Well, I feel like silence this week is unacceptable, given what's going on. And again, I really prefer to talk about sutras and koans and Dogen and Buddhist teachings. And well, maybe I'll frame it a little bit in terms of that. But I really do need to talk about what's been going on this week in this country. I just feel responsible to that But I'll mention by way of starting the paramitas, the transcendent practices of bodhisattvas, which apply in terms of our personal practice, in terms of how we practice within ourselves, for ourselves, on our own seats, and also in our own personal lives, and also in the world around us.

[01:03]

So we have 10 transcendent practices. They start with generosity. But I'll mention tonight particularly ethical conduct, which has to do with precepts, which include things like including all beings, not just certain beings of certain races or certain religions. And it also includes things like not hating, not finding fault with particular others. not holding on to anger. Of course, anger may arise. And also the transcendent practices or paramitas, the ten that I talk about, sometimes we talk about six, but the ten also include commitment or vow. So what do we do? How do we resolve to respond to situations in our own life, situations in the world?

[02:12]

that call us to respond. And then maybe most relevant now, skillful means. How do we practice skillful means? This involves also the practice of patience. How do we pay attention? How do we find skillful ways to respond? And that's a matter of trial and error and making mistakes and not having some instruction manual for what to do, because there isn't one. This is a new situation. It really is. And in some ways, it's not new. Well, we've had, in many ways, government of the billionaires, by the billionaires, and for the billionaires for a few decades now. We've had wars, and our country's been at war for, or been involved in warfare for, I don't know, the last 50 years or more.

[03:26]

basically, most of my life, one way or another. And, you know, sitting here practicing zazen, You know, I don't feel personally fear or anger. And part of what I want to talk about, about all of what's going on, and I want to name some of the many really terrible things that are going on this week that our government is doing. I don't, in some ways I feel angry, but in some ways I don't feel that exactly. And I don't even feel fear exactly. Maybe I should feel more afraid. I think that those feelings are available. I don't think those feelings are helpful. But I do think it's important to pay attention and to name what's happening.

[04:28]

And to respond with awareness. So I'll come back to that. But just to say, you know, I think it's important to say what's going on. And there's so much that it's pretty hard to cover all of it. And that's not the point exactly. So I'll leave some major things out. But the harm to refugees and immigrants, people being deported in the last week, ICE agents coming in, and people who've been living here in this country for 20 years. Some families being separated. People afraid to report, to follow the laws and report to immigration agents because they might be deported. People who've been working at jobs and making a living and supporting their families.

[05:37]

People who have children who are citizens or parents who are citizens. and refugees being prevented from coming into the country, people who are refugees from wars that our government started or caused in the Middle East, people who actually worked for our government in some of those wars and will be killed if they don't leave those countries and then not being allowed into this country. That's just horrible. That's happening. The encouragement of hate. singling out minorities. Of course, this isn't new either. I mean, we've had slavery and racism. We've had picking on minorities and immigrants through most of American histories.

[06:40]

We've had Native Americans persecuted. We've had Japanese Americans interned in World War II. None of this is exactly new. the scale on which it's happening in the last, well, this government, this administration. How long has it been? A little more than a month? It's really drastic. And Mr. Bannon, who seems to be writing, reportedly is writing all the edicts, and his background is one of writing, encouraging hate extremist, hey, he's really an extremist, has said that his mission, the people who've been appointed to the cabinets, his mission is to destroy all the branches of government that have served the people.

[07:41]

Basically, he said that. Department of Education, the Department of Justice, the Environmental Department. I think the, from what I've heard, the Environmental Protection Department will be eliminated. Endangered Species Act is going to be eliminated. We've already been losing animal species very rapidly. All of this is happening at a very accelerated pace. And the new budget is promised to cut back on all what they call entitlements, which is really just what our tax dollars have been paying to protect and serve people.

[08:50]

Entitlements is what's going to the billionaires who don't pay taxes. But then one of the latest things is is the promotion of alternative facts. Otherwise known as lying by the government. And now the banning from White House press conferences of the New York Times and CNN and BBC. The New York Times and CNN to me are basically very conservative media, mainstream media, corporate media venues. And what is replacing them are very far right wing extremists, and I would call them terrorist propaganda operations.

[09:56]

So this is really extraordinary what's happening. And for Mr. Trump to basically say that he's above, he's not accountable, and that there should be no media coverage, and that anybody who disagrees with him is is alternative news, and anybody who disagrees with his alternative facts or lies is alternative news. This is pretty dangerous. This is a whole new level of, you know, what's been going on for some time. One of the things that, again in the last few days only, that there had been a bipartisan agreement by both parties to eliminate private prisons. because of the mass incarceration, which is actually the continuation of slavery.

[11:09]

The 13th Amendment that eliminated slavery had this loophole where if somebody committed a crime, they could put you in prison. And basically, mass incarceration of prisoners, and it's predominantly minorities, Predominantly, the percentages of young African-American men is very high. So it's slavery in another form. And people in these private prisons have been basically work without wages for corporations. So it's slavery. And there had been bipartisan agreement by Republicans and Democrats to eliminate them. They've now announced they're going to rapidly expand private prisons because of the need they're going to have for many, many more prisoners. At the same time, they were talking about a crackdown on marijuana use, recreational marijuana use, which is being legalized in some states.

[12:18]

I don't use marijuana myself. I used to a long time ago, and I don't My drug of choice is coffee, but I don't recommend marijuana for use for Zosyn. But if some of you do that, it's OK. I don't think it shouldn't land you in prison. But of course, it's been used as a way of justifying. There's a racial quota system, and it's an excuse to. put minorities in prison. So this is a little bit of all the stuff that's happening. And maybe it's not totally new, but the scale of what's being enacted, not just talked about, but enacted, and the hate crimes that are being committed. against minorities, against Muslims, against Jews now. Of course, against African Americans, against Asians, against, there were some Indian men beat up because the guy thought they were Arabs.

[13:27]

This is happening all over the country. And so, what do we do? I'm not talking about this to encourage fear or despair or hysteria or any of that. A friend, I send out emails sometimes to groups of friends and somebody, an old friend, accused me of being a little hysterical in an email I sent out a month ago. It's true that I used to work in TV and news, so I don't know. I don't intend to talk about this in this way, but also I feel like not talking about it would be irresponsible. given what's happening. So what do we do?

[14:29]

How do we respond? And I think coming here and sitting zazen is actually one healthy response. Developing our own capacity, all of us, no matter how long you've sat, no matter how long you've been doing this practice, we all need it. to develop and sustain a kind of breath, a kind of steadiness, a kind of calm. Because we have to respond, and we don't know how to respond. And yet there are lots of responses happening. So there is resistance happening all over the country, and it's inspiring.

[15:34]

So the situation is not hopeless at all. In fact, there's a kind of great awakening happening because people see this. What would be dangerous is if we pretended it's not happening, if we didn't talk about it, if we thought, oh, gee, well, there he goes again, and kind of pretended that nothing was happening. And well, OK, those people are going to be taken away, but it doesn't affect me. We can't be that way. So he hasn't talked about Buddhists yet. But our Sangha includes Muslims, it includes many minorities, it includes, you know, we have to be in fellowship. And many of us are doing things like that.

[16:38]

There are many venues, so, you know, I don't know what, you know, I don't know that we do anything officially as a Sangha, although we could. But I think many of us are trying to respond in various ways. There's a 47th War Clergy Coalition, and there was a, and Laurel and I are connected to that, and so our local alderman has organized that. they're working they're working particularly with uh... immigrants and refugees and also homeless people and there was some of you went to the vigil and rally that laurel spoke at couple weeks a few weeks ago around the corner here uh... there's uh... indivisible movement that's lobbying congresspeople and uh... and uh... And I think we have to continue doing that.

[17:41]

There are lots and lots of different groups that are marching in the street, and I think we have to continue doing that. And there's not one right response. So I'm not telling any of you particularly that you should be doing X, Y, or Z. But I think all of us, each of us in our own way, does need to keep paying attention and keep breathing. And, you know, it's a serious situation. When the president starts talking about being above the law and that the media is false and when journalists are in danger of being put in prison.

[18:45]

That's a very serious step. Maybe that's all I have to say, except that we can remember practices of commitment, practices of vow or intention, practices that are traditional Buddhist practices, practices of generosity, practices of kindness, that when we see others spreading hate, that we not succumb to that. We can see that, you know, every situation is very complicated. We have to listen to the views of many people and not be self-righteous about our approaches to how to take care of things.

[19:48]

But it's a very serious situation that's happening. in the world and in our country. And people all over the world are very concerned about what's happening in our country. And we are here. So we have a particular responsibility. So I'm sure that some of you have things you might add or comment on. So I'll just open it up for that. Please feel free. Yes, Jen? I just read an article in a group of books where Europe was absolutely shocked I didn't hear that one.

[21:10]

Did that happen today? Oh, okay. Sorry, I'm sort of kidding. And another thing about Nazi Germany that is very, very interesting is Well, we're seeing that Trump and Bannon and that group are demanding personal loyalty.

[22:32]

Other comments, perspectives, reflections? Yes, Chris? I haven't really followed it much, other than the fact that I know it's tomorrow. And I know the majority of the community is in support of it. And I was talking to some students today about it.

[24:04]

Well, I think there are lots of young people who are very concerned and are active. And it doesn't, you know, in any time when real change happens, it doesn't require that, you know, that the whole, that everybody be involved. Actually, I don't know, I've heard that I don't know what the percentage is, but a small, large percentage of people being very concerned makes a difference. So at some point, it will hit them. And we're maybe not there yet. But it's interesting. Yeah. At some point, they will start to see, I think. David. So it's not just everyone.

[26:35]

I say that from experience because in my daughter's freshman year they had to pick a charity and talk about that charity to the whole school and raise money for that charity. That was their social studies class. It was about child abuse, people not having water, sex trade. And that's, so, take heart. Take heart. So, you know, we may have a range of perspectives here.

[27:43]

And I don't assume that everybody agrees with everything I said. And it's okay to say whatever. We have to be able to listen to each other. Yes, stay.

[29:29]

There's... It's... At any given moment, there's always... I don't think that it's not true that things are serious now, because they are. But I also know that and traumas and hurts that stay with them and us and all of us forever.

[30:50]

I think what can help us though is that as the days kind of flow and as reality keeps hitting us And to be satisfied that, you know, I don't think it's about being a superhuman and, you know, being the one person that can end this administration and, you know, create a perfect mutual aid and, you know, restore the country back to Native Americans

[31:54]

Well, sir, yeah, I think, you know, everything changes in this world too. And there are many people and many forces around the world that are already opposing this, and so it's going to be interesting. And yes, it's very much the case that everything we do that contributes positive energy to the world has an effect. And that it's not about any one person riding in and saving. It's not about one savior or something. That Sangha is about all of us together making contributions, each in our own way. And it can be in lots of different ways. It can be, you know, just small personal acts of kindness. It can be in making music.

[33:44]

It can be in parenting. It can be in, you know, expressing love in all kinds of ways that help And yet, yeah, there is this difficult situation. And you're right. There have always been difficult situations. So it's not exactly that this is new, as I said. But there's a particular very challenging situation. So anyway, we all can do something. Bill, do you have any reflections? I'll give you the last word. I know you have things to say. Maybe you can just add one thing. of the good things that people might want to do, which is get channeled into what is fundamentally a cynical and billionaire-class serving channel, which I think is a good word for it, called the digital economy.

[35:14]

And so, I think the real challenge is to find something Well, I think we might have some varied opinions about that in this room, but I think But I called, but it's also, you know, I called on you. So I think, you know, one of the things that has to happen when we look at this, you know, beyond 20, what is this, 2017? is that we have to change, you know, we have to envision. I mean, this is actually the work that Buddhist sanghas can do.

[36:19]

We actually have to envision different ways of how we all live together as human beings. That's actually what we're doing sitting on our cushions. We actually have to, so beyond our present system of political parties, as you say, beyond the way the world is organized now, there needs to be... a big shift happens, is mysterious, and yet those things happen in world history. And maybe we're at a place where that needs to happen, and so maybe it will happen. And how and when it's going to happen, it may look sudden, but it's the product of many people sitting around in rooms like this, Buddhist and otherwise. thinking about, sitting with, what is it that makes us human beings? How is it that we can live together?

[37:22]

How is it that we can help? How is it that we can help each other and the world? Anyway, we have a lot of work to do. We have several years of this to continue considering. four bodhisattva vows. Beings are numberless. I vow to free them. Delusions are inexhaustible. I vow to end them. Dharma gates are boundless. I vow to enter them. Buddha's way is unsurpassable. I vow to realize it. Beings are numberless.

[38:24]

I vow to...

[38:26]

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