Are We Starting To Get It?

The world seems to be coming together around Ukraine. It did that to manufacture a Covid vaccine as well. What if it's a trend? Don't be silly, right? There's not enough mindfulness in the world just yet, is there? There's not enough insight. Not enough of us vowing to save all beings, to take the biggest, most compassionate approach. Is there?

Transcript

Hey everyone,

It's Judy Cohen,

And this is Wake Up Called 341.

Welcome.

So chapter 20 of the Dhammapada is called the path,

And last week was a kind of a brief overview of that path,

Which is the eightfold path of mindfulness.

So it's how to live a mindful life in general,

And also talking a little bit about doing that in the law.

And when we start down that path,

First thing is we start to cultivate mindfulness.

So becoming attentive to each moment,

Getting more and more courageous about whatever is showing up,

Taking a kind of a graceful approach as we do that,

Even when we bump up against really difficult moments.

And also with a kind of letting go,

A real promise to ourselves to not wish anything away,

To not wish things were different.

But to let go of that and instead to cultivate the resilience and plus the self-compassion to stay put.

So to let go into each moment,

Whatever it brings.

And as that happens,

We can gain insight into the ways that our minds work and maybe into the ways that all minds work,

You know,

That they're not different,

That we're not different from each other.

And plus insight into the ways that we affect each other,

That impact is as important as intention,

That compassion is more important than anything,

That love is what's left when we strip everything else away.

So when COVID showed up,

You know,

With all of its sorrows and all of its fears,

It created just an enormous amount of challenge.

But one thing that happened and that it hadn't appeared to me to have happened before in a long time was that the world kind of pulled together.

And I remember I remember the previous U.

S.

Administration's approach and the approaches of certain other countries,

Certain world leaders.

So I know it hasn't been a total kumbaya moment,

But the world pulled together to create vaccines,

To administer them,

To more or less acknowledge that we're in this together.

Which is,

You know,

Which is not nothing.

And now with this terrible attack on Ukraine,

Just seeing something similar,

Not that the whole world is on the same page again,

And it also wasn't around COVID,

But again,

There seems to be collaboration in terms of the condemnation of the invasion.

There seems to be some acknowledgement that we inter are,

That I guess that attacking Ukraine is attacking everyone.

So I'm starting to wonder if we're seeing some Bodhisattva energy showing up in the world,

Which is the next step after mindfulness and then after insight,

And then seeing that we're all interconnected.

The next step is to turn toward the world and do everything we can to help others.

And that's the Bodhisattva vow to heal the world.

And it shows up in other traditions,

Too.

Tukkun olam is the way we say it in Hebrew.

The Zen students say beings are numberless and I vow to save them all.

And with the Bodhisattva vow,

There's one more commitment and the commitment is to postpone our own liberation until everyone else is also liberated.

So I love the way that Lila Watson,

A Gangulu woman from Queensland,

Australia,

Said this.

She co-wrote,

If you have come here to help me,

You are wasting your time.

But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine,

Then let us work together.

In an interesting way,

And maybe not a parallel way,

But an interesting way,

This is the vow we take as lawyers.

You know,

We postpone not our freedom,

But our well-being to do everything we possibly can.

And a lot of times it's a lot more than we can to help others.

But we are missing some key principles and maybe we can start to incorporate them or maybe,

Maybe COVID,

Ukraine and there are other things that are pointing to that these elements are already starting to be incorporated.

So just the sort of overview Bodhisattvas serve everyone,

Heal the world,

Offer compassion to all beings because they don't preference one person or one group over another.

You know,

They see that we're all inextricably bound and belong to one another.

They commit to do no harm precisely because of this.

They hold the aspiration to do all they can and then they let go at the end of the day to rest and at the end of a life knowing they've done everything they can,

They've lived well.

Lawyers learn not to care so much about the well-being of all,

But still some of us do.

You know,

This is starting to make a difference,

I think,

At our firms and organizations.

Where wellbeing is being prioritized and it's also showing up in the ways that we're serving our clients.

Because yes,

We learn to preference certain people and groups over others,

But we're also starting to learn about interconnection.

And maybe that's showing up in various ways.

Just to point back to COVID in Ukraine and the ways,

What trade secrets around vaccines were shared and lawyers involved in multifaceted,

You know,

Multinational sanctions are working.

So,

Yeah,

Regarding separation,

Sadly,

I think we learn to see one another and the earth as separate and sometimes as commodities.

But slowly,

We're also having conversations about our own intrinsic value and that intrinsic value of others and of the earth.

And maybe,

Maybe this will start to shift the dominant perspective away from a belief that,

You know,

Horror is often justified and maybe towards a more loving and connected perspective.

And,

You know,

Many of us still question the intrinsic value of what we're doing and also frankly,

Whether we'll survive it.

But more and more,

I'm also hearing a commitment to remembering we're doing our best.

So instead of always pushing through our exhaustion without ever feeling we've done enough,

There's conversations happening.

There are conversations happening where people are remembering to appreciate themselves,

To appreciate one another,

To appreciate the planet.

So,

You know,

Are lawyers taking the bonus off a vow?

I don't know.

That might be a bit optimistic.

But if we did,

You know,

How would we feel?

How effective could we be?

How much more effective could we be?

How much more effective could we be?

And then what would the law look like and what would the world look like?

And it might look more loving because we'd be pointing toward intrinsic good in our work instead of working only for external rewards.

Or not only,

But primarily.

And we might be also remembering we're never going to complete our work if it's the true work of loving and having compassion for everyone.

But that might not matter.

And then our work might show up in the way the vaccine cooperation showed up or the sanction cooperation is starting to happen.

You know,

Of course,

Our work might also be even harder because we'd encounter these endless difficulties along the way,

But we already do.

You know,

So we're used to that.

And having taken the Bodhisattva vow,

We'd have to agree to keep going anyway,

Even in the face of all those difficulties.

But we already did that,

Too.

And we'd be doing that in the same way we already are,

Even though or maybe because no matter what,

We wouldn't ever get to a point when everything was working and all beings were safe and cared for.

But I guess the question is,

You know,

Seeing what's possible,

Maybe seeing a tiny bit of optimism in the world right now,

Even with all of the devastation and disruption.

It's like,

Why not go for that?

Why not go for that anyway?

And why not have lawyers take the oath and also take the Bodhisattva vow?

Beings are numberless.

I vow to save them all.

Why not?

OK,

So let's let's sit.

And for this,

Sit just first,

As always,

Just connecting with the present moment.

So connecting with your body and yourself,

Sitting in the chair,

Standing,

Walking lying down.

The breath and the body are the sounds in the environment.

In refuge in the present moment.

And also connecting with the earth.

And with each other.

It's a small group of us doing this work together,

Waking up together.

Taking this vow together.

And I hope we are.

Maybe.

Maybe looking for that,

Maybe looking for and finding that willingness inside ourselves to.

To walk that path,

Having compassion for all beings.

And maybe.

Part of that commitment to look for others who are walking that path,

Not just.

Here on the wake up call or in our own community,

But in the world.

Maybe exploring what level of commitment we can have to to this path and also to looking for.

And seeing the work.

That others are are doing on this path,

Really.

Seeing.

The body stuff,

A path out in the world.

And connecting it up.

You.

Thank you,

Everyone,

For coming to the wake up call today.

Take good care.

Be safe.

And I'll see you next Thursday.