As I try to process all of the
rapidly unfolding events of the past week in the United States, I was reminded
of this wonderful definition of wisdom that I encountered in a book called, Teaching Mindful Self-Compassion Program by
Christopher Germer and Kristin Neff:
Wisdom: understanding the complexity of a situation and seeing
our way through it.
Amidst a global pandemic and a national awakening of white
people in the United States to the institutionalized and systematized racism
in our justice system that culminated in the murder or George Floyd by 4
Minneapolis police officers on Memorial Day, May 25, 2020, it seems more than
ever, we are in grave need of spiritual virtues in this world including: wisdom.
And, thankfully, wisdom can be cultivated.
One tried and true way to develop a spiritual virtue, is to seek out role models who generously
exemplify the very virtue that we wish to cultivate, so that the rest of us can
continue to evolve into our best human selves by following the guidance of
those who have gone before us.
So for me, when I wish to stretch and grow in wisdom in order to “understand
the complexity of a situation and see my way through it” (like I do
right now during a global pandemic, record unemployment in the US, and a
potential civil rights revolution), I quickly turn to the American Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (b. 1929-1968)
and the Vietnamese Buddhist teacher
and monk Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926).
These two “giants,” as they are
often called, actually met each other in both 1966 and 1968 before Dr. King was
assassinated on April 4, 1968, and they shared a common vision for a "beloved community" that was
even commemorated in a beautiful statue that rests in Magnolia Grove Monastery
in Mississippi.
But in
addition to a shared vision for humanity that is both realistic and hopeful,
they also shared an ability to artfully articulate with words how their
respective hard-won wisdom could be
understood by others.
Through a legacy
of speeches, books, letters, poems, and/or essays, each of them has left us with a path
to follow, should we wish to, in order to cultivate
our own humble wisdom.
Below, I have
shared just a handful of nuggets from the gold mine of each wisdom-teacher that
have spoken to me during these last few days, and perhaps these, or others, may
speak to you as well.
May Peace &
Justice Be in Your Heart,
Claire
Words of Wisdom by Dr. Martin Luther
King:
"True
peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice."
Stride Toward Freedom,
1958
"I
believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in
reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil
triumphant."
Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Oslo, Norway,
1964.
"If we
are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than
sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our
nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective."
Christmas sermon, Atlanta, Georgia, 1967.
"Injustice
anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable
network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one
directly, affects all indirectly."
Letter from Birmingham, Alabama jail, April 16,
1963.
"I have
the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for
their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and
freedom for their spirits."
Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Oslo, Norway,
1964
"The
ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of convenience and
comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
Strength to Love, 1963.
"We must
come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society
that can live with its conscience."
Montgomery, Alabama, March 25, 1965.
Words of Wisdom by Thich
Nhat Hanh or “Thay” which means “Teacher:”
The
Fruit of Awareness is Ripe
My youthful years,
a green unripe plum.
Your teeth left a mark on it
which turned into a tiny wound.
Your teeth shuddered at their roots,
and always remember it,
always remember it.
But when I knew how to love
the door of my heart opened wide before the wind.
Reality was calling out for revolution.
The fruit was already ripe.
That door
could never be closed again.
Fire,
fire consumes this century,
l
eaving its mark on the uninhabited mountains
and forests.
T
he wind howls past my ears.
The snowstorm writhes in the sky.
The wounds of winter lie there, unable to forget
the cold steel blade,
restless, tossing and turning,
smarting,
in the deep night.
-Call
Me By My True Names
“There is no phenomenon in the universe that does not
intimately concern us, from a pebble resting at the bottom of the ocean, to the
movement of a galaxy millions of light years away.
All phenomena are interdependent. When we think of a speck
of dust, a flower, or a human being, our thinking cannot break loose from the
idea of unity, of one, of calculation…If we truly realize the interdependent
nature of the dust, the flower, and the human being, we see that unity cannot
exist without diversity. Unity and diversity interpenetrate each other freely.
Unity is diversity, and diversity is unity.”
-The
Sun My Hearth
“The ocean of suffering is immense, but if you turn
around, you can see the land.”
“Even while you have pain in your heart, you can enjoy the
many wonders of life—the beautiful sunset, the smile of a child, the many
flowers and trees. To suffer is not enough. Please don’t be imprisoned by your
suffering…If you dwell only in your suffering, you will miss paradise. Don’t
ignore your suffering, but don’t forget to enjoy the wonders of life, for your
sake and for the benefit of many beings.”
“The Buddha called suffering a Holy Truth, because your
suffering has the capacity of showing us the path to liberation. Embrace your
suffering, and let it reveal to you the way to peace.”
-The
Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching
