By Walter Hesford | FāVS News Columnist
For most of my life I’ve only attended to the roar of one lion.
I’m not talking about the faint roar of a pitiful caged beast in Boston’s Franklin Park Zoo I visited as a kid. Nor am I speaking of the louder lion that introduces MGM movies.
The lion that has silently roared in my ears for many years is none other than Yahweh, the LORD of Hebrew Scriptures.
There are of course in these Scriptures lions that are not the LORD, who pose a threat to his followers. Most famous are the lions who would devour Daniel in the den, had not God protected him. (Daniel 6:18-23)
But perhaps because of the power of the lion and his frightening roar, they are used by several Hebrew prophets to signify the presence and strength of the LORD. In Isaiah 31:4, the LORD of hosts is compared to a lion who “growls over his prey” and who “will come down to fight upon Mount Zion.”
In Hosea, those who have strayed “shall go after the LORD, who roars like a lion, when he roars, they shall come trembling from the west … from Egypt … from the land of Assyria; and I will return them home, says the LORD.” (11:10-11)
“The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa” make especially effective use of the roaring lion metaphor. Though a shepherd must guard his flock against lions, this shepherd-prophet is empowered to speak for his lion LORD: “The LORD roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem.” (1:1, 2)
At first the LORD roars against the peoples surrounding Israel for their transgressions, but then “against you, people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up from Egypt. … The lion has roared, who does not fear? The LORD God has spoken, who can but prophesy? (3:1, 8)
Through the roar of the Lion, the shepherd-prophet dares to critique Israel’s wealthy elite who “trample the poor” and “push aside the needy at the gate.” (5:11,12)
A second lion’s roar
This critique, this roaring, still needs to be heard today as we continue to trample the poor through inequalities built into our economic system and as we continue to push away immigrants and refugees at our gate in need of our hospitality,
Recently I’ve heard another roaring because a friend gifted me “Lion’s Roar,” a magazine devoted to “Buddhism, Mediation, Mindfulness.” I have a hard time seeing the Buddha as a roaring lion. An online search revealed, however, that the Buddha did indeed see himself this way.
Compassion over polarization
In an introduction to “The Lion’s Roar: Two Discourses of the Buddha” by Bhikku Ñanamoli, we learn that because of the lion’s reputation for strength and courage and because when it roared, all other animals fell silent, “when the Buddha has occasion to refer to himself, he chooses to represent himself as a stately lion and to describe his proclamations of the dharma, bold and thunderous, as a veritable lion’s roar in the spiritual realm.”
The dharma the Buddha roars reveals the way to enlightenment through escape from suffering. This at first sounds like the opposite of what the LORD roars, since this roaring calls us to be engaged in the suffering of others.
It is sometimes asserted that Eastern religions like Buddhism focus on the self, not the welfare of society, whereas Western religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam command attention to the whole community.
Browsing through some issues of Lion’s Roar magazine however, one finds much to refute this polarizing assertion. Many practicing Buddhists write of how their faith compels them to have compassion for others.
For example, in his article “Mindfulness for Activists” in Lion’s Roar, Butterfly (Tony Pham) asserts that “an engaged citizen requires an unflinching willingness to acknowledge suffering — both personal and societal — without denial.”
In “Bhikkhu Bodhi and the Joy of Generosity,” we learn of this man’s commitment to those suffering from hunger, and how “deep practice can ripen into compassionate action.”
And then there’s Jefferson Workman, Spokane’s Buddhist barber who FāVS News recently featured, who is collecting food for Second Harvest through Christmas. Workman says his commitment to his community reflects his spiritual practice: “We exist in a vast network of life, and we are continuously the recipients of the generosity of others. ”I think I hear two lions roaring their approval.
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.
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I was drawn to Buddhism in the early 70’s because of charity to others but then, begging, as an act of humility, seemed to refute that. Why not work, grow a garden, earn and give to those that have no means of support be a better act of humility? It appeared that they shamed even the poorest of society that would not give to their begging.
Like all the religions, philosophies and ideals I studied, the flaw was that the power to change had to come from self. That rarely worked. When it did, the power to change comes from God, regardless of our cultural norms.
It took me 5 years when reading the Bible as “wisdom literature” I finally understood (after changing churches) that I was not capable of change and that laws, rules and even my desire could not change me, only God could change the heart from selfishness to selflessness. And He was both capable and willing and desiring to do that IN me. So why does that not happen for all? Because few will surrender their will for His.
Rules, laws, obligations and expectations cannot change us. They are like a STOP sign. They can tell us what is good and expected but they cannot press the brake for us. But God can.