As I read this young monk’s journey, I realize that although he is an enlightened human, he struggles, too. Even though he is a spiritually adept man, he wrestles with real emotions and thoughts.
That is why I appreciated him saying that freedom isn’t freedom from our struggles but freedom with our struggles.
I must be honest with you… I do have some struggles lately.
Acknowledging that I enjoy extraordinary privilege as a straight white cis-gendered male, I live in a world near a country where many people who do not have these privileges are experiencing profound suffering. Not the least is fear… fear for their safety and lives.
I have friends who do not know what their future holds.
But there are more people all around the world exposed to food insecurity, drought, illness, poverty, insurmountable debt, pandemics, genocide, erasure, war, pain, death, and more.
When facing a problem that bothers me, I often say I need to “get zen about this!” This means I need to adopt a Buddhist attitude towards the problem so I don’t get overwhelmed. Calm, cool, and collected… with poise. Because “this is where the suffering arises… between things-as-they-are and things as-we-want-them-to-be."
It’s far easier for me to be in the moment and find peace here. I acknowledge that it is far more difficult for those who are being bombed and deprived to be in the moment and find peace there.
It’s made me ask a few questions:
- Is being able to be “zen” and encouraging others to be “zen” a privilege in and of itself?
- Is feeling the pressure to be “zen” an underhanded way to pacify me, my anger, and my resistance?
- Is it possible and maybe even humanely required for me to be “zen” and outraged at once?
I must confess that the fact that I’m asking these questions betrays the times we’re living in…
