Now that it has dawned on most of the leftwing opponents of President Trump that removing him from office via impeachment or the 25th amendment is very unlikely, what is left for them? Well, Jo Confino of the Huffington Post recommends consulting the writings of a Zen master for advice. Unfortunately, the recommendations offer little solace for the exceedingly angry diehard leftists as we shall see:
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What can Zen Buddhism teach us about the art of effective activism in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidency?
Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, who has been a social and environmental activist for more than 40 years, has said the most important thing for those feeling a sense of despair is to remember that meeting anger with more anger only makes matters worse.
The 90-year-old Vietnamese monk, who is considered to be one of the world’s leading spiritual teachers, is known for creating the idea of Engaged Buddhism, a method of linking mindfulness with social action.
His essential teaching on activism is that mindfulness gives people the ability to find peace in themselves so that their actions come from a place of compassion.
“Mindfulness must be engaged,” Nhat Hanh writes in his new book At Home in the World. “Once we see that something needs to be done, we must take action. Seeing and action go together. Otherwise, what is the point in seeing?”
“Nonviolence is not a set of techniques that you can learn with your intellect,” he goes on to say. “Nonviolent action arises from the compassion, lucidity and understanding you have within.”
Sorry, Mr. Zen Master, but expecting the left to disdain anger is as unrealistic as their fairy tale plans for removing the president from office.
Perhaps sensing that the Zen Master's answer is not quite fulfilling, Confino turns to a Buddhist nun and monk hoping to find the right answers:
The Huffington Post recently interviewed a nun and a monk at Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village monastery in France, to ask what advice they would give to activists who want to take action during Trump’s presidency.
Sister Peace, who previously worked in the office of the mayor of Washington, says action must be inspired by a deep-rooted sense of love.
“If we can be strong in ourselves, then we could offer a resistance that is nonviolent,” she said. “But that means that we ourselves are at a place where we can have that recognition and we can offer that to another. And that is a great, great source of love and having the other feel they’re being recognized and listened to and embraced.”
Again, the loony left will find this advice about as helpful as "a wet bird does not fly at night."
Brother Phap Dung, a monk at Plum Village who was previously an architect based in Los Angeles, is equally clear that while anger can bring about change, it can ultimately lead only to more conflict. He points out that this is equally true in our personal lives as in the fate of a nation.
He suggests that in the face of aggression or discrimination, it can be helpful to first sit and find your center, rather than immediately reacting to events.
“Non-action sometimes is very powerful,” he said. ”Sometimes we underestimate someone sitting very calm, very solid and not reacting and that they can touch a place of peace, a place of love, a place of nondiscrimination. That is not inaction.”
Expecting the really really angry left to calmly sit and find their center is also a non-starter.
So what are unhinged hardcore leftists enraged over Trump 24/7 to do? Well, perhaps there is one Buddhist monk out there who has the right attitude for them. Check out the reactions below of Buddhist monk Pana Kamanama aka Arnie Shankman:
