewhere, looking to other countries for refuge. These immigration diasporas reinforce hatred, xenophobia, and blatant cruelty. Between the climate changes, terrorist attacks, wars and invasions and massive assaults on people of all stripes, millions and millions of people are being displaced and desperately seeking stability. There are an unprecedented number of humanitarian crises existing in the world in this very moment.
When faced with this similar situation, the Buddha realized that fear is the result of arming oneself against another. He saw that when he strengthened his heart - not by turning away from the world but rather by settling his agitated mind so he could compassionately engage with the world - he was able to bring incomparable goodness and non-harm during his 45 years of teaching. This is what meditative practice is all about. Every practitioner creates conditions for incomparable goodness and non-harm to arise in the world. It’s what living Dhamma represents. When we maintain our practice in the midst of violence, our resolve disrupts the habitual flow of greed, hatred and delusion. We bring to life the reality of the Eightfold Path - wise view, wise aspiration, wise action, wise speech, wise livelihood, wise effort, wise mindfulness, wise concentration.
And what does such a practice look like? Mindfulness. Metta. Meditation. The Refuges and Precepts. Whatever you can do to spend some time in silence and contemplation of Dhamma. You’re not looking for perfect stillness or complete silence. You’re practicing patience in order to see your way through the difficulty. This suffering could be your own or it could be the suffering of another. It may be that your practice is just to help you hold the pain itself, especially when you cannot change the outer conditions giving rise to the suffering. In these situations, the practice is just to help you be with the truth of the pain you are knowing. A regular practice will increase your capacity to stay engaged with the world and its suffering. It will strengthen your confidence and courage to speak out and act against hatred, injustice, and violence.
The Buddha once said to Ananda, his attendant, that Sangha was the whole of the holy life. At no time has this been more profound than our current existence. To maintain our sanity, we need one another. We need to encourage each other to maintain our meditative practice. We also need the support and unification of Sangha, with its shared commitment of non-harm, its cultivation of love and compassion, and its respect for all beings. It is my honor to be able to uplift practitioners and their surrounding families and friends within the midst of a suffering world.
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