Make America Zen Again! (and Treeleaf's Take on Things) ...

[Jundo]

There's absolutely no reason whatsoever that anyone is more or less in accord with Buddhist teachings because of their political leanings. ....

Well, if their political leaning are peaceful and non-violent. Likewise for beliefs that don't espouse hatred of other groups and races. NAZI's and KKK members would be welcome to sit with us in the hope that some of this might rub off, but I would not call their beliefs in accord with the Precepts.

Beyond that, other values and beliefs might also step over the Precepts perhaps. We must stand vigilant for those too.

Gassho, J

SatToday

[Seido]

Thank you Jundo.
We are all one, and none in the same. Separations created in the mind perpetuate the suffering of all people.

Compassion for all sentient beings is the enlightened way. May we all be free of the jail of the mind, trapped within our suffering. Trump or Hillary, it matters not.

We must stand in defense of all those who would be hurt, but there is no blame, on compassion and understanding.

Gassho,
Seido
SatToday

[Byrne]

Who is responsible for more death and suffering, Donald Trump or King Ashoka?

Gassho

Sat Today

[odiedoodie]

Hi
I think the focus should be only Buddhism. Nothing else. That is one reason I avoid the closest Zen Buddhist temple in my area. It's difficult to practice zazen when angered and enraged by opposite views.
Jon T
Sat2day

[Byrne]

Hi
I think the focus should be only Buddhism. Nothing else. That is one reason I avoid the closest Zen Buddhist temple in my area. It's difficult to practice zazen when angered and enraged by opposite views.
Jon T
Sat2day

Yup. And I even agree with some of those opinions.

Gassho

Sat Today

[Jishin]

Make America Zen Again! (and Treeleaf's Take on Things) ...

Hi,

I love Donald Trump. And if you think about it, so do you.

Gasho, Jishin, _/st\_

[Myosha]

Something happened to access. Feeling uneasy. See everyone aft . . .

[Myosha]

Hi,

I love Donald Trump. And if you think about it, so do you.

Gasho, Jishin, _/st\_

Hello,

Trying again : tell a difference between this and that. Oops, there is none. Wake up or stay asleep. (Talking to you blessed Allaska).

[Shoki]

I read the news today (oh boy) about a protest at University of California Davis that had two speakers scheduled to give talks; Milo Yiannopoulos, editor of right wing Brietbart News and Martin Shkrelli, pharma exec who gained infamy for raising prices of AIDS medications to astronomical prices The students held a protest (with some violence) against their speaking. For everyone's safety, they canceled the talks and the students claimed victory. I disagree with the students. Even though you may argue these men are disgusting people, part of learning is to listen to others speak even if you find them reprehensible. When I was a college student back in the 1970s we were loaded with left wing types; shoot the cops, rob banks and give the money to armed radical groups, kill whitey, etc. We did not protest them. We listened. We rejected them. We went back to class. Shouting down everyone who you disagree with will limit your learning. Then you live in an echo chamber of noises that just agree with you like the comments sections on some of these "news" sites. A bunch of people patting themselves on the back for getting verification from people who are all the same. Any dissent? Just shout them down and call them names.


Gassho
Sat Today
James

[JimH]

The whole political thing hurts both my head and my heart.

I earned a degree in Political Science in college (also a degree in Russian Studies, oddly enough!), and very quickly found out that the more I learned of politics, the less I liked them. Despite my degrees, I have never worked in, or sought work in, the political sphere. Maybe it's really a political dodecahedron.....but I digress.

There are many ways to deal with what is going on every day. I hear the stories of this action and that action, this accusation and that accusation, and I shake my head. I don't agree with a lot of what is going on, and I too fear for where we are headed as a country. However, I won't get caught up in the yelling and angry posts. I feel that is like shouting into the wind. I will not change the opinions of those that support Mr. Trump wholeheartedly, and we may *all* be wrong about how things will play out. What is going to happen is going to happen, whether we yell or not, whether we agree or not.

Having said that....I don't believe in sitting idly by, either. I will be doing all that I can to create change right where I am. I will work to organize a local sitting group, work with support groups in my area, and do as much charity work as possible. I will build closer relationships with everyone that I can, and I will deepen my own practice.....and share it with others. Think globally, act locally, right? The important thing that I am trying hardest to remember is that getting worked up won't fix anything; it will only make me feel worse, more afraid, and more off-balance. Instead, I'm trying to hear what is going on and laugh at what I think is ridiculous. My dad always says, "Things have a funny way of working out"....and I believe him. This ship will right itself, eventually, one way or another.

I'd also have to paraphrase a comment from the movie "Barfly": "Do I hate Donald Trump? No....but I seem to feel better when he's not around."

When everything gets to be too much, or too frustrating....sit. Breathe. Relax. Enjoy the sunshine on your face. All bad things end. Go hug a friend and let them know that you are there for them.

Gassho--

--JimH (SatToday!)

[Myosha]

The whole political thing hurts . . . Maybe it's really a political duodecahedron.....but I digress. . . )

Hello,

Did you mean: dodecahedron?

Just curious.


Gassho
Myosha
sat today

[JimH]

Myosha:

Did you mean: dodecahedron?

Just curious.

Indeed I did. I guess I should be more mindful of spell check, and not be trying to be clever late at night! Fixed now, but thanks!

Gassho--

--JimH (SatToday!)

[martyrob]

I stayed up into the early hours to watch Obama's historic and remarkable acceptance speech and I watched his farewell speech yesterday. I'm not an American but the man must surely be recognised as one of the great US Presidents. The chasm between him and Trump makes the Grand Canyon look like a hairline crack and so I can see why so many Americans must feel a sense of despair and shame with the election result. I felt, and still feel, the same shame and despair with the Brexit result.
Nobody has any idea how the Trump presidency will play out but it doesn't bode well. Regardless of his politics, it's clear he has a personality disorder which will make it nigh on impossible for him to function as POTUS – a completely different role to that of a C.E.O. The American people have elected a giant teenager and that's worrying for all of us. It's an important job, for the whole planet: it matters. So this isn't business as usual, we're in a whole new world of fake news, shameless lying, and quick simple answers to complex problems.
I too have degree in politics – over here we don't dignify it with science – but unlike JimH I believe politics matter because it's the way we allocate resources and if we don't do it right it can hurt people. This isn't a matter of opinion. We can all have differing opinions; you like heavy metal I like bossa nova; you like golf I like tennis. But if your opinion is that some people should be excluded, that some people are undeserving, that some people are less valued, some people are the wrong colour, sex, religion; then that's not an opinion but an act of aggression and needs to be met with response other than: “Some folks think this way and some folks think that way.”
I have some sympathy with the San Francisco Zen Centre, who didn't say that they wouldn't sit with Trump supporters but that they wouldn't condone or affirm their support for Trump. Exactly the same thing that Brad Warner said. And:

“You are welcome here despite your act of hatred, just as I am welcome here despite my many and daily acts of hatred. But we will not in the service of “unity” or “empathy” condone or ignore it.”

Which is a much more equivocal expression of objection when the whole sentence is read. I accept that it would take a courageous Trump supporter ( different by a world to a Trump voter) to out him or herself at the SFZC and then go sit in quiet equanimity on their zafu. But even here at Treeleaf this:

“Treeleaf Sangha is a multicultural Zen Buddhist Community in which people of all socio-economic classes, nationalities, races, ages, creeds, genders, sexual orientation and identification, and physical abilities discover shared humanity by direct experience of one anothers’ lives.”

Would be a credo that many red-in-tooth-and-claw Trump supporter would have trouble signing up to.

I don't come to this sangha for political discourse any more than I go to my ukulele club to discuss quantum mechanics but life has a habit of seeping through the cracks and rather than creating a cordon santiaire around Treeleaf it might be more realistic to accept that politics are part of life – like it or not – and is bound to surface here from time to time. I have faith that my fellow sangha members have the good sense to deal with such matters appropriately.

Finally, it occurred to me that Buddhism is a much better fit for the conservative minded ( although Trump, unlike many of his supporters, is not a conservative). In the West Buddhism was sold, especially to the counter-culture generation, as a peaceable religion: “There never have been any Buddhist wars.” When a scant reading of the history of Buddhism in the East shows it to be at best supine and at worst complicit in the face of violent state action. Even now, as I write this, there is some saffron-robed Burmese monk planning another pogrom against the Rohingya Muslims. This policy seems to go right back to the Old Buddha with his sly acknowledgement of which side his bread was buttered when it came to dealing with kings. To 'sit with quiet acceptance' is a godsend to any despot or demagogue when faced with a challenge to his authority; to barricade the monastery doors and retreat to the zafu whilst the world burns around you.
So I ask this question, not rhetorically, because I genuinely don't know the answer: what role does engaged Buddhism have to play and how is it manifest? If we want to keep politics out of Buddhism how do remain engaged? Is rattling a tin at a charity function, Bernie Glassman's project for the homeless or the Burmese Ma Ba Tha programme of genocide all examples of engaged Buddhism? How do we save all sentient beings without becoming political? Because, whilst we might save some sentient beings, if we are to save all of them, as the vow requests, how do we do that without organising as a group? How do we save the planet from environmental catastrophe as individuals sat on our cushions? And if not how do we save the planet when a large tranche of society, including the soon to be US President, doesn't feel it's in need of saving?

“Rather, I hope to transcend all the shouting and "small picture" debate, avoiding all the arguing on specific policies, to keep our focus on the "Big Picture" of where this world needs to go ... and the changes in society that must come that are far far beyond the small concerns of our present capitalist, consumer driven, corporate-run-amuck, use and dispose, flag waving nationalist and religion divided world. We need to keep our focus on big changes and the future (hoping, of course, that we survive the present!) We need to see the forest and the distant horizon, and avoid arguing about the trees.''

I agree with this and sign up to it – I'm a liberal progressive, what's not to like! - but how do we get there without arguing about the trees? If we keep our eyes only on the big picture, the distant horizon; how do we see what's immediately in front of us and where to put that first step?


Martyn

Sat today.

[Jishin]

So I ask this question, not rhetorically, because I genuinely don't know the answer: what role does engaged Buddhism have to play and how is it manifest?

No question, no answer.

Little question, little answer.

Big question, big answer.

You asked the question, big, little or no question, so you have the answer.


Gasho, Jishin, _/st\_

[Getchi]

Mart rob, that is one tough koan.

While nothing you say is wrong, all I see is people and people. Some have robes, some have names.

When are you not engaging buddhism? I think I've read your post five times now; while I have no solutions, I can observe you summer up the only problem worth thinking about.in this lifetime. "When am I not myself?".

I'm grateful for the opportunity we have to meet our disapointments, because then we can op it all, and se life still unfolds.

I wiill continue to highlight njustice in my community and work towards the conditions necessary for peace and justice, but I don't think I've ever changed a persons heart. Several have decided to follow this example though, and they are transformed.

Emptiness is not big or small, has no definition and can't be stolen or made.


Gassho

Sat today in sympathy with us all.