Weathering This World Gone Mad

A Buddhist, a Christian, and a Hindu Agree on How

Global warming, AI, unbalanced world leaders…. No wonder we are, at best, worried and, at worst, terrified. 

But can you somehow make the best of all this both for yourself and your loved ones and for the world at large? The answer is yes. 

The beloved Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn has written that you will do both by simply acting with love and compassion. For much of the Buddhist world, this is personified in the age-old character of the woman Quan Yin or Guanyin – a Bodhisattva, or a person on the path to becoming a Buddha. On hearing the cries of the world, Quan Yin spent her entire life acting with mercy. The 12th century Benedictine nun, Hildegard of Bingen, exemplified this in her tireless efforts to heal those who suffered and to speak her truth to power. The late Kashmiri yogi, Gopi Krishna, summarized this simply: If want to make personal progress on the spiritual path and, also, make the world a better place, you do not need to go to extremes. You only need to live a healthy, balanced life; meditate or pray moderately, and be of selfless service for even an hour a day. 



As a good friend pointed out to me yesterday, this does not have to be a big deal. It can be as simple as driving a senior to an appointment. Or it can be a big deal, like passionately dedicating a day each week to a great social justice cause. If you are a “have”, you just have to spend a little time doing what you can for those who “have not”. This obviously benefits the world. But you only have to try it out to discover just how much it will benefit you.