One week following the US elections, many of us are still reeling with frustration, confusion, sadness, and anger. In the Karaniya Metta Sutta, the Buddha said:
This is what should be done by one who is skilled in goodness
And who knows the path of peace.
Let them be able and upright,
Straightforward and gentle in speech,
Humble and not conceited,
Contented and easily satisfied,
Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.
Peaceful and calm and wise and skillful,
Not proud or demanding in nature.
Let them not do the slightest thing
That the wise would later reprove.
These are the values that our community, and many other people in this country and around the world, hold dear. And yet they seem flagrantly opposite to the characteristics manifested by our president-elect. How shall we view this new reality, and how shall we continue to walk our path of peace without feeling crippling discouragement?
On Sunday, November 13th, Shugen Sensei addressed these themes in a talk before the sangha. Urging us to ground ourselves amidst these turbulent times, Sensei states, “To be a person of the way means we must have courage to practice, to turn inward, to stop, to sit, to turn towards our own
resources, to act, to speak, to be heard. And to practice, ultimately, what’s true rather than what is easy. To be a person of the way means to be examining the contents of your own mind and what is good and what is true so that you don’t become turned upside down by the hundreds and millions of opinions.”
Watch the video recording of this talk here:
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Sensei – “Walking the Path of Peace” – Zen Mountain Monastery – Nov. 13, 2016 from Dharma Communications on Vimeo.
Or listen to the talk here.