Some wise words

[Jinyo]

https://www.lionsroar.com/buddhists-respond-to-bidens-presidential-win/

Some wise words redolent of our practice here but interesting to note the flexibility of boundaries in what individuals feel comfortable to openly reference.

Certain phrases stood out for me,

Myokei Caine - Barrett - 'remember the Buddha does not see difference'

Mushim Particia Ikeda and Norman Fischer express the same sentiments in a different mode of speaking,

the quote in Mushim Patricia Ikeda's address stays with me the most,

'the Buddha said,

Winning gives birth to hostility
Losing, one lies down in pain
The calmed lie down with ease,
having set winning and losing aside.'

Metta to all,

Jinyo

Sat today

[Jundo]

In discussing this, let us keep focused on the higher virtues, beyond our side and their side, my candidate and theirs ... or any particular candidate.

Thank you.

Let us speak about healing, and always from the ethical points that our Vows to rescue Sentient Beings, and the Precepts, Wisdom and Compassion, call forth from us.

As much as possible, I would like to ask everyone to avoid even mention of the particular candidates by name. I know that it is difficult to do so, but I want to keep focus on things beyond that.

Gassho, Jundo

SatToday

[Inshin]

At first I thought "Oh no, no more intellectualism about US elections, enough of it now!", but then it was a such a precious read. The words of Zenji Earthlyn Manuel are so universal and express much of what I'm thinking about lately :

. We will forever be pushed to expand the human capacity. Are we ready to keep living with an attention to how we navigate what feels like the worst of times, without closing off or covering it all up with optimism? We are collectively and constantly being given the path to transformation and awakening. We may have to walk it in our bare feet without knowing where we are going. Are you ready for such wandering with its trouble and beauty along the way? Can you be the open field of unknowing darkness that you are and discover what it means to live on this planet with all else that is alive? Can you still have visions of the freedom you know to have been granted in birth?

Every day is an invitation to reach the mountain that is so high you can’t climb it but you can feel its height and because you can feel it, it is possible to go there. That is our capacity now and our potential. What is it that we are being called to do? What is the darkness saying—not the candidate, not you, not your friends? Whatever you hear, act on that. If you hear nothing then work on that. Soon, we will begin to see a different way of leading the human clan that has been lost for quite some time.

Thank you for sharing.

Gassho
Sat

[Kokuu]

Thank you for this, Jinyo.

Two parts stuck out for me. One was

Let us remember this time and remember we are all siblings. While some rest in joy, others suffer, worry, weep.

I worry that people standing outside the White House with banners saying 'loser' are not helping bridge the obvious divide. That will clearly take time to heal, and rubbing salt into the wounds of defeat are not to help. We may not agree with political opponents, and often very stridently disagree, but we can acknowledge their humanity.

The other is Roshi Norman Fischer, who can often be relied upon to speak with wisdom.

consider for a moment the fact that you don’t really know any Trump voters. What you know is what click-seeking writers write — where the above labels come from.

Oh, and labels are labels. You are not a label, neither is anyone else.

So let’s take a deep breath and recall that Trump voters, like anti-Trump voters, are complicated human beings who see the world in different ways according to their conditioning.

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday-

[Jakugan]

Thank you for this, Jinyo.

Two parts stuck out for me. One was



I worry that people standing outside the White House with banners saying 'loser' are not helping bridge the obvious divide. That will clearly take time to heal, and rubbing salt into the wounds of defeat are not to help. We may not agree with political opponents, and often very stridently disagree, but we can acknowledge their humanity.

The other is Roshi Norman Fischer, who can often be relied upon to speak with wisdom.




Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday-

I must admit I've found it easy to get caught up in everything myself.

Thank you for the timely reminder.

Gassho
Jakugan
SAT

[Naiko]

Ikeda’s words also stayed with me: ‘“Winning gives birth to hostility.” Another translator more colloquially put it this way: “The winner sows hatred because the loser suffers.”’

The challenge is always to move past separation.

I also appreciated this wisdom from Zenju Earthlyn Manuel: “Now that our eyes are fully opened to each other and we know the ballot and the bullet are both deficient tools of liberation, we can turn toward another choice of protecting the basic sovereignty of humanity by de-escalating our own fear and terror, so that we are able to act from the wisdom honed in infinite and chaotic darkness.... Every day is an invitation to reach the mountain that is so high you can’t climb it but you can feel its height and because you can feel it, it is possible to go there. That is our capacity now and our potential. What is it that we are being called to do? What is the darkness saying—not the candidate, not you, not your friends? Whatever you hear, act on that. If you hear nothing then work on that. Soon, we will begin to see a different way of leading the human clan that has been lost for quite some time.”

Edited to add: One thing I’m sitting with right now is the uncomfortable feeling that I am being hypocritical—that I know I would be feeling altogether less peaceful if my country’s election had gone differently (and, hey, the situation is still unsettled). This is giving me a lot to work with and I see the need to truly take these lessons to heart. (Sorry for the long post.)
Gassho,
Krista
st

[Meitou]

https://www.lionsroar.com/buddhists-...sidential-win/


Some wise words redolent of our practice here but interesting to note the flexibility of boundaries in what individuals feel comfortable to openly reference.

Certain phrases stood out for me,

Myokei Caine - Barrett - 'remember the Buddha does not see difference'

Mushim Particia Ikeda and Norman Fischer express the same sentiments in a different mode of speaking,

the quote in Mushim Patricia Ikeda's address stays with me the most,

'the Buddha said,

Winning gives birth to hostility
Losing, one lies down in pain
The calmed lie down with ease,
having set winning and losing aside.'

Metta to all,

Jinyo

Sat today

I read that this morning too Jinyo and I loved that part. It really resonated with me because I can remember only too well being the 'loser' in a recent event in the UK, and as painful as losing was, it was made so much worse by the tone deaf, although probably well intended, suggestion that we could now all move on. So words of healing need to be chosen with care, as they can be as damaging as gloating.
Thanks for posting
Gassho
Meitou
sattoday lah

[Jundo]

Someone wrote the following elsewhere (in response to my "A Time for Coming Together, Looking Past "Ours" and "Yours"" essay)...

Entirely appropriate and right speech but SOOO hard when you have m********ers on the other side. Before you block me, notice I do not claim any side. Just trying to offer a tongue in cheek reaction to a perfectly reasonable request. I'm trying but I'm a work in progress. ...

I responded as follows, my personal feeling ...

Do your best to work on your own heart, finding peace and forgiveness within yourself, even as one reaches out to the "other side." Of course, there are limits there too, for one may try to open communication with someone who professes what you see as horrible, but that does not mean you have to join in the horrible beliefs yourself. Further, you can also work against the horrible beliefs' effects in society in other ways.

I was once asked what I would do if a Neo-Nazi member came into our Sangha. Well, I would open dialogue and seek friendship. I would like to know where his pain and anger comes from. However, I would not join in such beliefs myself, nor allow racist statements within our Sangha. Outside the Sangha, I would condition to work for social justice.

Gassho, J

STLah