BUDDHA'S OBSERVATIONS

Many of us think our parents are/were the most controlling people ever.  But none of them was half as controlling as the father of a young man in India in the 600's.  Siddhartha Gautama, who later became the Buddha, was a prince whose father kept him insulated in a sort of cocoon of wealth and privilege and he never saw – until he was in his 30’s! -- what are called the four passing sights: old age, sickness, death or a wise person.  But as the Jeff Goldblum character said in the movie Jurassic Park, 'life has a way of happening.'  Siddhartha, according to legend, witnessed all four of those in one day.  It was as if reality smacked him in the face and he realized, for the first time, that life as he knew it was based on a falsehood.  He was so shocked and moved by the suffering he saw, that he left home to find a ‘cure.'  He  left a life of luxury and became an ascetic, someone who gives up all creature comforts and lives in the woods.  But after several years of that, he ‘woke up’ to the fact that he’d just gone from one extreme to the other and had to find the middle path, something in between.  So, he sat under a tree, meditate for over 40 days, and then reached enlightenment or Buddha.  And that’s why he’s called The Buddha, the enlightened or aware one. 

So what did he become aware of?  Author Huston Smith likened the Buddha to a doctor.  We go to the doctor because something’s wrong, something hurts us.  The first thing a doctor wants to know is what’s the problem?  Once we describe the problem, the doctor will try to figure out what’s causing the problem.  Once s/he has a diagnosis of the problem, then s/he will know how to cure the problem.  Then, the doctor will give you a prescription for medicine which will make you better.  That’s exactly what The Buddha does with life!

He came away from his days of meditating with what is called The Four Noble Truths.  The problem, said the Buddha, is this:

1)      Life includes suffering.  You can’t avoid it, dodge it, pretend it doesn’t exist.  Everyone experiences suffering in our lives! 

So, what’s causing the suffering, asked Dr. Buddha?

2)      Our suffering is caused by our ‘clinginess’, our attachment to the way things are right now.   Life is ever changing, nothing stays the same, emotions, lives, even what we’re comprised of as humans are fleeting.  Everything is in flux, is impermanent.  But still, we try to hold on as if we can keep this moment/experience/person forever. 

Okay, so, what’s the solution, the cure?

 3)      Let go!  Let go of your clinginess, your attempt to grasp and keep things just as they are.  Recognize that everything changes and you can’t hold on to/cling to/attach to things as they are.

 Easier said than done!  What’s the prescription for doing that?

4)      Follow the 8-fold path.  Buddha was the first self-help guru.  He said if you follow these 8 (not always easy) steps in your everyday life, your life – this life, not some distant time after death, this life will be better.

 WOW!  Cool!  8 steps to a better life!! (Sounds like a title for an article in one of a million magazines.)  What are they, you ask?  Here’s what they are: 

1)      Correct understanding.  Similar to any 12 step program, the first thing you need to do is recognize you have a problem.  How can you change things if you don’t think you need to change?

 2)      Correct motivation.  Now that you are aware that there’s a problem, be willing to do something about it.

 3)      Correct speech.  The way you talk and the words you use in your everyday life have an effect on you and the world around you.  If I’m constantly bad mouthing people, gossiping, or using derogatory language that puts people – or myself – down, then I create an atmosphere that’s negative, hurtful, and destructive.  I never understood the rhyme growing up that said: “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me.”  I always thought – and I think the Buddha would agree with me on this – that it should say: “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can hurt far longer.”  However, positive speech, words of encouragement and love, help us and those around us tremendously.

4)      Correct actions.  The Buddha recognized that it wasn’t just what we said, but what we did in our everyday life that made a difference around us.  Interestingly, scientists are beginning to prove that he was right!  Our actions as well as our speech, do effect our health, our attitude, our ability to ‘bounce back’ from adversity.

5)      Correct job.  The Buddha took it one step further.  He said that the kind of job you do makes a difference to you and the world around you.  He was, perhaps, the first environmentally conscious leader.  He said there are certain jobs that are detrimental to life.  In his day it was leather tanning because the chemicals used hurt the skin and also the earth.  Today, he might include chemical bomb manufacturing or the tobacco industry.

6)      Correct effort.  I’m always interested that effort is here – not bak with understanding and motivation.  I suspect because he recognized something else about human nature: we start off with great enthusiasm and interest, but it begins to wane a bit after awhile or when the going gets tough.  I always start going to the gym with a great deal of commitment, which maybe lasts two weeks.  And then I begin to find excuses to slough off.  The Buddha reminds me to keep on keepin’ on, particularly as the last two steps are the most difficult!

7)      Correct mindfulness/attention.  How often do we sit at a meal and do something else while we eat?  Perhaps we read the newspaper, or watch TV, talk to others, or text?  When we’re doing that, we’re not paying attention or savoring the food we’re eating!  Now, there are certain foods – for me it’s potato chips, butterscotch pudding or Hagaan Daz chocolate ice cream, that I DO savor.  I’m aware of each bite, where it falls on the tongue, how it feels in the mouth, the sweetness or saltiness is appreciated completely.  But do we pay attention like that every day with every moment of our lives?  Are we aware, for example, of the light or the air on our body as we walk outside?  Do we give our full attention to the people in our lives? Are we engaged in listening to them then and there, or do we do what I sometimes did when my kids told me a long involved story – I thought about dinner, or emails or work?  If we were to pay attention to the everyday life around us, we would be so very grateful and that gratefulness in us would affect others as well.  THAT’S what the Buddha was getting at! 

8)      Correct meditation.  To help us become more mindful, more aware of the impermanence of life, more compassionate toward all life, said the Buddha, is to meditate.  Focus on your breathing, in and out, sitting or standing, as a practice everyday.  Try to let go of your ‘monkey mind’ which is a jumble of a million thoughts, and just be.  As Terry Ward writes in his article “IT Starts with a Breath”,  “concentrating on breath has a unique, calming effect.  By focusing our minds on the act of breathing and nothing else, somehow or another, we come out of that exercise better able to think more clearly.  We feel better, too, at least momentarily.” (p. 119)  And, again, scientists who have been studying meditators find there is enough data to show that there are improvements to health and well-being from mediation.

Buddha was never concerned with whether there is a God or not.  And he didn’t think there was any ‘soul’ at all.  Not even that was a thing.  The Buddha had what people today call the KISS approach: Keep It Simple, Stupid.  Focus on how to stop suffering and be compassionate toward all right now, in this moment, in this lifetime.  He likened it to a person who gets an arrow in their side.  It hurts!  Will they stand there pondering where it came from, who shot it, why did they shoot it, what did they do wrong to deserve this?  No!  the first concern is to get the arrow out!  And that’s what the Buddha offered: a solution to the problem of pain.

One of the stories I like most about the Buddha is one in which a woman whose son has died comes to him and asks him to bring her son back from the dead.  The Buddha says, “Okay, but first find me a house that has not been touched by death.”  The woman goes valiantly from house to house searching.  Of course, she finds out that every house has been touched by death.  What changes for her is not her circumstance.  What changes for her is her view of her circumstance.  And really, that’s the only thing we can change.

Maybe a psychologist would say it all came from Buddha having control issues with his father.  But we all have control issues.  And ultimately, the only thing we do have control over is how we view and deal with the situations of life.  Buddha’s 8 steps certainly help!

ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS

This is the season of beginnings and ends.  So my mind, for a number of weeks and a number of reasons have been thinking of both.

A few weeks ago, I was explaining to my students the difference in the way western and eastern religions see life and death.  From a western perspective, it's like a time line:  we're born, we live, we die, and then, depending upon our behavior in this life, we are judged by God go to a heaven or a hell.  (Judaism is an exception because in Judaism, unlike any other religion I know of, there is almost no focus at all on what happens after death.  "I set before thee life and death.  Choose life" says God, according to the biblical injunction in Deuteronomy 30.19.)  But there's certainly no coming back alive.  It's a straight path, a term used in Islam.

In the eastern religions of Hinduism and Buddhism life and death are cyclical.  You're born, you live, you die, you're born again.  What life form you're born into and the situations you experience  in life are determined simply and only by the actions, good or bad,  you did in previous lives.  That's what karma is, 'your' actions.  There is no judge, no god, no jury that determines your path.  It's simply cause and effect.

All of that is theoretically quite fascinating and plausible.  But the day after I explained that to my class, 20 little kids and 6 helping adults were slaughtered in their school.  And suddenly the theoretical - for either traditions -- paled as answers to this situation. 

The western answer, the promise of heaven, evokes for me the response of Dostoevsky's character Ivan Illych who collected stories of abused children and claimed that if that was the cost of entry into heaven, then he respectfully returns the ticket to God.  He doesn't want any part of it. Nor do I.

The eastern traditions suggest that 'they (or their parents) must have done something in their previous lives' and this is the result.  That, to me, is too harsh.   I cannot and will not blame the victim.  

And yet, when a Hindu scholar, explained it to me in a larger context, there is perhaps some merit.  In answer to my question regarding the Hindu understanding of the death of those 26,  he wrote: 

"In the larger context, our deeds as a Society or  nation on others come back to haunt us, current and future generations. We all as a nation, society, community and individuals are going to remain responsible for the actions on and sufferings of the children and the people in general in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. A peaceful society and even handedness remain the cornerstone of good deed of individuals, community, Society and the nation.

Look at the ending of the leadership of Iraq, Libya, etc that inflicted so much harm to its own people and the way they suffered in their own life time. 

Our children  and the society in general pay the price of our evolving gun culture and mighty fire power of the so called  powerful individuals and Society.

The helpless children and people who lose their life for no fault of their own, are seen to have an incomplete life. However, their souls may become dearer to God and take rebirth or go to heaven  for eternal peace of their soul."

And I must admit that I agree with him, particularly looking at the history of violence and gun use in this country.  Even most recently the subject of, and audience reaction to, Quentin Tarrentino's movie, Django Unchained reminds me that our societal karma of gun violence comes back to bite us and our children in the bottom.  What goes around eventually does come around.

But why those little children?  And for that matter, why any of the children, around the world, who daily are slaughtered by gun violence, war, malnourishment,  disease, poverty, lack of education?  Why aren't we up in arms for those innocents as well?

I don't have answers.  My job is to explain the answers given by religions around the world.  Answers that attempt to provide meaning and context to our lives.  And though the answers may be different in each religion -- and even within each religion -- the questions each tradition grapples with are the same:  what happens after death?  Why is their suffering?  Why me?  Why the innocent?  Why evil?  Where's good?   

Still, I don't have answers.  I just know this is the season of endings and beginnings and I, like most everyone else, am trying to figure out how to make sense of both as I  live life to the best of my ability in between.

May 2013 miraculously turn out to be a year of peace and good will to all children.

WHO KNEW? BODHI DAY, HANNUKAH AND CHRISTMAS

 The celebration of Christmas, the Buddha's enlightenment, and the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah all fall around this time of year.  And while there are significant differences between these three holidays and the religions that they represent, there are also profound similarities. 

Let's call the first the "who knew?" factor.  The instigators of these holidays -- Buddha, the Maccabees and Jesus were not the power leaders of their time.  To the contrary!  The pampered, sheltered prince Siddhartha Gautama was a rebellious disappointment to his powerful father and he wandered aimlessly as an ascetic before he became enlightened.  Who knew that Siddhartha would be able to sit under the Bodhi tree, meditate and find a way to live based on compassion and insight?  The Maccabbees were an oppressed, marginalized group of people in a little corner of Alexander the Great's empire.  Who knew that this rag tag group would lead guerrilla attacks against the largest, most organized army in the world and win?  Jesus was a tiny little baby, so vulnerable because he was a baby and because he was born in a barn of a very young mother and because the authorities wanted him dead.  Who knew this young being would grow up to have such a great impact on people and history around the world?  All three of these revolutions that significantly changed the world started with people WAY outside the "power" base of society.

Another aspect common to all three of the holidays is the role of difficulties, of suffering.  It was recognition of suffering -- from death, sickness and old age -- that caused Buddha to go searching for an answer.  Hanukkah commemorates the end of a terrible subjugation and a long, bitter war.  Jesus was born at a time when his parents were unable to find a comfortable room anywhere and King Herod was out to kill him.  Even we experience loss at this time of the year as leaves; light and warmth leave us.

This recognition that life is difficult is not an academic point: It is central to each of the stories and to each of us personally.  We all have difficulties.

And that leads to another aspect of the three holidays: the role of community.  No sooner did Buddha become enlightened then he went out, found disciples and formed the Sangha or community.  Buddhists around the world say the Triple Gem: “I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Sangha, the community, I take refuge in the Teachings of the Buddha.”  The Maccabbees could not have regained the Temple and their way of life from the Greeks unless they had worked together as a community, as a family.  And Jesus with his disciples started his community by sharing in communion.  Some people find community within their church, synagogue or Temple, others in a less traditional place.

On of the most amazing discoveries about community is that it has physiological -- bodily -- effects on people.  A replicated study done at Stanford University on women with breast cancer showed this dramatically.  Women were divided randomly into two different groups.  They all had cancer at similar stages with similar prognoses, the only difference between the treatment of the groups is that one group met once a week to talk.  That was it -- they talked about their lives, their fears, and their experiences.  That group survived twice as long as the group that didn't have a community of supporters.  Community can be a powerful, healing force.  Maybe that's why these holidays are spent in community with family and friends.

And finally there is one other aspect of the holidays that is common to Bodhi day, Hanukkah and Christmas.  That is what the 2^nd step of all 12 step programs describes in this way:  "Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."  For the Jew and the Christian that "Power greater than ourselves" is God.  To Jews it might have been the ragtag Maccabbees that won the war, but it was not they that were miraculously able to keep the flame burning in the Temple far longer than anticipated.  To Christians it was not just the human power of that little child Jesus that made him so special, it was god's power working in him.  Buddha didn't talk about god.  But he did recognize that there is far more beyond our self's narrow bandwidth of needs, wants and controls.

For some, that power greater than ourselves might be expressed in inspired music, which is part of all three religions.  Or perhaps that power greater than ourselves is illustrated by light, which is why candles are part of these traditions, particularly at this time of the year.  Perhaps that power greater than ourselves is recognized in trees, those magnificent plants with roots in the ground and branches in the sky that give us oxygen to breath and take away our refuse.  They remind us that life is like a tree, constantly renewing itself and evergreen.  Maybe that is why all three holidays use the symbol of a tree to represent its message: Buddha meditating under the Bodhi tree, the menorah in the shape of the tree of life and the Christian use of the Christmas tree. 

Who knew that there is a power greater than ourselves that could restore us to life?  The communities of these three wise traditions that celebrate what they know to be true  - they knew!

HANUKKAH AND ADVENT: SEASONS OF HOPE

I read the paper, listen to the news, look at the bleakness of the sky, and I can get pretty sad!  Things are not good.  There are real dangers out there!  The world needs fixing.  I get scared.  So it is, so it was, so it may always be.

But there is hope.  And for both Jews and Christians, this is a time where both of their stories reflect the idea that as bad as things may be, there is available a small kernel of hope that can flourish, grow, and change the world. And, both stories tell us, it can always start with one, small nobody – like you or me.

Imagine how scary it is to have the largest, most well equipped army attacking you, your family and your way of life.  Imagine that with brute strength this superpower insists that you do things their way or you die.  Everything you hold dear and precious will be taken away from you and there’s not a thing you can do to stop them.  Or is there? 

The Hanukkah story tells us that there IS something we can do.  When the Greek conquerors took over Jewish culture determined to wipe it out, one man stood up to them and said “no.”  He was willing to face terrible consequences for what he believed was the survival of his people. His action inspired others to be brave and to fight for what they believed in.  In the end, a rag tag band of local hicks managed to get rid of the most sophisticated hegemonic power of its day and reclaim their own way of life.  That’s what the Hanukkah lights represent.

We CAN change the status quo.  We DO have power in a seemingly powerless situation.  It might take guts to stand up and fight the powers that be.  It might take courage and persistence that goes beyond the strength we think we have, but it is possible.  And it begins with one small person like me.

Now imagine another situation.  A dictator has taken over your country.  There is no freedom of thought or movement.  There is no hope that life will get better or that there will be times of goodness and love.  Life is bleak, particularly for the poor and the disenfranchised.  Into this situation comes a young pregnant woman, traveling in the dead of winter.  There is no place for her to stay.  She gives birth to a tiny baby in a barn.  Who could be more vulnerable than a homeless baby in the cold?  And yet, that little baby grew up to be a wise, compassionate teacher whose ideas brought love, hope and compassion to many over 2 thousand years and whose followers changed the world – for better and for worse – in his name! 

The advent candles of the Christmas season symbolize the arrival of hope and goodness even when they’re unlikely to survive.  They are the hope that in the darkness of the season and the darkness of bad times, there will be a transformation of the way things are, to the way things can be.  They are the goodness of light that infuses our well-being and dispels our fears.

In both the Hanukkah story and the Christmas story the theme is of hope and deliverance – that there is a G-d who helps us out of a difficult situation.  But even if you don’t believe in such a G-d, the miracle of what one write calls “the potential in small things” can be seen all around us.  It is, as Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed reminds us, the tiniest seed of all that becomes a huge bushy tree.  It is that infinitesimally small cell that became the complicated person you are and that you will become.  It is, as the anthropologist Margaret Mead reminded us: “A small group of thoughtful people that can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”

Though reading the newspaper can often get me down, it can also often lift me up.  There are stories of people around the world today standing up in their communities and by so doing, begin a revolution of change.  There are stories of kindness and caring for others who are in need.  These are the moments in which the potential of small things become inflamed and spread. 

May the light and the hope of Hanukkah and the Advent of Christmas remind us all of the potential of small things.  And may we in our own small ways find the courage to make big changes in the world.

RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES

What exactly is religion?  Why do religions exist?  What needs do they fill for us?  What constitutes a religious experience?  The answers to these questions are varied, but important.  They set the stage for all the other material in this book.  We won’t answer those questions here.  As the French poet wrote, “live the questions, the answers will come”.  Nothing addresses the questions better than a story.  Here is one my father told me:

The old wise one (Maybe a monk, or a rabbi, a guru, or a bodhisattva), is close to death.  So all of the disciples and every day folks gather round to learn the ultimate truth from the wisest of the wise.  His -- or her -- closest aide whispers softly in the ear saying, “Oh Wise One, tell us, please, what is the meaning of life?  The wise one thinks for a minute and says, “Life?  Life is like a river.”  This great insight flows down through the crowds “life is like a river, life is like a river..." It reaches the last and youngest seeker on the fringes of the group who thinks for a minute before s/he says, “Life is like a river?  What does this mean life is like a river?”  This question begins to surge back to the middle because, after thinking about it, no one else knows what it means either!  Finally, the disciple closest to the wise one ever so politely asks, “Tell us, oh wise one, what does that mean, ‘Life is like a river’?”  There is loud silence as everyone leans forward to catch the answer.  “So --” says the wise one, “maybe it’s not like a river!”

            Perhaps wisdom comes from just this, being able to think about the really important questions in life, reconsider other possibilities (even if they come from the young folks on the fringes) and live with ambiguous and contradictory answers. 

            We do know that religion has been part of the human experience before humans!  Neanderthal graves show that they were buried with objects and flowers indicating some belief in an afterlife. And perhaps that is the source of religion: the awesome wonder of the world around us and the concern for what will happen after this life.  What will become of us?  Where will go?  Why are we here anyway?  What does this all mean?

            The word "religion" comes from the Latin, meaning "to reconnect."  That is to reconnect ourselves to the world around us, to the people around us and to the creative source of all life, whatever we might call that.  When we make those connections and go beyond our self-centeredness, we change ourselves in the process.  We become larger than we were.

The connections take place in a number of ways.  Sometimes they occur formally through community events, rituals, shared stories, meditations or prayers. Sometimes they happen informally through "aha!" moments when the connection just happens spontaneously.  Sometimes it is through the practices, language or shared values of a tradition that we find we connect. Neuroscientists are beginning to study how the practice of religion, through ritual and meditation, affects the connection in our brain and our outlook. 

I find it can be helpful to distinguish between religion with a small "r" and religion with a capital "R".  The small "r" religion represents those experiential moments – often serendipitous -- that connect us to something else.  Religion with a capital "R" is the institutionalized, formal expression of religion.  One hopes that this type of capital "R" Religion, is nurtured by the experience of religion with a small "r".  But there are times, unfortunately, when the formal type seems devoid of immediate or personal experience.  When that happens, Religion becomes dull and rote literally lifeless.

There are some people who blame religion for being destructive because it causes so many wars and so much hatred.  But religions are like any human enterprise -- the study of chemistry or the practice of politics for example.  They can be used for good or evil.  It depends, ultimately, on people. 

Often someone might say about their religion: “it's not a religion, it’s a way of life.”  But any religion that is real must, by definition, be a way of life.  It grows out of and into our life experiences as humans.

            We began with questions.  Maybe that’s where all religions begin as well.  Maybe religions are the answers we give to life’s questions.  And then again, maybe they’re not.

PROPHETS AT TURKEY TIME

“Visit the sick, feed the hungry and free the captives.” So said the prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him.

“Let the oppressed go free…share your bread with the hungry. And bring the homeless poor into your house….” So said the prophet Isaiah.

Recently Muslim observed the month of Ramadan and Jews observed Rosh Ha Shanah. In the U.S., both will celebrate Thanksgiving this week. So I thought it’s a good time to talk about something that’s common to both Islam and Judaism: the message of the prophets. Both groups see the role of the prophets as central to their religions and both groups see that message – taking care of the needy in our midst -- as the central message.

What is a prophet? A prophet is someone who is a messenger or mouthpiece for God. To Jews, Christians and Muslims, the 16 biblical prophets [with the addition of Muhammed for Muslims] used words and actions to try to get the community back into right relationship – with each other and with the essence and power of life which they called God. Said the scholar Abraham Heschel: “The prophet was an individual who said No to his society, condemning its habits and assumptions, its complacency…” (Heschel, The Prophets II p. xvii) The prophet Amos said: “I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies” (Amos 5:21) because, he felt, they were full of hypocritical posturing.

But they didn’t just “say” no to society, they acted in a way that got people’s attention. Wrote one author about the prophets: “They staged what are known as prophetic acts – wild attention grabbing, God-inspired pieces of performance art. the prophets were the inventors of street theater.” (Jacobs, The Year of Living Biblically, p. 88)   Jeremiah went to the equivalent of the Capitol in Jerusalem with a huge vase which he smashes and says this is what will happen to the kingdom if they don’t stop being so materialistic. Isaiah took off all of his clothes and wandered naked through the streets as he shouted his message. Hosea married a known prostitute faithless to him in order to illustrate how faithless the people were to their vows of caring for each other and God. Pretty dramatic ways of speaking truth to power!

But all of them were trying to get across the same message: we are commanded to be good and just to everyone. It wasn’t just a nice suggestions to be nice, we are required to practice social justice all the time. The prophet Muhammed, who believed that the same God who spoke to Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus spoke to him, said “One who tries to help the widow and the poor is like a warrior in the way of God,” “Every good action is a charity.” and “God is not kind to him who is not kind to people.” (al-Bukhari)

For Jews, Muslims and Christians, the prophets’ message of social justice has been heard – sometimes louder than other times – throughout history. It is why so many social action organizations exist in our world today and why so many try to change the world. The reason Muslims fast during the month of Ramadan and Jews fast on Yom Kippur is to experience what it is to be hungry so you can help those who really are.

People often wonder if there are prophets in the world today. I think they still exist. I think MLK was a prophet. His bus boycott, the marches and his sermons agains racism and the war in Vietnam dramatically got the point across that this society must change. In fact, Mr. King’s favorite saying was from the prophet Amos: “But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.”

I think Malcolm X was a prophet. In fiery speeches and interviews, in his willingness to put his life on the line he made it clear that his objective was “complete freedom, justice and equality by any means necessary." He said “Early in life I had learned that if you want something, you had better make some noise.” and: “if we don't stand for something, we may fall for anything."

Today? I don’t know. Perhaps we only know who the prophets in our midst are after a bit of time has past. Perhaps it's comedian such as Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert, who always points out the ridiculous but also the need for justice. Maybe it's the young woman, Malala Yousafzai, now in an English hospital, who spoke for Muslim girls getting an education and was thus shot in the head. Maybe it's the person who is organizing a food and clothing drive in our town for those effected by the storm Sandy. But I do know that the message of the prophets – whether from a Muslim, Jewish or Christian perspective is still with us: do justly and love mercy.

So, as we eat our turkey this Thanksgiving,whether  meat or soy, let's remember the message of the prophets. There are plenty of ways to make this world a more just, and caring place. I shall end with the same quotes with which I began:

“Visit the sick, feed the hungry and free the captives.” So said the prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him.

“Let the oppressed go free…share your bread with the hungry. And bring the homeless poor into your house…If you put yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness... and you shall be like a watered garden.” So said the prophet Isaiah

ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSES

As everyone knows, NYC was hit with a devastating hurricane, Sandy, that has left thousands without homes or without power, with flooding and with damage.  And yet, despite the fact that I live in New York, in the very town where a boat washed up onto the train tracks, my life has not been in any way discomfited by the storm.  We’ve had no damage, no loss of electricity, no flooding.  We are warm, well fed, and, because everything else is closed, taking it easy.  I feel like I am – through dumb luck and no other reason – in an alternate universe to that which is around me.

And that idea, that there is an alternate universe going on simultaneously in the same time and place to the one in which any of us presently inhabits, is an idea that often intrigues me. Even in normal times, with no major storm disrupting the lives of those around me, I’m aware that other ‘realities’ happen at the same time as mine.  On a summer’s day, when I’m taking it easy drinking a pina colada at my favorite outdoor restaurant on the river, I remind myself that there is also a war going on at that very moment and that other Americans, and Afghans, are in frightening situations at that very moment.  In my own small town, the Ecuadorian community, which is about a third of the residence in the town, or the African-American community, share the same space as me -- the same stores, the same street, same schools.   And yet, we live very different lives with different circles of friends, different gossip, different challenges and celebrations.

On a more cosmic level, I am reminded of what one author of a world religions textbook, Robert Ellwood, wrote about religion in his introduction.  He said:

”For the religious person there is ordinary reality and “something else.”  Certain visible places, people and events are more in touch with that “something else” than others … Words and people pass through invisible doors and the world is full of places and occasions that are like windows to the other side.  This porous borderline, where the action is, is the realm of the religious.” 

The implication is that there are other worlds, worlds that perhaps we can’t see, but are there nonetheless.  My students have been trying very hard to understand the role of spirits and shamans in indigenous culture.  It is very difficult for them to appreciate that, for an indigenous culture, the spirit world is as real to them as the invisible sound or broadcast waves that we know to be in the air.  If we had never seen a television or a radio, we would find it very difficult to believe that with the flick of a switch, sound or images from another part of the world appear inside the grey glass and plastic box in front of me.  And yet, we know we can see, hear – even respond to – these simultaneous alternate universes from the comfort of our homes.  Shamans, in most cultures, are those who communicate with and learn from the spirits.

But back here in our everyday reality, right now this week, there are people down the road a bit who have lost everything dear to them.  So, my focus and connection --  now – should be to help them as best I can. I need to step out of this comfortable cocoon and lend a hand so that my universe and theirs intertwine.