Buddha in the Time of Trump

[JudyM]

Last edited Fri Dec 2, 2016, 01:55 PM - Edit history (1)

...During our brief morning practice, I took in some of the Shambala teachings which, reduced to their simplest possible form, emphasized human goodness. “Humanity at the core is complete, good, and worthy” are the first words you read on the website of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, a well-known Tibetan Buddhist teacher, scholar, and marathon runner...

He further writes that “the Shambala tradition believes in the inherent wisdom, compassion, and courage of all beings. It holds that these noble qualities are ultimately more stable than aggression and greed.”...

Goodness and compassion have been on my mind since March, when I confidently predicted that “Donald Trump won’t be the next president of the United States” because the “better angels of our nature” would prevail. The “better angels” phrase appeared at the end of Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address, delivered just before the start of the Civil War, in 1861.

I thought the good angels would prevail at the ballot box, and that Americans would not bestow the awesome powers of the presidency on a broken, angry man like Donald Trump.

...The better angels abandoned us, and suffering continues apace. I look back at my uncharacteristically optimistic March column, and think of the famous final line of Ernest Hemingway’s novel, “The Sun Also Rises:” Wasn’t it pretty to think so?

https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2016/11/25/buddha-time-trump/rtRN31X2sAlc1d1kB2MlxJ/story.html

A sad truth. Anyone else finding equanimity more challenging than usual these days? Finding refuge in the DU sangha...