Syncretism (IV)
From EarthSaint: Thich Nhat Hanh:
I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks.
And I am the arms merchant,
selling deadly weapons to Uganda.
I am the twelve-year-old girl,
refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean
after being raped by a sea pirate.
And I am the pirate,
my heart not yet capable
of seeing and loving.
My joy is like Spring, so warm
it makes flowers bloom all over the Earth.
My pain is like a river of tears,
so vast it fills the four oceans.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and laughter at once,
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.
An excerpt of the poem Please Call Me By My True Names, the entirety of which is available at the link above.
Along with the rest of his bio:
Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh is one of the most beloved Buddhist teachers in the West, a rare combination of mystic, poet, scholar, and activist. His luminous presence and the simple, compassionate clarity of his writings have touched countless lives. Free of dogma, he shows us how attentive, respectful mindfulness can heal our souls and our world, and bring us home, in joy, to the living body of Earth and kinship with all beings.In 1967 Thich Nhat Hanh was nominated by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Link found because I saw the poem at this page, while searching for a citation on the Robbins quote in the previous entry.
It just looks random. There is a method to my madness. Sometimes.
F'r instance, I could explain that, self-evidently, Zen Buddhism is a syncretic religion, like Yezidi, but this is left as an exercise for the student.
Comments
Activist... I often wonder about about that their title (being contained within one's own bio not withstanding). I spose being a poet, a scholar, and a mystic don't necessarily exclude being an activist - but all the heavy cats at home have a pronounced tendancy to side-step activism with a tip of the hat and a "good day sir."
For example... activism in and of itself recognizes and thefore assigns power to the very institute/system/cock-man-opressor that plagues thee. Just because I speak up for Joe Bob doesn't mean that Joe Bob's live is any better. Sure, mayeb I "won" some scrap bit of legislation that Joe Bob might benifit from should he a) know that it exists and b) know where to find the forms and c) beleive he has the capacity to fill ou the forms.
Still, I spose activizin beats watchin Rich Girls.
Posted by: uppity-shinob | November 3, 2003 9:14 AM
of course I meant *maybe and *fill out the forms
Curse my metal body, I was too slow.
Posted by: uppity-shinob | November 3, 2003 9:15 AM