Do Something About It!

You see it, or hear it, or feel it, or know it:  the suffering of others.  It is right there in front of you.  Do something about it!

It saddens me with I see the ethics of Buddhism deflate like someone surreptitiously letting the air out of a balloon.  We speak ethically, and try, as best as is convenient for us, to act ethically, but should we find ourselves, our jobs, or our actions un...wait, what was that word again?  I forget what we were talking about.

Happily for those of us that are already meditating, we have a perfect excuse to forget ethics:  we are simply accepting the present moment!  So, if we have a job that is oppressing others, then all we have to do is accept it, and everything is fine.  If we have a bad relationship with a family member, then it is what it is, and that is that, and it is fine.  And if someone in the room with us is suffering, then suffering is part of life, and we know their suffering is impermanent, so it is what it is, and they'll be ok, and let's leave it at that.

I meditate.  That makes me feel calmer than before.  If I feel calmer, that is better for everyone I meet.  I used to dislike my job.  Now I like it.  I get along with my coworkers. Don't mind the fact that I did not like my job because I had to be cruel.  Now I am cruel, but I see the happiness in cruelty.  I am softer with my cruelty.  I don't know why I disliked being cruel in the first place.  Really, being cruel is just as much a part of life as being kind.  Sometimes you have to be cruel. It is a strategy.  It is a movement.  It is beautiful.

Does that sound appealing to you?  Of course it does!  How romantic it sounds to make cruelty something worth discussing as if it were the same thing as being nice or polite.  What a nice Sunday afternoon intellectual snack!

Granted, acting ethically is much more complicated than just opening the door that says, "This way to the right choice."  But, do not, for yourself, for your friends, for your family, and for your world make Buddhism and meditation your excuse to act unethically. 

You gain something from all the reading and practice that you've been doing.  You are in a better position than most to relieve or reduce the suffering of others.  You can handle the likely disruptions and push back that you'll feel if you change your life or resist oppression. 

You see it, or hear it, or feel it, or know it:  the suffering of others.  It does not have to sit there and exist until it dies.  If you recognize suffering, act, intervene.  Do something about it!