Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
Service in Engaged Buddhism
Simonthepilgrim
Veteran
@mindatrisk :
In a thread now rightly closed because it went off-topic and rudely transgressed against our dear Lincoln - and I had no idea what it was all about despite my many years on various boards - I commented:
" Become a servant rather than a leader and devote your service to the poor, asking them first what you can do for them, looking them in the eye and cherishing the menial task over the flashy project."
You asked:
"Interesting, but why do you think this? "
Before I was able to reply, the thread was diverted from the subject of how we, as Buddhists, 'engage'. I dare, therefore, start another thread on the topic and address your question.
I am not sure which part of my short statement you are asking about so I shall dissect it and try to explain:
"Become a servant rather than a leader": service to others without taking any sort of leadership role, particularly without inventing a leader's place for oneself engenders humility and assists in the long task of deny the illusion of 'self' and its centrality in our life and action.
"devote your service to the poor": nothing is more important in this unequal world than to place oneself at the disposal of the dispossessed. They are the Buddha's cherished children weeping in the night. Bring them the light of your attention and your smile. They are the casualties of the terrorism of the capitalist marketplace and there is no greater service than to bind up their wounds as best we can.
"asking them first what you can do for them": do not imagine that you know what they need. If you are to serve, you must allow them to call the tune. This is to offer them the preferential option and avoids the risk of patronising and alienating them.
" looking them in the eye": the real gift that we can give each other is to affirm another's value. If, for example, you meet a vagrant, a beggar, a street person, and your pockets are empty, you can at least learn their name, herar their story and, if they permit it, hold their hand for a few minutes. Remembering their name and using it next time you meet them, as you would with any friend, means so much more than a few coins.
"cherishing the menial task over the flashy project": once again this goes against ego-satisfaction. The image that stays with me from my days as an altar boy is the Maundy Thursday washing of the feet and to see Francis doing it this year, washing and kissing the feet of young prisoners in a youth detention centre brought me to tears. The flashy project may get you the plaudits of the crowd but it is the menial task that is genuinely Buddha-like.
In writing this, I realise how far I fall short of this ideal. I may know the names of all our street people and I may do what little I can, age impairing my action to some extent, but these are the goals I set myself when I first came across the work of Joanna Macy and Thich Nhat Hanh, and felt my heart warmed by the very notion that Buddhism could (and, IMO, should) be "engaged".
With many blessings on all who serve and do not count the cost nor ask for any reward except to know that they have brought some loving compassion into a dark world.
In a thread now rightly closed because it went off-topic and rudely transgressed against our dear Lincoln - and I had no idea what it was all about despite my many years on various boards - I commented:
" Become a servant rather than a leader and devote your service to the poor, asking them first what you can do for them, looking them in the eye and cherishing the menial task over the flashy project."
You asked:
"Interesting, but why do you think this? "
Before I was able to reply, the thread was diverted from the subject of how we, as Buddhists, 'engage'. I dare, therefore, start another thread on the topic and address your question.
I am not sure which part of my short statement you are asking about so I shall dissect it and try to explain:
"Become a servant rather than a leader": service to others without taking any sort of leadership role, particularly without inventing a leader's place for oneself engenders humility and assists in the long task of deny the illusion of 'self' and its centrality in our life and action.
"devote your service to the poor": nothing is more important in this unequal world than to place oneself at the disposal of the dispossessed. They are the Buddha's cherished children weeping in the night. Bring them the light of your attention and your smile. They are the casualties of the terrorism of the capitalist marketplace and there is no greater service than to bind up their wounds as best we can.
"asking them first what you can do for them": do not imagine that you know what they need. If you are to serve, you must allow them to call the tune. This is to offer them the preferential option and avoids the risk of patronising and alienating them.
" looking them in the eye": the real gift that we can give each other is to affirm another's value. If, for example, you meet a vagrant, a beggar, a street person, and your pockets are empty, you can at least learn their name, herar their story and, if they permit it, hold their hand for a few minutes. Remembering their name and using it next time you meet them, as you would with any friend, means so much more than a few coins.
"cherishing the menial task over the flashy project": once again this goes against ego-satisfaction. The image that stays with me from my days as an altar boy is the Maundy Thursday washing of the feet and to see Francis doing it this year, washing and kissing the feet of young prisoners in a youth detention centre brought me to tears. The flashy project may get you the plaudits of the crowd but it is the menial task that is genuinely Buddha-like.
In writing this, I realise how far I fall short of this ideal. I may know the names of all our street people and I may do what little I can, age impairing my action to some extent, but these are the goals I set myself when I first came across the work of Joanna Macy and Thich Nhat Hanh, and felt my heart warmed by the very notion that Buddhism could (and, IMO, should) be "engaged".
With many blessings on all who serve and do not count the cost nor ask for any reward except to know that they have brought some loving compassion into a dark world.
20
Comments
So eloquent. This brought me to tears.
Much metta,
Raven
Why do we think and feel this way? Poverty of self, rather than a rich self?
http://www.buddhapadipa.org/dhamma-corner/poverty-is-suffering/
Why meditate? To empty our self cherishing . . . so simple . . .
Be kind. The best for me, you and life as we know it IMHO :wave:
Naturally, given my disposition, as well as the nature of a discussion board, I have some questions and gentle challenges (shock horror!). I am in a bit of a hurry now, but i'll write what I can and return if unfinished later. In fact, what i'll do is make a few brief points that immediately come to mind and then see where the discussion takes us from there.
The first point is that some men and women throughout history do take on a position of leadership because they themselves recognise their capacity to do so. Jesus, Buddha, Gandhi, MLK, and others all assumed positions of leadership, not because of ego, but because of the greatest humility possible... to give up their whole lives to be of service to the benefit of as many as possible.
Devoting ourselves to the poor does not necessarily need to be a direct service. I've worked with addicts for the last 3 years, and I can see very clearly that the resources used to help them would be much better utilised by focusing on developing our communities and preventing substance abuse. Likewise, I think we need to get to the root of issues rather than tackle symptoms. I'm interested in how we can help to heal the business mind - a very self cherishing mind that is responsible for so much of the poverty in our world. If we can heal that mind then it will be much, much easier to relieve poverty than by simply trying to feed people one by one.
'Cherishing the menial task over the flashy project'... this to me is a matter of perception. For example, I have recently begun self publishing a magazine of social and Dharma messages for my local town - you may see this as flashy, but to me it is simply another simple effort to reach out to as many as possible. I am more motivated by ideas than by simple acts of kindness because I want to help as many as possible. I've done the menial tasks over and over and over with addicts, and it doesn't get us very far. They need to be balanced by much wider and more comprehensive action. This might be perceived as 'flashy', but a big project doesn't equate to a 'flashy' project, it's just a more expansive way of helping others.
If everyone thought like you then our world would be heaven. Alas, most don't, and so, my personal feeling is that our efforts for good must be as committed and expansive as those who create the harm on this planet. Again, that is just my own personal feeling. I am greatly encouraged to know that there are souls such as yours doing divine work. Thank you again, may infinite blessings arise in your lives forever. We are all better for your being here.
Please do not think that my words were in any way a criticism of your undertakings. How could they be? You and those you serve are the only ones competent to comment. As you mention Christianity, it is worth noticing that it is the poor, hungry and disinherited who will be our judges.
As you say, there are some in history who have assumed leadership roles. The problem is not so much with them but more with their followers and the institutions that spring up in their wake. No leader can so safeguard their legacy as to stop it falling into the hands of merchants and thieves.
Having spent many years as companion and counsellor to people suffering addictions, I agree entirely that resources are often wasted. That we cannot see apparently positive results from 'menial' tasks may be a result of our own short-sightedness. My time as an AIDS buddy did not cure anyone but I believe that it healed a few wounds and made my buddies more comfortable: that is the best I could hope for.
It seems to me important that Buddhism develop an engaged mind. For too long and in too many places it has been too detached from the needy within societies of greatest need in Asia. The encounter with Western social action has brought a new and powerful dimension to the understanding of the Noble Eightfold Path just as the Enlightenment transformed Christianity, giving birth to a new commitment to the anawim, the poor and marginalised.
Thank you for your kind words, however unearned.
I was just sat on a bus opposite a blind man and his guide dog. It struck me that once upon a time someone suggested training a dog to guide blind men around... HA! Imagine how that initial idea was received! This man also had a device that was speaking to him letting him know where he was - some GPS navigation thing. When I got off the bus I saw those little nobbled paving slabs that let blind people know where a road crossing is... Isn't this incredible? I mean, there are so few blind people, and yet we have paved our whole society to accommodate them. Our kindness is incredible. The things we do and the extents we go to to help others. It blows my mind.
This is why I see no more nobility in small acts of kindness as opposed large acts of kindness. Paving a whole society for the benefit of a tiny percentage is an unbelievable act of kindness on a quite unimaginable scale - the cost and the effort required to achieve this kindness will have been incredible, but it is what was needed to be done. It was not about ego, it was not about credit, it was not about being flashy, it was simply a problem that needed a solution, and it just so happened to be a big solution. I too am proposing BIG solutions - not because of my ego, not because I want everyone to hail me, but because we have problems big enough to require these such big solutions. If that means I position myself as a leader then so be it.
At some point our compassion must become more important than how we fear others will perceive us. If we have the will and if we believe we have the capacity to affect large change then we should hold no fear in attempting to. If we feel that we are limited in either will or capacity then it is more than enough to just do our best. Can I ask, do you feel that you have done the best given what you have been endowed with? Do you feel that you have more potential but that their are obstacles that restrict you? Do you see the Christ / Buddha in you and all the potential endowed in that?
I love this quote from Marianne Williamson. It sums up my feelings around this subject...
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
That said, I've been on the lookout, so to speak, about doing something more to "engage" as a Buddhist. There's a recycled bike shop near my house that acts to help local kids get into cycling and promotes a healthy lifestyle, though taking kids on mountain bike rides in the mountains and stuff. I've thought about hooking up with those folks.
There's always feeding the poor and helping the homeless, too, and there are plenty of those opportunities for engagement there.
I've also thought it might be kind of a neat idea to form a group who's purpose is to support Buddhists who are dying and their families through practice, counseling, etc ....
I mean, I have to do something and I can't kill Lobster .........
Sounds like the same thing I used to get from eating a handful of mushrooms.
Safety first!
Ironically, one day outside of my Bangkok condo, one of the transformers blew up and we were without electricity. I thought that knowing Thailand it might be days before it was replaced and we would again have electricity. Imagine my surprise when a crew arrived in less than half an hour, and in slightly more than an hour they had replaced the transformer and the electricity was back on!
Since moving into Detroit, I think about my place as a recent transplant to the city and I find myself wary of trying to "lead" anything because - what the hell do I know? There are a lot of people leading a lot of different efforts that I don't know about and have no experience with. So I've been thinking a lot about how I'm going to transition back to being a great servant, and where I want to put that effort.
YAY!