Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

‘We live in samsara, the world of suffering. Sentient beings here are born out of ignorance and fueled by greed and anger. So, of course it is natural for things to go wrong; it’s common for people to be selfish, even to the extent of sabotaging others. Everyone is living out their own narrative.

People typically see others through a self-referential lens, and thus are driven by the polarities of gaining and losing, having and lacking, seeking and rejecting, and, ultimately, success and failure. But, whether in politics or everyday life, there are no real winners and losers; selfing and othering harms everyone. We easily notice such unskillful behavior of other people, but we must also have the humility to recognize that we engage in the same habits. Each of us contributes to the ripening of conditions.

The ordinary mind accepts that everything changes, and it sees that change is full of potential. In the grand scheme of things, everything is workable. As long as we practice and engage with the world for the benefit of others, humanity will survive the rise and fall of any politician or ideology.’ (from Lion’s Roar)