Free

With palms together


Good Morning Everyone,



“Buddhism is a religion of action, not of words that so often mean nothing…peaceful sit-in demonstrations are examples of great action in silence. …Nothing will ever be achieved unless action is taken.” Rev. Dr. Soyu Matsuoka-roshi, The Kyosaku, p. 319



Matsuoka is referring to the protests against segregation in America during the sixties. His point, though, is simple and straight forward: we are not simply meditators. Followers of the Buddha Way have an obligation to act in the face of evil. Buddhism, he says, is a religion of action, and so it is. Any word would be a waste of breath. Silence is thunder, he used to say. But silence in a certain way. Silence with an attitude.



What is the attitude? The attitude of Zen: still, courageous, and upright.



These days far too many of us are complacent. We have truly become sheep or worse. We are either sleepwalking through life or busily burying our heads in the sand while all around us bad things are happening. From a slow erosion of human rights to an erosion of civility to an erosion of care for others to outright hostility toward those with whom we may disagree: we are becoming a world of beings lost in the three poisons.



We are afraid to say no and we are afraid to say yes. The common denominator is fear. We do not want to rock the boat. We do not want to be the one’s who others look at, the one’s on the front line.



When I think about it, I get a sick feeling. Segregation and racism are still with us. War has been a constant part of our lives. People are homeless, without medical care or coverage, and we do not trust our neighbors. Not much has changes since the days of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Martin Luther King, and our efforts to end hunger and homelessness.



In this land of the free, we give up, and to be safe, we elect to live in cages. Where is a good Zen Master when you really need her?



Be well.