A Minor Constitutional Squabble

I'm trying to view our current events through the lens of spirituality, as exemplified by Zen masters, and by Jesus. But Zen masters recognized that social conditions sometimes required them to take sides. Sometimes, in fact, they took the wrong side, since they're only human, after all. Jesus certainly recognized the need to take sides and drive the moneychangers from the temple. He never lifted a finger to save himself, but corruption was quite another thing.

It looks like we have some moneychangers. You can't take that analogy any further, since I refuse to equate the White House and Congress with the temple, so I'll drop it there. But there's a storm of major proportions brewing in Washington. This week's collection of scofflaw behaviors by the administration was a gauntlet not simply thrown down by the White House, but first slapped in the faces of congressional investigative committee leaders. The investigators are honor-bound to respond, and the White House is likely to have greatly underestimated the force of that response, and the momentum gained by 6-plus years of repression.

Funny thing, though. It looks like we'll probably take a timeout first. July 4th is coming. Everyone is going on vacation. The White House sure knows when to throw down the gauntlet, because everyone's halfway out the door to go see the other fireworks, the kind you buy on the side of the road. We're all just gonna shut down the next two weeks or so, and maybe everyone will have forgotten about the whole thing. Meantime, of course, soldiers will die, some of them on July 4th itself; and of course, Iraqis will die, probably in the hundreds, while we have our picnics.

Looking at this through a spiritual lens, the break may be a good thing. Don't bet any money that the administration's challenge will have been forgotten when activities resume later in July, but there will have been a little time available for sober reflection. And this is a sober time, make no mistake. This 4th of July, take a little time to scan the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United States. You might want to pay special attention to Article 2 of the Constitution, which defines the Executive branch of the U.S. Government (including, as it happens, the Vice President). Read over the inspiring words that represent the highest ideals of the human race regarding self-government. Ask yourself if we have acted in the spirit of those documents in our response to the crises that introduced us to the 21st century. Examine our current status in the light of all the wisdom imparted to us from Jefferson, Franklin, Jesus and Dogen. Come back from the holidays all refreshed, but give a little thought to my homework assignment.

I've taken on a nice little reading project, myself. I'm reading two American history books side by side. One is a relatively classic history called A New History of the United States, by William Miller. (I've had it in my library since college, but have never read it.) The other is called A People's History of the United States, by Howard Zinn. The latter is written from the point of view of the middle and lower classes as the movers and shakers grabbed for their piece of the pie. They're fascinating books, both of them, and I'll want to write more about them when I'm finished. I think it's very appropriate to take this time to look back at the road that's led us to this place.

I think there are going to be times in the coming weeks and months when we'll be hard pressed to manage even grudging crumbs of compassion towards our adversaries. We may be tempted to fits of rage that would make Ann Coulter seem laid back. We're going to have to remember the Coulter regions of our brain are just not wired for the sort of broad-based, reasoned approach that will be our salvation.

In sitting zazen, I have a sense that lends to composure. I don't see any significant distinction between zazen and heartfelt prayer. I am grateful to know I can draw upon that strength. It's one of the paradoxes of Zen, and of Life, that there can be composure while young men sweat and die in Civilization's Cradle, while rich men lie and steal, and send more young men to die.

Rev. Billy

In my last entry, I mentioned the revivalist Billy Graham. As I re-read the words of Jesus in my old bible, one reminder of the reverend is the bookmark I've been using. It's an old newspaper clipping of the daily column Graham used to write. The column was titled "Thank Mother For Care". Mother never felt I was fully appreciative, and I'm sure she was right, at least in that my gratitude was never properly expressed.

As I continued to read, a second clipping fell from between the pages. Mother clipped quite a few things from the paper in her 61 years, and filled a few scrapbooks with the results. I unfolded this new item, now yellowed with age, and found yet another entry of "My Answer" by Billy Graham. Sadly, there's nothing to indicate the date. I would estimate its age at between 35 and 40 years. The title of this column is "To Be Happy Forget Yourself". I'm including its contents here, and hope I'm not in conflict with Reverend Graham's wishes in doing so:

In these times of modern living I find that I think only of my own
pleasures, desires, worries, and troubles. I want to love God and
worship Him, but how can I change?

-- T.S.

A wise man once said, "The smallest package on earth is a man
wrapped up in himself," and this seems to be your dilemma.

One of the splendid things that faith in Christ does for us is to
extricate us from the 'web' of self. Jesus said, "If any man would
come after me, let him deny himself." Those who 'lose' themselves
in His cause always find themselves. You are the living example
of the 'hell' people experience when God is left out of life.

I once heard it said of a man who possessed a magnetic per-
sonality: "When he comes into a room it seems to light up with
a new glow". What did this man do? He had the knack of get-
ting people's minds off themselves, making them relax, and
helping them be natural.

When Christ comes into a human heart, it is as though that
life was lighted up. He has a way of making us forget our-
selves, our burdens, our worries, and our cares. Throw
everything you have into Christ's cause. Surrender your-
self; lose yourself, and you will find yourself. "He that
loseth his life for my sake shall find it", He said.


I don't know about you, but the spirit of that column seems very Zen to me. If we agree that the spirit of Jesus on earth is love and compassion, then Reverend Graham's advice to abandon ourselves to this tender mercy is no other than the essential path to enlightenment. I believe that, throughout the world, the ideal of enlightened being is embodied in one who can truly live the New Commandment to "love thy neighbor as thyself".

As if my knowledge of the sad truth needed reinforcement, this "definition of enlightenment" highlights the great distance between myself and this state of being. I struggle constantly with anger and hate, despite knowing that once I give in to them, I'm lost. If my coat is taken, can I truly find the grace to offer my cloak as well?

Common Ground

There are a lot of blogs out there, a lot of web sites, that provide a lot of information, analysis, and opinions. Especially in the political arena, there is so much data from so many sources, it's hard to know what to believe. It's particularly hard to see how such a polarized society can find common ground. But that's unquestionably what we have to do.

There's been a whole lot of lying, and that makes things far more difficult. We're going to have to stop lying. If we've been lied to, and we've believed some lies, we're not going to be happy when we're confronted by the truth. All those lies are going to stand between us and the commonality we must find.

I've been able to take some time the last few months to slow down, read and meditate. I've practiced Zen meditation, read a lot of Zen literature, and mixed in a great deal of other reading -- history, poetry, quantum physics, politics, you name it. I think I've learned a little about myself, and how to better appreciate these fleeting moments of my existence. I wanted to start a blog that focused on personal discovery and broader understanding. That's still my goal. But this luxury of time that I've enjoyed has allowed me to examine things a bit more closely than I've been able to do for most of this century, and my reveries have been disturbed by my growing sense of a general distress in this country and the world at large. Recent national polls show that very few of us agree that we're headed in the right direction. It follows, then, that the vast majority feel that something has to change.

Change is frightening. Many of us feel we don't know who to trust. I'm struggling to find a voice, for any who take the time to read this, that might help to build some bridges over the gulfs that separate us. I want to help build trust, but it will have to be founded on real, honest searching for the truth. It's not going to be easy. As I said, there's been a lot of lying.

I've been re-reading Jesus the last few days. Just because I meditate doesn't mean I don't appreciate Jesus. I grew up watching Billy Graham's "Crusades" so long ago, and I was always so impressed by his insistence on returning, time and again, to His actual words. Perhaps our common ground might still be found in those portions of the King James translation printed in red.

I don't think Jesus ever lied.

Warming Up

This is just a little warm-up for some later, more in-depth writing. I want to set something straight.

I believe we have a right to ask questions in this society. I believe trust is earned. Right now, I see the hard edges of our differences fracturing our society along all-too-familiar lines. I want you all to know that I want to understand the things that matter to each and every one of you.

I don't believe I have any specific answers. But I don't think there's anything more worth fighting for than our right to ask questions and engage in dialogue. If the voices of today's questioners have become strident, some of the blame must lie with those to whom our questions are directed, in that they have not been forthcoming. It's hard to ask the same questions over and again without a hint of impatience.

So bear with me. I'll try to be patient, and please be patient with me. I want us to work together.

The First Entry

Hi Folks,

I'm starting this blog so I can begin sharing my thoughts with any who care to read them. I will try to create several new entries every week, and develop content on various topics that are of interest to me. I suspect I have a modest ability to express myself, and I spend a fair amount of time gathering information that may be useful to others. I want to create a record of thoughts and reactions to my subset of the sea of information through which we move, and try to maintain contact with my "common sense" of us, as opposed to just myself.

I take this effort very seriously. I apologize if this introduction reveals little about the specifics of my upcoming content, so I'll share a few details about myself. I'm a Boomer, and for the moment I'm "on sabbatical" (translation: I've quit, at least temporarily) from a major software company due mostly to health reasons. I'm a longtime smoker, and it's caught up to me. I'm far from wealthy, but I probably don't need to go back and work for a living any more, so I'm using this time to do extensive reading and reflection, including Zen meditation. I live on the West Coast now, but grew up in Ohio as a zealous Cleveland Browns fan. Oh, and I tend to be liberal, although I've lived long enough to know my opinions are just that, and the real truth is what we agree on, not what I think or you think.

I hope to continue this blog for a long time, and I hope I can offer something of use for those of you who pass this way. Sorry if this initial entry's usefulness is marginal, but it says one thing that's very important.

Hello! :)