World of Philosophy

SR No.: 007005
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan
Publication Year: 2011
Total Pages: 1002
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 30 MB

Page 179

At the final retreat I shared an interview by Andrew Cohen with Zen social activist Bernie Glassman that is relevant to this point. Cohen asked Glassman about the state of not-knowing while acting:
BG: When we step back, we can just say, "It's overwhelming, you know - it's all going to fall apart." Yes, it is all going to fall apart. But, in the meantime, this is what I'm going to do.
AC: So you would say, "Abide in a state of not knowing and do the best one can?
BG: Yes. Approach the situation in a state of not knowing. Then bear witness to it. (p. 71)
Later in the same conversation Glassman and Cohen discussed the paradox of knowing that the world is perfect as it is, but acting anyway from a place of love.
BG: My feeling is that the world at every moment is the perfect world as it is. It's not like something is broken that I'm going to put together. But I'm going to work toward making a more loving situation.
AC: That's a very delicate distinction that you're making. BG: It is.
AC: Because that is the challenge of enlightenment. On one hand, everything is already full and perfect and inherently free as it is, and yet at the same time -
BG: Yes, but if you're attached to that - then you may not act.
AC: But aren't both true? Isn't everything already full and complete and already free, and at the same time, isn't there an overwhelming amount of suffering that urgently needs to be responded to in every moment?
BG: Exactly. (Cohen, 2001, p. 75)
Holding this mystery means knowing that the earth is fine as it is and does not need us to save it, while at the same time being called by love to speak on its behalf. It means not seeking to change others, and yet working to increase awareness of how we could all love the planet better. It means acting as skillfully as possible to create positive results, and yet releasing attachment to those results.
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