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FACE TO FACE | EASTERN HORIZON 39

This is hard to answer because there are so many kinds have relationships, the lineages I am connected with,
of cruelty in the world, and compassion can manifest the people and cultures I am indebted to. So, I think we
differently in each scenario. When we look at the should start our communities.
brutality of Myanmar’s military, we see horrific cruelty
— soldiers invading Rohingya villages to burn them In Southern Oregon, where I live, I have always known
down, and throwing people into the fires. It’s estimated people who were homeless or living on the streets.
that 18,000 women and girls were raped by soldiers. When COVID-19 hit, I was very concerned with how
it would affect those communities. Many of the usual
I can’t imagine what it’s like to experience such homeless services were shutdown during the lockdown.
unbelievable cruelty. Is compassion about accepting People on the streets still had the same needs, but now
that these things happen? I don’t mean condoning them, they weren’t getting much support. A group of friends
not at all. I mean, can we actually accept the facts? Can decided we would give out soap and hand sanitizer,
we admit to ourselves that these horrors happen — distribute sleeping bags and meals, things like that. We
they aren’t distorted facts or “fake news.” This requires didn’t wait for the situation to change, we created a
equanimity but I think it takes compassion too. grassroots community solution.
Compassion can be fierce. When we condemn the
military’s 2021 coup in Myanmar, we are displaying a The same goes for our humanitarian work in Myanmar. I
form of ferocious compassion. We are standing up to say, have never been to Myanmar but I have a connection to
“We love these people too much to allow this to happen.” the country and its people because of my time studying
Burmese meditation methods, here in the United States.
I think compassion is also about understanding the This formed a kind of relationship, and therefore a
tragic universality of our experiences. The Buddha said responsibility to get involved.
we’ve cried enough tears to fill all the world’s oceans.
This is samsara. When we recognize that the world’s When we think in terms of the world, it’s pretty
pain and suffering spans across countless eons, a overwhelming. After all, what can we do about
natural response is compassion. samsara? But when we think of our own relationships
and communities, there is a lot we can do. We don’t
What are your thoughts on making this world a little need to wait for someone else to come along. We can
more sane? try stuff out, collaborate with friends, and see what
happens. If we have a spiritual practice like Buddhism,
The world is a big place! I tend to think of what we we can use that to guide our efforts. There are endless
can accomplish in our own communities. For me, opportunities to cultivate generosity and ethics, to
community isn’t just what town I live in, it’s where I deepen our practice. The Dharma is everywhere! EH

Spirit in Education Alumni Annual Assembly, 2019