Reflections on Buddhist Contributions to Social Justice [Main Post with PDF]
Cultivating Humility [6 of 10]
Cultivating Legitimacy [8 of 10]
Cultivating Humility [6 of 10]
Cultivating Legitimacy [8 of 10]
4. Cultivating Awareness
We cultivate our capacity for awareness diligently. We recognize that we have the opportunity to deepen and expand it. As we cultivate awareness[1], we begin to hear and see we are standing in a room filled with an orchestra that previously was invisible and inaudible. We had only heard perhaps, a hopeful harp or an intermittently beating drum; yet as we practice growing our awareness, slowly step by step be begin to hear – strings, winds, horns, a piano, percussion – we hear a full orchestra. We realize that we can hear the symphony in its beauty, in its dissonance, and in its harmony.
When we cultivate the capacity for awareness, we grow the ability to hold and to inform all the other capacities we diligently bring to our effort. We realize that we are in the midst of a symphony rehearsal, and we discover that we are part of the orchestra, we are part of the audience, and we are part of the music. So, we must practice, like a musician, diligently to play our unique instrument, the authenticity of our voice. We listen attentively to the instruments and rhythm that surround us. We listen both to appreciate the gift of the music and to calibrate our instrument into the melody of the orchestra.
Cultivating awareness is like symphony orchestra practice; the more we deepen our awareness, the more beautiful the sounds we share, the better able we are to hear and play with other orchestra members, and the more harmonious is the music we create. When we practice well, we invite others who are unaware of the orchestra to be inspired to play, listen, and create harmony with us and we build inclusive spaces one movement at a time.
[1] Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace is Every Step. Parallax Press; Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace. Parallax Press. John Kabat Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are
We cultivate our capacity for awareness diligently. We recognize that we have the opportunity to deepen and expand it. As we cultivate awareness[1], we begin to hear and see we are standing in a room filled with an orchestra that previously was invisible and inaudible. We had only heard perhaps, a hopeful harp or an intermittently beating drum; yet as we practice growing our awareness, slowly step by step be begin to hear – strings, winds, horns, a piano, percussion – we hear a full orchestra. We realize that we can hear the symphony in its beauty, in its dissonance, and in its harmony.
When we cultivate the capacity for awareness, we grow the ability to hold and to inform all the other capacities we diligently bring to our effort. We realize that we are in the midst of a symphony rehearsal, and we discover that we are part of the orchestra, we are part of the audience, and we are part of the music. So, we must practice, like a musician, diligently to play our unique instrument, the authenticity of our voice. We listen attentively to the instruments and rhythm that surround us. We listen both to appreciate the gift of the music and to calibrate our instrument into the melody of the orchestra.
Cultivating awareness is like symphony orchestra practice; the more we deepen our awareness, the more beautiful the sounds we share, the better able we are to hear and play with other orchestra members, and the more harmonious is the music we create. When we practice well, we invite others who are unaware of the orchestra to be inspired to play, listen, and create harmony with us and we build inclusive spaces one movement at a time.
[1] Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace is Every Step. Parallax Press; Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace. Parallax Press. John Kabat Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are
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