A friend recently posted on social media ten pointers for engaging with the world and our difficult political and ecological crises. It was from my book, The Intimate Way Of Zen. I’m glad he thought it helpful.
Perhaps you will, as well…
Ten Zen Pointers
1. Start with generosity of heart.
2. Bind ourselves to standards of conduct that support our aspirations. There are lots of rules, laws, precepts, and guidelines offered by different traditions. Understand what these rules are about and what they are for. Commit ourselves to those that make sense and align with our values.
3. Recall this is not all about ourselves, myself. It’s never just about ourselves.
4. Commit to relentless honesty, especially about our own thoughts and actions.
5. Try for gentleness, aimed both at ourselves and others.
6. Recall we are never actually in charge, and it would behoove us to act like that was true.
7. Know there are some very important criticisms of the Buddhist call to avoid anger, pointing out that anger can be the only appropriate response to some circumstances. There is nonetheless a legitimate warning about clinging anger, what I’d call hatred, which has a napalm effect on the heart. As with all these precepts, we need to hold them as all other created things, lightly, knowing there is a time to hold and a time to let go, but that does include a time of holding.
8. Be mindful that the Buddha way is one of nonviolence.
9. Cultivate a sense of patience, even amid urgency. There are injustices right now. And people are not in a position to wait. And all things come to fruition in their own time. Find the harmonies and act within the realities.
10. Return to not-knowing. Here is the great caution. We do not know how our actions will turn out. There are simply too many moving parts. At the same time, we’re not excused. We must act.
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