[todaysdate]
By John Hancock
Joseph Campbell is one of my favorite authors about the inspiring commonality of the cultural and spiritual practices of tribes all over the world, from the ancients up to now. Care for each other, as expressed in rituals of blessing, acceptance, and reconciliation, springs from instinct encouraged and rewarded by group practices. Both the symbolic and the literal are celebrated in sacraments, songs, art and Scripture.
I tried for 20 years to read about Buddhism, but just couldn’t get going. It seemed too foreign, too abstract and too hard for this whitebread midwestern Methodist. But in a tiny Pasadena bookstore a small book leaped off the shelf to me. “Ethics for a New Millennium“ wasn’t hard at all. Ethics was a subject I had studied, and this was clearly a morality book, not one about a religion.
I was hooked on many of the Dalai Lama’s explanations. Here’s one of my favorites: Corporations and governments are not inherently evil. In fact, only large organizations have the capability to make really big things happen. But organizational goals and tools are designed by individuals with a tremendous variety of ethical standards. Their collective power, then, gets to choose its rationale for what should be accomplished, and what manner of human interaction seems most effective for achieving the goals. There has been no absence of positive efforts and inspirational leaders (including corporations and governments) towards the good. But the forces of greed, extremism and fear have unfortunately often employed the most powerful and insidious methods.
His Holiness appeared in Seattle in 2007, and my friend Art and I drove there to a big gathering in Key Arena. The topic was of compassionate care for children, as evidenced by new educational and behavioral research. Even on the JumboTron, the power and humility of this extraordinary human example could not be denied. It was a mystical, magical experience I’ll never forget. Like most of his American public appearances, the Dalai Lama is continually sharing and encouraging scientific research that illustrates that compassion is more than just a belief model. In his message, I found many solid reasons (which apparently I needed) to practice kindness, generosity, and friendliness.
We humans are rewarded for this instinct in things as simple as the return of a smile, or a complex as a harmonious holiday big-family gathering. Let’s not be discouraged from compassion by competing rewards. The source is in us. And of course it’s in our young children. When we watch closely, we see it. When we join with them in feeling, we do it.
