My favorite guidance, my constant go-to reminder is: “Faith is to fear nothing,” from the poem To My Young American Friends by Daisaku Ikeda. It gets right to the point: if bodhisattvas are here on a mission to save the world by saving ourselves, we must keep going, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what. It’s hard sometimes – most of the time – but there’s no turning back. We signed up for this.
Our assignment commenced an unimaginably long time ago, when bodhisattvas were called to action to save humanity from itself. Only the bravest and most courageous were chosen. We made a vow. We knew it would be incredibly difficult, horrible at times, and span many lifetimes. There would be violence and cruelty and injustice… our job was to show a more evolved way – by becoming enlightened. In the process of remembering who we really are – Buddhas – we would change the dark energies that had invaded and enslaved planet Earth – into light.
So, we came here, wiped clean of all the enlightenment we had attained to become great bodhisattvas (though it was still buried inside us somewhere), and started all over again, in order to provide a spiritual curriculum for the severely unenlightened – the Dark Ones, the knuckle draggers. The ones who are here now in countless numbers, eagerly destroying our planet. Why? Because they can. Because we live in duality.
To be perfectly frank, duality is not my favorite operating system. I think there must be a better way to live, but there probably isn’t. At least not in the physical world, where we act out our karma and learn big life lessons. Ironically, it turns out, we need the Dark in order to see the Light.
The brave bodhisattvas who vowed to save humanity had to relearn humanity itself, and not appear hoity toity, or better than. No one is better than anyone else – we’re just at different levels of spiritual advancement – okay, very different levels. Bodhisattvas are about love, not judgment. But without the contrast of the Dark, we can’t know Light and Love.
Love is the truth of everything. Without love, all living things would die of boredom and we wouldn’t exist. So, I accept duality and all its horror, because that’s the way we learn things – by contrast.
We should really feel honored to be here in this time of cosmic turbulence. At last, we’re fulfilling the promise we made a bazillion lifetimes ago, to be fulfilled in the crucial time called Mappo, an era of extreme darkness and depravity. I know I don’t shock you when I proclaim that Mappo is here and thriving.
We knew our mission would be incredibly difficult, horrible at times, and span many lifetimes. There would be violence and cruelty and injustice… our job was to show a more evolved way – by becoming enlightened. In the process of remembering who we really are – Buddhas – by example we would change the dark energies that had invaded and enslaved planet Earth – to Light. Now, in the thick of it, it’s every bit as ghastly as promised. But we can’t complain – it’s actual proof. Mappo is happening! And we are in the fight of – and for – our lives.
Heal yourself, heal the world. We can change darkness to light by transforming ourselves. Despite how grim things appear, we are altering the course of humanity. What could be more satisfying than knowing we’re doing what we came here to do, fulfilling that vow we made all those eons ago?
Seriously, well done, bodhisattvas. Take a bow. And then, back to work. Faith is to fear nothing.
Linda Segall Anable lanable@earthlink.net
October, 2023
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