Wisdom Comes to the White House

Published
by
Paul
on November 5, 2008
in Buddhism, politics and wisdom
. 2 Comments

As I watched the blue numbers climb yesterday, I had a sense of relief and satisfaction. (I suspect it was the same kind of feeling had by those who watched George Bush’s numbers climb in 2000 and 2004. Of course, I know today many of those same people are glum and dispirited and angry.)

Obama’s election was good for three reasons: First, it puts and end to an era of arrogance, contempt, and mismanagement in Washington.

Were I a political cartoonist, I would have portrayed George Bush as a little kid rushing into a kindergarten classroom where the other kids had built an array of block towers. And there is George, gleefully kicking blocks around the room.

Bush now is in time-out. Soon, Obama will have the opportunity to do his best to sweep up the mess.

The second reason - and perhaps the more important - is the election of a man whose skin color and ethic background does not match what some believe to be those of “real America.” Yet real American he is. This divisiveness from the McCain campaign troubled me more than anything. Divisiveness of any kind leads only to trouble and suffering.

I appreciate John McCain’s concession speech, which was sincere and statesman like:

These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to [Obama] tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.

I urge all Americans … I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.

I hope those who found yesterday a disappointment will heed McCain’s words of unity and support and, at least, give Obama the opportunity to succeed rather than spend the next four years doing whatever they can to disrupt the process for no reason other than hatred.

Baseball didn’t come to an end when Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Rather, it goes on and on. A well-played game still excites the crowds no matter what color the players.

The third reason Obama’s election is important is now that we’ve got a black man - indeed a black family - in the white house (or nearly so), we can continue the business of electing wise leaders - regardless of physical attributes - rather than greedy, self-indulgent, and deluded ones. Instead of seeing Obama as a man of color, I hope he will be seen as the man of wisdom he has shown himself to be during the campaign.

If anything will destroy this country, it will be a sustained run of unwise leaders.

Elections and Equanimity

Published
by
Paul
on November 1, 2008
in Buddhism, Dhamma, Dharma, Practice, Suffering, The Buddha, Truth and politics
. 4 Comments

By 8:00 p.m. PST Tuesday, November 4, the United States of America will have elected its 44th president. At 57 years old, I’ve been through a few elections. Being a 9-year-old Catholic in 1960, I remember the controversy around John Kennedy’s candidacy: If elected, he would take orders directly from the Pope - and good-bye America as we know it.

I remember - when Lyndon Johnson ran against Barry Goldwater in 1964 - my father worrying over “the lesser of two evils.” The prospect of nuclear war and a fall to communism were as real then as are the rain and leaves falling into my yard today.

Nixon and Watergate and the CREEP. Carter and Tehran and a suspiciously coincidental release of hostages just as Reagan raises his right hand on the steps of the Capitol. Bush the First and Willie Horton. Clinton’s “that woman” and his definition of “is” leading to Gore’s hanging chads plucked clean by a conservative Supreme Court. Kerry torpedoed by swift-boating veterans for propaganda. Aren’t all elections contentious?

They are. And maybe this current one isn’t any worse than some of the others in US history I’m not immediately familiar with. Still, I think this election may be the most divisive. One thing is sure, there is a lot of anger and hatred out there in “real America.” Ah, yes, divisiveness. Who gets to define “real America,” and why they (we) are angry?

Something else is sure come November 4th. Many millions of people will be relieved and elated. A reciprocal number will be in despair and likely much angrier. One’s mental state on that day will depend not only on the actions of millions of others, but on the actions within one’s own mind.

This campaign has given me a lot to think about regarding equanimity. I confess I haven’t acted with dispassion about some of the things I’ve heard and read about the candidates and their campaigns, but I appreciate the role equanimity plays in keeping my mind from going over the edge into anger or righteousness.

Equanimity has two meanings. The first is what one would expect: evenness of temper, calm, not reactive. The other meaning, specific, I think, to Buddhism, is being equally accepting of everyone and every situation.

Equanimity is one of the four sublime mental states. The others are loving kindness and compassion, both directed toward everyone equally, and an appreciation of the accomplishments of everyone, also spread equally.

Imagine seeing John McCain and Barack Obama as just two people who want the same thing. An equanimous mind would understand not only their suffering, but how it is fueled by their desire to win. An equanimous mind would accept the candidates for who they are - human beings no different in their humanness from each of us.

Beyond the candidates, an equanimous mind would understand how the desire to be on the winning team and the fear of being on the losing team cause stress and suffering for everyone who is part of the drama.

A equanimous mind would accept the outcome of the election for what it is. I’m not suggesting apathy and resignation. Rather, whatever happens, one can respond with dispassion based in wisdom instead of reacting with glee or anger based in delusion. Every day America changes - regardless of who sits behind the big desk.

Equanimity and the other sublime mental states require a mind that is alert to the dangers of destructive mind states. There is a Bush-era bumper sticker that reads: “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.” A Buddha-era bumper sticker may read a bit diffently: “If you’re outraged, you’re not paying attention.” It all depends on your point of view.

On Desire and Becoming

Published
by
Paul
on October 27, 2008
in Buddhism, Desire, Dhamma, Dharma and Practice
. 2 Comments
Ajahn Geoff

Ajahn Geoff

These past few days Ajahn Geoff (Thanissaro Bhikkhu), Abbot of Metta Forest Monastery in Southern California, has been a guest of Portland Friends of the Dhamma. Ajahn offered several dharma talks and opportunities for meditation, some of which I was fortunate enough to attend.

On Friday evening he announced he would talk about investments. The uncharacteristic and unexpected topic certainly roused some laughter. But he didn’t talk about financial investments, which are subject to loss. Rather, he spoke of investing in the Seven Treasures, which can’t be stolen and will never depreciate in value.

The Seven Treasures are:

  • Conviction
  • Virtue
  • A sense of shame (as to guard against ignoble actions)
  • Compunction (concern about the harm potential actions would produce)
  • Study of the Dhamma
  • Generosity
  • Discernment

On Saturday, a day-long retreat, Ajahn spoke on the Paradox of Becoming, the title of his recent book*. “Becoming” is an ongoing process which is influenced by desire.

In the book, he uses the scriptural metaphor of a field of seeds, where the field is the range of possibilities produced by one’s past and present kamma (karma), where consciousness is the seed, and where desire is the moisture that nourishes the seed.

As I understand it, we are driven by desire at every turn. Our desires are not just for material things but we have very strong desires to “become.” For example, wanting to become satisfied, happy, sad, irritated, depressed, angry, full, rested, needed, loved helpful, and so on (really, have you ever enjoyed being angry or depressed?).

With practice one can notice these desires as they arise. Understanding desire as the moisture to water the seed of consciousness in a field of possibilities, one can make a choice of which seeds to nourish and which to ignore. One can see the harm in nourishing anger (becoming an angry person) and the benefit in nourishing forgiveness (becoming a forgiving person), for example.

Desire shapes our actions, which shape what we become moment to moment. Our desires shape the world in which we live. We can change our world by changing our desires.

*For those of you unfamiliar with his work, Ajahn Geoff is a Buddhist scholar, prolific writer and one of the preeminent contemporary translators of the Pali Canon. Much of his writing can be found on Access to Insight.

Taking Issue

Published
by
Paul
on October 24, 2008
in Buddhism, Four Noble Truths, Suffering and Truth
. 3 Comments

Robin, who works within our school district, was helping a middle-school student with a social studies assignment last week. The student was to do some research on the two presidential candidates. Among other things, he was to list several issues and the candidates’ stands on them.

Finding their ages and places of birth was easy enough. But the kid was stumped when it came to the issues.

“What about health care, education, the war in Iraq?” Robin prodded.

“No, that’s not what I’m supposed to put down,” the kid argued. “It’s supposed to be, like, he talks to much or he’s fat. You know, his issues, why people don’t like him.”

There was no convincing the kid he had it wrong. Because he had misunderstood the language, he misunderstood the assignment.

Gradually over the past few decades, problems - which are so negative - evolved into issues. It’s easier to admit to having issues than it is to admit to having problems. No one wants to hear about our problems, but we can talk about our issues (or someone else’s) without sounding as though we’re complaining. Renaming unpleasant things to make them more palatable may work on a superficial level, but it doesn’t solve anything. Maybe it’s easier not to look at them, but the problems are still there. The suffering they cause is still there, too.

Buddhism is about seeing things as they are, without make-up or through rose-colored glasses. This is much more difficult that it may seem, because our feelings and perceptions and judgements get in the way. Fortunately, we have good instructions from the Buddha about how to deal with the the problems of life. His mission was very focused. He often summed it up by succinctly with the statement: “I teach just one thing. Issues and the end of issues.” Call it what you want, dukkha is still dukkha. Suffering is still suffering. Like it or not it’s what we have. We can’t do anything about it until we understand it for what it is.