ViaTricycle: Buddhist Teachings for Post-Election Healing

It is not possible To control all external events But, if I simply control my mind, What need is there to control other things? —Shantideva

The anger, fear, and confusion that has rippled through the country for some time came to a head last night when Donald J. Trump was elected the 45th president of the United States. Regardless of your political affiliation, it’s undeniable that the nation has entered uncharted territory. Here in New York City, where Tricycle is headquartered, the tension is palpable.

What do the Buddhist teachings have to offer us in such times of stress, turbulence, and uncertainty? In sum: the radical notion that when we cultivate an equanimous mind, even the most extreme external circumstances do not hold sway. Here are five essays and one video teaching that offer refuge amid great anxiety and change. Consider these pieces a Buddhist “care package” to inspire healing in the often acrimonious and dispiriting atmosphere of the recent political upheaval. May all beings benefit.

Encouragement from 'Abdu'l-Baha:

The darkness of this gloomy night shall pass away. Again the Sun of Reality will dawn from the horizon of the hearts. Have patience, wait but do not sit idle; work while you are waiting; smile when you are wearied with monotony; be firm while everything around you is being shaken; be joyous while the ugly face of despair grins at you; speak aloud while the malevolent forces of the nether world try to crush your mind; be valiant and courageous while men all around you are cringing with fear and cowardice. Do not yield to the overwhelming power of tyranny and despotism. Serve the cause of democracy and freedom. Continue your journey to the end. The bright day is coming. The nucleus of the new race is forming. The harbinger of the new ideals of international justice is appearing. The trees of hope will become verdant; the copper of scorn and derision will be transmuted into the gold of honor and praise; the arid desert of ignorance will be transformed into the luxuriant garden of knowledge; the threatening clouds shall be dispelled and the stars of faith and charity will again twinkle in the clear heaven of consciousness." 

- Abdu'l-Baha , Baha'i Scriptures, p. 547

Via Lgbt-Community at The Vault / FB:

and that's how democracy dies

25.6% voted Clinton
25.5% voted Trump
46.9% didn't vote

and that's how democracy dies
(https://twitter.com/marcmaron/status/796444411492061185?s=09)

Via JMG: NOM Issues Plan To Work With Donald Trump For “Inevitable Reversal” Of Same-Sex Marriage Ruling

November 9, 2016 Christianists, Hate Groups, Marriage Equality

And pretty much every other LGBT advance achieved by the Obama administration. From hate group leader Brian Brown:

Donald Trump has won a historic election, an unprecedented victory that has turned the establishment upside down. We heartily congratulate him and his team on their incredible win. President-elect Trump will now turn his attention to governing, and NOM is committed to working with him. We are confident that our voice and our views will be important in a Trump administration.

Here is our plan:

We will work with President Trump to nominate conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, individuals who will adhere to the words and meaning of the constitution. Such justices will inevitably reverse the anti-constitutional ruling of the Supreme Court imposing same-sex ‘marriage’ on the nation in the Obergefell decision, because that decision lacked any basis in the constitution.

We will work with President Trump to rescind the illegal, over-reaching executive orders and directives issued by President Obama, including his dangerous “gender identity” directives, attempting to redefine gender just as he sought to redefine marriage.

We will work with President Trump to reverse policies of the Obama administration that seek to coerce other countries into accepting same-sex ‘marriage’ as a condition of receiving US assistance and aid. It is fundamentally wrong for a president to become a lobbyist for the LGBT agenda, and we are confident that will end in the Trump administration.

We will work with President Trump and Congress to pass the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), which Mr. Trump supports. FADA is critical legislation to protect people who believe in marriage from being targeted by the government for persecution.

This is a bright and exciting time for NOM, and we are committed to taking full advantage of the opportunity we have. Our voice and our views matter to the incoming administration, and that means your voice and views matter.

To make sure that we can influence the policy debates that are coming, we need to step-up our communications. The first step is to grow our presence on social media. Please act today to follow NOM and me on Twitter, and to like us on Facebook.

It only takes a few seconds to follow us on Twitter and to like us on Facebook, but doing so will help us increase our ability to educate and mobilize our supporters.
We’re excited about the future, and we are looking forward to work with the Trump administration to restore marriage, uphold gender, protect religious liberty and promote families.

NOM remains the sole national hate group to support the First Amendment Defense Act. The Family Research Council, the Liberty Counsel, and the American Family Association all withdrew their support after new language was added which would also legalize discriminating against married straight couples on the the basis of “sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction.”

Make the jump here to read the original and more at JMG

Via Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma / November 10, 2016: Learning From Anger

When we approach our feelings of anger with awareness, with mindfulness, it becomes a productive part of our practice. We find, after all, that anger has something to teach us.

—Jules Shuzen Harris Sensei, "Uprooting the Seeds of Anger"

 

the invitation has arrived

to step into our courage

and our full humanity

 

from this day forward

the harm can only unfold

and multiply and spread

 

with our silence

with our consent

with our participation

 

we will not be silent

we do not consent and

we will not participate

in legitimating violence, lies and division

 

the love that we are

the love that connects us all

the love that bends history

even in this dark moment

towards liberation 

 

We are one 

we are many and

we are one

it is time 

dear friends 

the revolution of love

must be completed 

 

And it is only possible 

if on this day

we commit our lives 

to walking the hard road 

because there is now only one way forward 

 

adapted from work by Taj James, founder and Executive Director of the Movement Strategy Center

Join us for a Special Charter for Compassion Conference Call: After the Election

 

Thursday, November 10 at 11:30 am https://zoom.us/webinar/register/36baa35b64dee048c5b9141539e44ee6 

 

A discussion about compassion and how we are called to act following a US election season that has brought out strains of racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and bigotry. How can we heal? How are we called to action? What can we bring to the mission of making compassion a luminous force?

 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

 

Via Ram Dass

 

The enlightened being, or the person that’s awakened, realizes that the game is to walk through the path and leave no footprint. Leave no footprint because whatever footprint you leave is just more karmic stuff. Do what you do, but do it so purely. They say in the Tao, “The leader who leads best leads so that at the end, you think you did it yourself.” The next best leader you admire, the next best you fear, and the worst leader pays you.

Via Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma / November 9, 2016: Anger, Sans Storyline

When you feel the fear and you feel the rage in meditation, there’s no storyline. There’s just the experience of the arising and passing away of the emotions and the sensations in the body, and seeing how they relate to one another.

—Gavin Harrison, "Lotus in the Fire"

Via Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma / November 8, 2016: The Buddha’s Ballot Box

If Buddha had added a ninth practice to the Eightfold Path, it might have been Right Voting. Voting is a manifestation of the law of interdependence: Each of our actions, no matter how small, affects the whole cosmos. Our votes count.

—Susan Moon, "Ten Practices to Change the World"

Krishna Das - Om Namah Shivaya (Complete)

Krishna Das reflects on K.K.'s relationship with the Saints of India (Deva Bhumi Preview #2)

Via Spirit Science / FB:

Via Sri Prem Baba:

Via Daily Dharma / November 7, 2016: Fostering the Love Within Us

In reality, love is a quality of our heart. The heart has no other function. If we were aware that we all contain love within us, and that we can foster and develop it, we would certainly give that far more attention than we do.

—Ayya Khema, "What Love Is"

Via Liberal America / FB: