These words of wisdom from Ramana Maharshi teach us how not to reform the world.
With the world in so much trouble right now from climate change, social, racial and economic injustice, and growing populations, we need to consider some methods to reform the world in a peaceful way.
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh says, “There is no path to peace. Peace is the path.”
We have to find peace in ourselves to engender peace in the world.
“Wanting to reform the world without discovering one’s true self is like trying to cover the world with leather to avoid the pain of walking on stones and thorns.
It is much simpler to wear shoes.”
A Zen poem by Dogen Zenji, an important figure in Zen Buddhism (1200-1253) once said,
“To study the Buddha Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things. When actualized by myriad things, your body and mind as well as the bodies and minds of others drop away. No trace of enlightenment remains, and this no-trace continues endlessly.”
― Dogen
Once we have forgotten the self and become “actualized by myriad things,” we will have developed the wisdom and compassion to make reform the world.
Does and of this make sense to you?
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