What's Your Buddhist Superpower?
As Buddhists, we bring some Sensory Superpowers to our political work in the world.
We taste an orange, and also taste the soil it grew in, the polluted rain that drenched it, the migrant farm worker who picked it, and all the other causes and conditions that put this orange in our mouth.
We see old age, sickness, death – and we turn toward this suffering with broke-open hearts and the salve of Kwan Yin’s compassion.
We hear the cries of hungry children and hunger-striking prisoners; we ask why they go hungry. We listen in silence; we listen carefully for silenced voices.
We think about making peace by rooting out the causes of conflict in greed, hatred, and delusion. Each time we interrupt our own habitual thoughts, we celebrate another seed planted for peace.
We touch both the suffering that war causes and the way suffering causes war. In our quest for true peace, we aren’t afraid to rattle or overturn the false peace of the status quo.
We smell a rotting, stinking system and don’t turn away. We notice “unpleasant odor” and investigate what it takes to fix it - sometimes neutralizing the source, sometimes dismantling the structure completely to make space for building anew.
Training in dharma and political transformation, we help bend the arc of history toward liberation.
At Buddhist Peace Fellowship, you join with others who share your sense of an interconnected world. Together, we not only transform our own suffering, but we also work to:
Protect the planet. End war and violence.Heal racism and gender oppression.Create classless, democratic societies that meet everyone's basic needs. And do it with joy, equanimity, and creativity.
You can help political Buddhists use our superpowers together.
BPF has a long history of helping political Buddhists find each other, study together, and take action for liberation. We face monumental challenges in the world in this moment in history. Donate today to support political Buddhists moving toward the front lines of social change.
With so much love and gratitude,
Dawn Haney & Katie LonckeCo-Directors of Buddhist Peace FellowshipPhotos:My superpower is kindness. Katrina MayerA young worker holds an orange in a migrant worker camp in Florida. © 2009 ROMANOStop War Now sign in Porto Venere, Italy. Dawn HaneyP.S. Be sure to get in on next year's big initiative for socially engaged Buddhists! Donate $45 or more ($30 for low-income members) and receive full access to The System Stinks dialogue series in 2013!