After watching the nightly news, and rediscovering after three months that the planet is going to Hell in a handbasket, I'm reminded of the central point of the awesome book Blessed Unrest: humanity seems to act as an innate immune response when the Earth is suffering. It seems we're all well aware of the social and environmental havoc being wreaked, and we are all doing some small part to salve it.
Why?
Paraphrasing one of the central claims in Buddhist philosophy, the empty clarity of mind is naturally imbued with a kind of intelligence or wisdom borne of compassion. One of the benefits of meditation seems to be that, by piping down the competing racket in the mind, the inherent wisdom of mind shines through more brightly.
Is Buddhist practice necessary to uncover this intelligence? Certainly not. Is retreat critical? Probably not. Is it crucial to devote more time to finding ways of accessing this deep-seated sagacity and selflessness, and then implementing them? Probably.
My suspicion is that the recent upsurge in interest in meditative practices just when wisdom is needed most urgently is no coincidence.
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