It is beyond words to express my feelings of sadness and devastation after seeing the unnecessary force which led to the ultimate disaster of losing one precious human life, George Floyd.
But looking deeper, I also felt a strong connection: to the sick and deceased, to nurses and doctors who couldn’t save them, to soldiers solemnly driving those trucks, to others watching these surreal scenes just as I was doing.
When I read this section of the book Emotional Rescue I felt that Ponlop Rinpoche had specifically written that for me! So often I’ve tried and failed at difficult conversations, leaving them full of regret, or worse, with more anger and hurt on both sides.
Being human is such a crazy ride. We have these tumultuous emotions that seem unique to our species. We are animals that dream of the divine. We generate art and healing, but also war and slavery.
We all worry about our future and how things are going to turn out. But if we focus too much on outcomes, we’ll miss out on the life we’re actually living. There are no set-in-stone permanent outcomes, but instead, a continuous unfolding of our lives. Seeing uncertainty as growth and discovery takes a leap, but this view can help ease anxiety and build acceptance of what is happening now.
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche teaches on what to do in a crisis. As Buddhist practitioners, how can we help in situations of mass shootings and other tragedies?
