Blood On The Ground: What To Do?

A few days ago, Bodhi and I came upon a “kill site” in the woods. A lot of blood was splattered around. Part of the body remained buried in the snow and part was visible – the guts outlined with fur. It looked like the animal had tried to escape by burrowing into the snow and earth.

I suspected the killer was a coyote from the tracks and from the size of the perfect circle around the body – an enso created by the hind legs of whoever was swirling around his/her prey (too eaten to identify) during the end of the kill and the meal.

This primordial scene shocked me. My mind immediately contracted and I could feel energy shifting to the battle bridge in preparation for fight or flight despite the report from my frontal lobe that the killer was long gone.

I didn’t have my camera so the photo above shows what was left days later after various woodland creatures got their share.

This scene came to mind today while watching CNN’s report about the Israelis and the Palestinians in Gaza. More than 400 killed and thousands injured. From freshly witnessing the aftermath of a small animal kill, I’m aware that I can’t really imagine what all that carnage would be like or the emotional impact of just the scenes of the deaths.

I’m not writing to advocate for one side or the other (although 400 Palestinian deaths to 4 Israeli deaths points to a rather one-sided situation)… just to raise the issue in terms of our practice.

What can our practice offer in this mess?

Imv, what we can do is throw ourselves into fully taking care of our lives in whatever situation we find ourselves with our best effort, including taking political action when we can do so with a clear(ish) head and heart.

We can also pray to the formless, no object Buddhas for all beings to live in peace and harmony.

There is no way of knowing whether that effort will have an impact or will have a big enough impact to alter the situation. And it is unsatisfying.

However, it is what we can do … and company is helpful in this unsatisfying way. May we do it fully together.

Blood on the Ground: What To Do?