{"id":5085,"date":"2015-09-26T00:19:40","date_gmt":"2015-09-25T23:19:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/?p=5085"},"modified":"2015-09-26T00:23:44","modified_gmt":"2015-09-25T23:23:44","slug":"may-all-beings-be-at-ease-a-buddhist-prayer-for-everyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2015\/09\/may-all-beings-be-at-ease-a-buddhist-prayer-for-everyone.html","title":{"rendered":"May all beings be at ease! A Buddhist #PrayerforEveryone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Let none deceive another,
\nOr despise any being in any state.
\nLet none through anger or ill-will
\nWish harm upon another.
\nEven as a mother protects with her life <\/strong>
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 Her child, her only child, <\/strong>
\nSo with a boundless heart <\/strong>
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 Should one cherish all living beings;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 from the Karaniya-Metta Sutta, translated by the Amaravati Sangha, from accesstoinsight.com<\/a>\u00a0(emphasis added<\/em>).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Today I join fellow Patheos bloggers across traditions in supporting and promoting the #PrayerforEveryone\u00a0Global Goals for Sustainable Development<\/a>, an initiative of the ONE Campaign:<\/p>\n

\n

This September, world leaders will commit to the Global Goals for Sustainable Development to achieve three extraordinary things by 2030.\u00a0End extreme poverty. Fight inequality and injustice. Combat climate change.<\/strong>\u00a0The Global Goals for sustainable development could get these things done. In all countries. For all people.<\/p>\n

But to achieve these Goals, everyone needs to know about them.<\/p>\n

From September 24 to October 1, everyone from every faith, every walk of life, everywhere, can take part in Prayer for Everyone by sharing the Goals with their faith community and their friends.<\/strong><\/p>\n

ONE, Project Everyone, and Global Goals invite you to join us and champion the Goals through the teachings and practices of your faith.<\/p>\n

Offer your #PrayerforEveryone and tell everyone about the world you hope to see in 2030.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The world I hope to see in 2030, when\u00a0I will turn 50, is a world in which all people hold the teachings of\u00a0the Buddha\u2019s Karaniya-Metta Sutta<\/a>\u00a0(aka the metta sutta) in their hearts. It is a short sutta, in poetic verse, which begins simply:<\/p>\n

This is what should be done
\nBy one who is skilled in goodness,
\nAnd who knows the path of peace:
\nLet them be able and upright,
\nStraightforward and gentle in speech,
\nHumble and not conceited,
\nContented and easily satisfied,
\nUnburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

From the Buddhist<\/a> perspective all \u00a0problems boil down to three simple things: greed, hatred, and delusion. Sometimes they\u2019re boiled down one step further, where just delusion remains. The delusion of a separate, immutable self is the chief error of humanity. With this belief we see ourselves as somehow apart from the suffering of poverty, safe from issues of inequality and injustice, and insulated from the disasters that will befall a planet gripped by climate change<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"American<\/a><\/p>\n

On a deep, metaphysical level, understanding the lack of such a self is extremely difficult and\u00a0really getting it would be\u00a0tantamount to awakening (enlightenment) itself. On a more basic level, though, we can see our interconnections with other beings on a step-by-step basis. The metta sutta draws us toward this with powerful emotional language: \u201cEven as a mother protects with her life her child, her only child\u2026\u201d We owe our very flesh and blood\u00a0and survival to our mothers. This should evoke a powerful sense of love and gratitude. And this emotion is then turned outward to the whole world, \u201cSo, with a boundless heart, one should cherish all beings.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Impossible as this may seem, it is the aspiration of Buddhists around the world (this sutta\u00a0is chanted regularly by Theravadins, both lay and monastic, while other similar universal aspirations are held by Mahayana Buddhists).<\/p>\n

Cherishing all beings, we\u00a0vow to eradicate\u00a0global poverty.<\/p>\n

Cherishing all beings, inequality and injustice reach into our homes and our hearts each\u00a0day.<\/p>\n

Cherishing all beings, the harm of climate change is felt in every breath.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Overcoming\u00a0our fundamental ignorance is sure to be a lifelong battle. Learning to observe and respond skillfully to moments of greed and aversion, while still difficult, is a powerful way that we can as individuals work toward these goals.\u00a0In the face of anger or aversion let us train to be humble and not conceited<\/strong>. In the face of greed let us not be anxious consumers but rather contented and easily satisfied.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you want to put some\u00a0money where your heart\u00a0is, you might join me in\u00a0donating to Buddhist Global Relief<\/a>, a non-profit created by Bhikkhu Bodhi to respond to the needs of the world around us. They have programs on the ground around the world tackling each of these three issues. \u00a0You can also simply spread the word. Talk to friends and family about these issues, look for ways in your own life that changes can be made around you, including pushing for broad political action.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let none deceive another, Or despise any being in any state. Let none through anger or ill-will Wish harm upon another. Even as a mother protects with her life \u00a0 \u00a0 Her child, her only child, So with a boundless heart \u00a0 \u00a0 Should one cherish all living beings; \u2014 from the Karaniya-Metta Sutta, translated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":5086,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,15,27],"tags":[193,165,177,192],"class_list":["post-5085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activism","category-buddhism","category-politics","tag-buddhist-global-relief","tag-climate-change","tag-justice","tag-poverty"],"yoast_head":"\nMay all beings be at ease! A Buddhist #PrayerforEveryone<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Let none deceive another, Or despise any being in any state. 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