On Transcending the Economic Crisis

In each of our minds, there is a fountain of wisdom constantly flowing. When we connect with it, we stop doing the kinds of things that have led to our current economic situation. And how do we connect with that fountain of wisdom? I’ll come back to that later. Right here I want to deal with the presented pain more directly. When we connect with the constantly-springing, infinitely creative, and unique spring of wisdom that lies within each of our minds, we are able to see through lies and have the courage to expose them, rather than to be the passive tools of corrupt leaders. When we are so connected within ourselves, we have the courage to stand against the collective force of a mass of inherently weak and directionless people going along with lies simply because they are too lazy to investigate, and/or too eager to reap the benefit of going along with those in power, even when those in power happen to be corrupt.

But beyond all that, when we locate our own wisdom, which is unique, and which is something that no one else but each of us can give individually, we can start to see the way forward from the dreadful economic reality to which our collective action as a nation has brought us.

The economic crisis into which we find ourselves plunged is entirely a function of a lack or trust between people. This lack of trust has fundamentally been caused by untrustworthy leadership, but it has now pervaded our entire society. Getting rid of the faulty leadership will not automatically restore trust. WE must now deliberately do that, individually and collectively, explicitly and consciously, and with the intention of continuing with that directed activity until all of the environmental indicators, and the vast majority of what we hear from abroad tell us: “Now we can trust you again. Congratulations! You have effectively buried the poisonous legacy of the Neocons. You now once again represent the America that we so much want to love and trust as before, and for forever more. May you never falter on your path again, with our blessing.”

And guess what? We are not going to get there without talking to people. Specifically, we are not going to get there without talking to our friends and allies overseas, who have been hurt by our cultural and economic chaos, with an intention of doing what they want us to do to repair this. Asians call that kind of intention “sincerity.” It is a central value in all of their cultures, and it is something that we need to learn from them. Sincerity gains trust in Asia; absolutely, you can count on it.

In fact, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what they want. They want the stupid irresponsible debt to come down. The Japanese, in particular, have been decrying this, continuously and specifically, for at least 30 years. But admiting, under present circumstances, that they were right and we were wrong about this all the way down the line will not, in and of itself, restore trust. It has gone beyond that. In truth, it has gone far, far beyond that. To regain their trust now we must openly and sincerely admit that, and to back up that admission with forceful action. One of these steps will not be sufficient. To simply correct the economic dynamics, without owning the wrong in it, after the way they have been hurt by this, would be worse than nothing at all. That will just make them adament about doing nothing to help us, and we can’t afford that. But both of these things together, both communication about taking responsibility for the way we screwed it up, AND forceful corrective action, will regain their trust. It will take time, but this will most definitely regain their trust. And the time it will take will be our national trial. We will have to live in conditions of scarcity and hardship, but it will also be a time in which we can hold our heads high again, in the sure knowledge that we have returned to the path of our right national Dharma (duty).

But we should not even try to do this alone. That would be a serious mistake, and here is where I return to the subject of how we get connected to the eternal fountain of wisdom that springs, knowingly or unknowingly, within every human soul. The Asians know how to do this better than we do, and once we level* with them about our intention to do right by them, they will help us on this front, and this can make all the difference. If the mind is stable and at peace, scarcity and hardship become bearable, and gradually melt away before the force of combined benevolent intent. Of course, what I refer to primarily is Buddhist practice, because that is what I know, but their are many other such wisdom resources in the Asian arsenal. If you look at what either Mother India or China have done in recent decades, you can rest assured that we can do the same thing, with some cultural creativity on both sides.

We can do this. Yes we can! Not only can we do it, but we can do it together, we can do it smiling beautifully, and we can do it with class.

Oh, and hey, did I mention “smiling” yet? I want to see little angel faces on all sides.

*level – this is the essential meaning of the critical root [ping, 平] in my Refuge name. It is literally a picture of how you get plumb and level without instruments, which will be obvious to builders. (Hint: one of the horizontal lines is the horizon).

Namu Amida Butsu
Xing Ping