Engaged Buddhism
It sort of doesn’t matter what body you inhabit, but then again it does; our body is intrinsic to our identity, and to the push and pull of exactly who we are, with all our struggles to become ourselves, and all the damage inflicted on us as we grow into who we are. Buddhism says welcome, welcome, welcome come just as you are, and yet let it all gently go. Your identity is wider than you can ever imagine: let the fear go, and open your arms. A teacher from a long while ago in 13th century Japan called Dogen said something like:
“To study the Buddha way is to study the self; To study the self is to forget the self; To forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand things; To be enlightened by the ten thousand things is to remove the barrier between self and the others; No trace of enlightenment remains, and this trace continues endlessly.”
And so here we are, called to meet each other, and in some way that’s almost elusive Zen let’s us lay down our defences, but it also marches in step with us in a deeply engaged way, people of colour, white people, gay, straight, trans, city dwellers, country folk, old, young, in good health or poor, impoverished or super rich Avalokiteshvara, the open-handed, the open-hearted Bodhisattva is in step with all of us, is part of us, she hears the cries of the world and responds. She says, “You are part of an infinite circle, reach out and grasp that hand beside you, hey talk to the drunk at the bar next to you, hey speak out against racism; hey don't lift your eyes from the structural inequalities you notice; hey notice the voices that are silenced, raise your voice with theirs.” And that’s what engaged Buddhism is all about, we do not sit quietly in the face of injustice, our hearts and minds are open.
“To study the Buddha way is to study the self; To study the self is to forget the self; To forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand things; To be enlightened by the ten thousand things is to remove the barrier between self and the others; No trace of enlightenment remains, and this trace continues endlessly.”
And so here we are, called to meet each other, and in some way that’s almost elusive Zen let’s us lay down our defences, but it also marches in step with us in a deeply engaged way, people of colour, white people, gay, straight, trans, city dwellers, country folk, old, young, in good health or poor, impoverished or super rich Avalokiteshvara, the open-handed, the open-hearted Bodhisattva is in step with all of us, is part of us, she hears the cries of the world and responds. She says, “You are part of an infinite circle, reach out and grasp that hand beside you, hey talk to the drunk at the bar next to you, hey speak out against racism; hey don't lift your eyes from the structural inequalities you notice; hey notice the voices that are silenced, raise your voice with theirs.” And that’s what engaged Buddhism is all about, we do not sit quietly in the face of injustice, our hearts and minds are open.
