Here are some quotes from some of the recipients:
John Cantrell, who has volunteers for 30 years at the Buckeye Ranch, quoted Dorothy Day "Each of us are part of the mystical body."
"When one suffers, all suffer"
Butch Zurbriggen, founder of the "Under the stars" ministry to the homeless: "Service to others is the rent you pay"
Jamie Hobson, who cares for people and animals at Ohio Living Westminster-Thurber community spoke about a mid life change of "turning my attention from my self to other people."
Pat Gibboney, former executive director of the Spirituality Network talked about the "coincidences" of her life that led her into the service she did.
The keynote was Lama Kathy Wesley who is a Buddhist teacher. Her talk was such a great beginning. She spoke about the "Awakened Soul" of Buddhism. Interestingly, the Spirituality Network has a new vision statement: "Awakened Lives Transforming the World." It all fits together.
She explained in simple language the 4 noble truths of Buddhism
1. Suffering is part of life
2. Suffering has a cause
3. Suffering has a solution
4. There is a path forward
That first statement is so important because we live in a culture that wants us to do everything we can to avoid suffering. The cause of suffering is clinging. I continue to ponder all of the forms of clinging that we do - besides clinging to people and our material stuff. We cling to our notions of fairness, we cling to our "happily ever after" mentality, we cling to the hope that our children can go through life without any failures or disappointments.
And the solution? It is letting go. Letting go of our desire to be in control, to have things make sense on our terms and letting go of our egos. She said ultimately, it is letting go of our selfishness. Both the idea of clinging and letting go is a lifetime worth of understanding and work.
And the path forward then is mindfulness, love and service to others. This is a great definition of "Living Faith." She talked about a path of small decisions guided by an interior principle that we might be guided by our "indwelling goodness." The language I would use is "holy spirit" It is all the same thing as we struggle to live our lives as free, peaceful and authentic human beings.
It is about living with discipline, generosity, ethical behavior and patience.
After her keynote we had ten examples of the way ordinary human beings were allowing God to guide them into acts of service for others. It was inspiring and I am grateful to have been present.
Interestingly she began with a quote from the 8th century Shantideva::
"Behold the utter frailness of goodness. The power of good is always weak and the power of evil is vast and terrible."
What I have learned is that Buddhism believes - not in the power of positive thinking - but the way of life. Living in a commitment to goodness.
In their blog " No Zen in the West" Jiryu Mark and Hondo Dave write:
So what does Shantideva say, what is his point? How do we live and act in such a world of vast and terrible evil, atop such a frail goodness? By vow, that’s all. We abide in a vow to live for the sake of the awakening and well-being of all sentient being
And so, I start this Saturday morning with Buddhist wisdom which completely affirms my Christian faith - we are called by God to receive and give the love of Jesus into this world. May it be so.
Ending with a prayer by Maxine Shonk
May the God of SERVICE be with you.
May God minister to you in your vulnerability.
May you know God's giving presence in your powerlessness and in your humanity.
May you serve the needs of all those whose path of struggle and need crosses your own.
And may they know the healing touch of God through your service and presence.
May the God of SERVICE be with you.
Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment