Immediately the Buddha became enlightened, he gently touched the earth.  He spoke of his sense of the miraculous unity of life – that was his awakening – deeply realizing that I and all beings and this great earth are One.  Each of us is a unique cell, organ, or member of one sacred body, born one with all life, whether sentient or insentient.  Each has a unique responsibility and function and we live in relationship – regardless of our differences.  Each of us is as crucial to the life and wellbeing of our planet as our senses, mouth, gut, or limbs are to our individual life, or as a child to a loving family.  When we first realize this, some natural doubt should arise, questioning whether we are really living this, whether this vision is effectively actualized in our daily life.  Master Dogen Zenji’s teacher said, “The meditation of all Buddhas and Masters is about caring for every form of being, living and inanimate – they don’t leave out even a single insect.”  There is the story of Jesus’ “Feeding the Five Thousand.”  What was the true miracle?  The crowd had denied that they had any food to share – so he simply stood up and shared all he had.  No doubt with some embarrassment, they followed his example - and ample food was there for all.  We might deeply question where we really stand in how we live – in the crowd or with Christ?  Whatever we do has consequences, and at every moment we reveal where we are coming from.

Are we beyond recovery in the West today, driven to feather our nest at others’ expense, expanding our territory and influence regardless of the damage done, ready to kill, to destroy and even to die for our present life style, while we hurtle through space on this tiny vulnerable globe with no one at the helm?  Who will step forward to share the responsibility if not you and I, as best we can?  How can we make ourselves ready to take on a greater purpose in this troubled world?  There is no place to begin turning our life around other than in our life itself, and here where we live!  The practical wisdom of the Buddha is that the buck stops here.  All we have to offer is what pours out from our hearts and minds, as speech, action and thought, moment by moment.  There is no other vehicle.  The path to a greater wisdom, compassion and appreciation of life begins from where my two feet stand.

    However fine the cause we wish to prevail, that first step must be to see where we are coming from and then be ready to shift and move on in greater harmony with a truer vision. The style, actions, and energy of our life speak louder than prepared words and set opinions.  For much of my life I personally did not get this at all.  I looked out from my nest of righteous convictions; blaming others I blamed the Right, the Left, and the Center.  I blamed the corporations and the religious and educational institutions; I blamed my neighbors or friends and I even blamed myself when I took a little time out from blaming my partner, children and parents.  I put all the responsibility out there.  I was another aggressive victim, and very clear that I knew better how those Governments, States, Agencies and politicians should be doing it.  Maybe I was right – but when our voice comes from anger, even righteous eloquence will be a cause of more contention.  No one enjoys being made wrong. We can easily lose our sense of the innate sacredness of all forms of life in the turbulence of politics, debate and controversy.  Even the best cause may easily be misunderstood or appear judgmental and divisive. We need a culture and discipline of sensitivity, commitment, patience and skill, and this requires skilful training and practice together with like-minded folk.

    As the life of the heart and mind and the ways of the body become more responsive, more truly respectful towards others, the energy we transmit in any circumstance is more vividly alive with that generous awareness.  We become unselfconscious exponents of what we believe in.  To get there we have to learn the way, how to practice the way of harmony.  Most of us need a favorable environment at first, a supportive community where we can study and practice with the guidance and empowerment of others.  It is not about being exclusive or naïvely idealistic; we certainly need to be aware how things work in the gritty, changing world of the 21^st century if we are to accomplish our task; and for that too we need each other’s skills and knowledge.  Western Zen is about creating an open community of engaged wisdom and responsible compassion – the practice together transforms how we actually live, work and relate; even how we protest and lobby, support or fund.  Some contribute in a quiet, intimate way, some provide funding, some offer organization, skills and knowledge, and others have the power to inspire, reconcile, negotiate and persuade – whether in the home, the school, at work, or in the public arenas of legislation, law and politics.  Only one thing is certain, what we teach is the way we are and how we live together, day by day.

Each day is so precious and so uncertain.  We have this one brief life, and just this one vulnerable earth, to care for and offer to our children, and to their children.  Zen Master Genpo Roshi^[2] writes in The Path of the Human Being, (pub. Shambala, 2003):

 “As our realization deepens, we see that we really can’t separate ourselves from the pain and suffering of others.  We are all interconnected, and the suffering of the world is our own suffering…We all need to be empowered to engage with life in a sacred manner…We can use this tumultuous time to awaken not just oneself but everyone on the planet…When we live on the edge of the unknown, every moment becomes a wake-up call.”

Our mother planet is clearly at risk.  Breath by breath and day by day, at home, at work, at play, and in our political, social and ecological engagement, how can we best live as true custodians of the Earth, and in harmony with every form of life?   How can we best awaken our human family to this?  And how long do we have left to bring our vision to life?