Turtle (way of warrior) - who speaks for wolf? Long reply

[Michael Herman]

this posting from a tibetan teacher makes some of my previous points in
much more elegant language.  the compassionate response need not be
passive or even non-violent.  indeed it might be as ruthless as shooting
down a planeful of innocents, as this lama suggests.  what it must,
must, must be, however, is *skillful.*    so the question becomes, is
our military skillful enough to stop these guys without strenghening
them?  on this i vote 'no.'  here is the lama's take on this stuff...

ENORMOUS COMPASSION
An interview with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
September 18, 2001

Question:  People in this country are having many strong
emotional responses to last week's terrorist attacks in New
York City and Washington D.C.  What advice would you give
to someone who came to you overwhelmed with emotion or
feeling anger and a desire for revenge?

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche:  It is natural to have deep
feelings like shock, loss, confusion, or anger.  From the
practice point of view, it is good to allow these feelings,
as we do in the rushen practice, while not losing
connection with oneself.  Allow the grief, allow the anger,
but stay connected also.  It is better to not watch
television too
much since these images can get into your system in a way
that is not very helpful. Instead it would be best to
engage in one's own day-to-day activities in as normal a
way as possible.  Then, when these feelings arise, try to
cultivate compassion for people who have passed away and
their families, as well as for the people who committed the
terrorist acts.

One needs to reflect on one's own side of how these
terrorists came to exist.  Innately every being is good.
How did the evil force awaken in them?  We should pray,"May
this evil force not manifest again."  But also, as
Americans, we need to look honestly at our actions in the
world and reflect on how we have created these enemies. We
mean well, but we do not always have very skillful means.
Perhaps in the future we can have more awareness about our
own behavior and how we create enemies for ourselves.

Also it is important that people from all the different
spiritual communities pray together.  This is very helpful,
to help people come to peace with themselves.  We need to
pray for the people who have lost family members, for the
souls of those who have died, and also for the people who
are afraid of dying.  In Afghanistan, many innocent people
are very afraid, running to the border, trying to get out
and save themselves from being bombed.  We should pray for
them also, not just for our own citizens.  To awaken
compassion fully, it helps to put oneself in the place of
the other.  Can you imagine if, because of something our
government did, another government was about to bomb
Charlottesville?  We would run away and not even know why
we were being attacked.  How frightening that would be for
us.

As for the incidents of extreme hate, of individuals
attacking Sikhs or Indians or people of Middle Eastern
descent, that is just ignorance. If someone cannot tell the
difference between a Sikh and a terrorist, they need more
education.  That is very ignorant behavior.

VOCL: I have heard some community members express concern
about President Bush's apparent rush to go to war.  At a
time like this, as good spiritual practitioners, we do a
lot of practice and prayer, but should we also speak out in
the world even if it means doing so with some anger?

TWR:  From the Buddhist point of view, of course it is
important to not allow strong emotion to cause one to lose
the connection with oneself. At the same time, one should
not ignore the fact of what happened, which is huge.

Actually I have a lot of compassion for the President.  His
job is to worry about the whole country.  This is very
different from a practitioner's point of view or from a
dharma teaching point of view. As an individual
practitioner I can say, "If the airlines shut down, fine,
I'll do my meditation."  But that cannot be the point of
view
of the president.One week shut down, a billion dollars
lost.  Every airline is losing millions of dollars. This
effects the stock market and the whole country. This is the
material world and we are in a capitalist society.  When
the world markets are effected, everybody feels the shake.
This financial structure is an essential part of this
country, its ego and identity. What is happening is
enormous.

It is proper to show the terrorists that what they have
done is not fair.  Karmically they need to pay for it so
the rest of the people understand that it is wrong and not
allowed.  They can't just do it and get out of it, that's
not right.  Of course, the president needs to be very
skillful. The whole world is very vulnerable and there are
lots of sensitive issues.  For example, there are long-term
issues between Pakistan and India, between Muslims and
Christians and Jews.  There are some who are just waiting
for an excuse to get into it. So we pray that the President
is skillful and that innocent people are not hurt.

VOCL:   As Buddhist practitioners, we are non-violent.  How
should one respond when there are bad things in the world?

TWR:  If you see an airplane about to crash into the World
Trade Center, there is no question that if you have the
power to shoot it down, you shoot it down.  You would have
the negative karma of killing the people inside, but you
would save so many other people. Of course, you try to be
as peaceful as possible in the situation.

VOCL:  Many people are doing practice and praying.  For
many this is a great comfort and they feel that they are
helping.  But I have also heard some people express a sense
of despair.  One friend of mine said,"It's so big, a
million mantras can't touch it."  What would you say to
her?

TWR:  There is no limit to compassion, no limit.  Prayer
has no limit. One has to open one's heart to everybody,
bigger and bigger.  As it is said, "Great compassion is to
all sentient beings."  We don't limit it.Prayers are very
important.  Collective prayers especially are very
powerful.

>>From the shamanic or causal vehicle point of view,
important prayers and rituals need to take place.  The
energy of shock in New York City is huge and could be very
negative.  The World Trade Center area is an important
place for the whole country, especially practitioners on
the spiritual path, to focus their prayers on a long-term
basis. Six thousand people, dead in an instant.  Think of
how these people died.
We ourselves are in shock, but we are still alive.  We know
how to come back to our homes, we can eat breakfast and
lunch, we don't end up at somebody else's door.  But with a
death like this, sudden and terrifying, a soul can become
very lost.  We need to pray for them and for a long time.

Even when one is feeling overwhelmed, still one can say, "I
dedicate my practice to all the sentient beings who most
need it. I dedicate to all."  Do not limit who you love.
Dedicate to those who are dead and those who are afraid
they will die.  Dedicate to the Afghani women who are
hungry and thirsty, running away from bombs, with children
in their arms.  Pray for everyone.  Pray, pray, pray, pray,
pray.

VOCL:  One last question, Rinpoche.  Buddha gets up in the
morning and turns on the TV.  The World Trade Center is on
fire and thousands of people are dying.  What does the
Buddha do?

TWR:  The  Buddhas want nothing but peace on this earth and
they continuously send us their blessings.  Since they are
not on one side or the other side, the Buddhas see a
completely different picture. They see the confusion and
ignorance of both sides.  And there is enormous compassion
for everyone. Enormous compassion.



--

Michael Herman
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