Compassion--- the East and the Beast (even though I really don't like that term)

Jai guru Beatles om... 

This is a little something how my last several hours have gone:

Me: Really? Really? That Bump is a sneaky guy--- having us read all of this on compassion and non-violence and world acceptance and inner-peace.

My roommate: What are you muttering about over there?

Me: Nothing--- just the irony of the world. Of course we would save this reading until the end of the semester, when we probably all need it most, because honestly I can say that out of my entire life, notwithstanding the big ticket items like when I found out there were famine and genocide in the world, have I ever felt so little inner peace and compassion in my own personal life... and having to read Fanon's Wretched of the Earth yesterday for Western Civ. didn't help at all. I believe the direct quote of what we talked about this morning was: “Violence is man re-creating himself.” (Fanon) ... Yeah. I had almost been convinced that no political system worked (capitalism, fascism, communism, nothing) because something about human nature kept making us want things beyond what we already wanted, and there was no way we were ever going to let ourselves be happy. And now I get a little dose of what I used to think about the world, about spirit and body being connected and about having peace in life even despite all these other ideas. I think I'm even more confused now than I was before. 

Roommate: You're just getting pulled in all kinds of directions, aren't you? That Bump--- he's a wily one. 

Me: I know, right?  That's what I said. But at the end of the day, I think I'd rather shave my head and join a Buddhist monastery than buy into a system that makes me do things I don't believe in. I'd be the person putting flowers in the end of rifles or laying down in front of the people with clubs to get beat down. I guess you don't really last that long that way either, huh? 

 Roommate: Well I support you either way, but don't pull the Sinead O'Connor, please. You have a weird shaped head. But I will give you this---- you do look good in orange. And as for the rest of it... I guess that is the price you pay for being the one who believes in non-violence in a world that doesn't believe it is possible. 

Now fast-forward to think about all the things going on in the world today, and all the ways we think about ourselves in that world: Syria, Tunisia, Egypt, Lybia, Yemen... and I could go on. Think of all the people who have direct violence as something they see in their everyday lives. (And I don't just mean like what we do to ourselves where we watch violent tv shows... or the news... with some kind of weird fascination.) Think about the kinds of people who put their own body on the line for an ideal, or on another level, for their neighbor, or even some person a hundred miles away who they have never met. To some of us, it seems unfathomable.

A protester placed a flower in the barrel of a gun during a demonstration outside the headquarters of ousted Tunisian President Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali’s Constitutional Democratic Rally Party in Tunis, Tunisia, Thursday.

But I'd like to take that one step further, and focus on the fundamental and simple ideals of Eastern traditions of Jainism, Taoism, Confucianism, etc., for those of us who are lucky and blessed enough to be able to not be in the midst of this violence--- those of us lucky enough to not really have to put our ideals (or our lives) on the line, and who don't have to make the decision of non-violence in the face of violence. We have that luxury. Be aware of that.
So, here are our fundamental truths, right, which are so designed to give us some wiggle-room (much appreciated). And now I'm talking about ahimsa, here, for all intents and purposes... ":

This and the Golden Rule, the only 2 passages of the Bible
I don't have a problem with.

"1. Do not kill. Do not let others kill. Find whatever means possible to protect life.
2. Always speak truthfully and constructively. Resist injustice even if it may threaten your own safety.
3.Make every effort to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, big or small, peacefully and by consensus.
4. Do not make the accumulation of wealth an aim of your life. Live simply and share time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need.
5. There is no absolute truth. No doctrine, theory, or ideology is perfect.
6. Practice nonattachment to views. Remain open to recieve others' viewpoints. Do not force others to adopt your views.
7. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering.
8. Do not maintain anger and hatred. As soon as they arise, concentrate on your breathing to see their nature." (336)
Even if we're all willing to admit that absolute ahimsa isn't possible, we should still strive towards increased peace, right? Rights?
Think of those people in the world that you may not know. (And those animals you don't know, either, that are just as much a part of the ecosystem, of nature, of life energy and universal energy.) What about them, right?

Or.... on the other hand, those who would rather set their own bodies on fire than do so to their neighbors... I don't necessarily advocate this, because this is violence to self, but needless to say, the graphicness and power of self-immolation, as it is designed to do, certainly make us feel compassion, and certainly those who endure it are capable of both feeling and completely displacing their pain. 

Journalist Malcolm Browne's photograph of Thích Quảng Đức during his self-immolation to protest persecution of Buddhists in Vietnam in 1963. It is widely regarded as an act of compassion, and he is widely regarded as a bodhisattva. Compassion (form Latin: "co-suffering") is a virtue--- one in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy (for the suffering of others) are regarded as a part of love itself, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnectedness and humanism--- foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood." (319)
Can we Westerners even begin to fathom this? I'd like to think so. 

"For the most part, the worldviews associated with the Western Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have created a dominantly human-focused morality. Because these worldviews are largely anthropocentric, nature is viewed as being of secondary importance." (324)

When Christian/Islamic symbolism meets ahimsa. 

While in "The East Asian traditions of Confucianism and Taoism... there is a cosmology of continuity of creation stressing the dynamic movements of nature through the seasons and the agricultural cycles, with a basis for appreciating the profound interconnection of matter and spirit. To be in harmony with nature and with other humans while being attentive to the movements of the Tao (Way) is the aim of personal cultivation." (325)

Just think about it. I'm not saying you absolutely have to do anything, but if you're one of those people who read the I Ching or the Tao... or even just today's readings, and had trouble even knowing where to begin to understand, then A) spend some time in reflection and take it slow and break it down. It's going to take some suspended disbelief, an open-mind, and a new way of thinking. It's good for you. And B) Come talk to me. I won't pretend to be any kind of expert (or even the least bit knowledgeable), but it'd be a dang good, thought-provoking conversation, and we could all use a few more of those in our lives. 

Even with all this, I tend to be the idealist who thinks that love is the answer to anything, pure, unadulterated, blind, without questions or desire love. I think the Beatles were right. All you need IS love... and the strength to take a beating when nobody is willing to listen to you.