I consider non-violence to be compassion in action. It doesn’t mean weakness, cowering in fear, or simply doing nothing. It is to act without violence, motivated by compassion, recognizing the rights of others.
– The Dalai Lama
His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, has lived most of his life in exile. In 1951 China took over Tibet. After the failed 1959 Tibetan revolt, fearing for his life, the Dalai Lama requested asylum. India welcomed him and his government officials. The Dalai Lama is the world’s most beloved refugee, and one of the most respected moral leaders.
The Dalai Lama uses simple words: love, kindness, compassion, happiness, and helping others. At the core is the concept all people are created equal and deserve to be happy and treated with care and respect. These words sound familiar but are not in use. The Native American reservations, travel ban, and mass deportations are the result of white supremacy. Thinking white people are better than others is behind “America First” keeping out the non-people, people not-from-Norway.
Compassion is the ability to understand people in pain and look for ways to lighten their suffering. Compassion means “to suffer together,” a strong emotion that arises when you are confronted with people in distress. Compassionate people feel motivated to help others.
We are surrounded by violence, a negative energy generating hate. The 20th century was a worldwide bloodshed, leaving scars, anguish, and destruction. Wars are not the answer to disputes between people; negotiation with compassion is the superior way. War is not the solution to violence, it is the fuel igniting hate and revenge. Wars do not lead to peace, they lead to more wars.
The Dalai Lama quotes below are familiar to most. Let’s reflect on his powerful message of strength, love, and compassion.
“Be kind whenever possible, it is always possible.”
Treating others with kindness has not been the American way. The Lakota, Apache, Cherokee, and many other indigenous tribes, the original people of North America, had their land stolen by the US, and their people sent to reservations. There are 326 reservations and 567 tribes. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is responsible for the administration of Native American land held in trust by the United States.
The Trump administration has made policy changes at the BIA. Inexperienced people have been appointed to key positions and many frontline experts reassigned, in order to lease land sacred to Native Americans for drilling and mining, without full tribal consultation. Last year there were more than 1,500 vacancies at the Indian Health Service.
Enough is enough. Our brothers and sisters have suffered abuse for generations. Inherited pain is traumatic and unacceptable. Indigenous people teach us about caring for Mother Nature, clean water, and clean air. Standing Rock showed the power of compassion.
“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity can’t survive.”
The flow of drugs from Colombia and the 1980’s Contra war in Nicaragua have displaced communities in Central America. Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala are on the path to Mexico and the US.
Pueblo sin Fronteras – People without Borders, is a human rights organization protecting people from Honduras as they travel north, hoping to be granted asylum from the violence in Central America. Most stay in Mexico; a group of around 200 is traveling to the US this week. This journey is an annual demonstration against human rights violations. They are walking in peace to meet with US Border and Customs agents.
A compassionate response is to help people in Honduras. Poverty from unemployment, poor health care, and external drug cartels are driving violence and crime.
“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.”
If you let anger destroy your peace of mind, it will ruin your health. With compassion, your mind will remain clear of hate and anger, and keep you happy. War is not the answer. The power of compassion is the way to peace.
Dr. Luis Contreras
US Aid to Honduras is a compassionate response.
We are not safe until everyone is safe.
We are not free until everyone is free.
America benefits from having healthy neighbors, something GOP needs to understand
Here is what the former US ambassador to Honduras says on this April 20, 2018 op-ed:
“U.S. assistance isn’t charity, nor is it a gift to Honduras. It is an investment in preventing the country from sliding backward. It is in the U.S. national interest to keep supporting efforts to reduce violence, improve governance and create economic opportunities so that Hondurans see their future not in the United States, but in a stable and safe Honduras.”
James D. Nealon was U.S. ambassador to Honduras from 2014 to 2017.
Kurt Alan Ver Beek, a sociology professor at Calvin College, has lived in Honduras since 1988 and is the co-founder of the Assn. for a More Just Society.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-nealon-verbeek-honduras-20180420-story.html
This is what U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told new Americans:
She told of her family’s humble beginnings, how her father “arrived in this land at the age of 13 with no fortune and speaking no English” — Her mother was born shortly after Ginsburg’s grandparents came through Ellis Island by ship, she said. She was born in Brooklyn in 1933.
“My father and grandparents reached as you do for the American Dream,” she said. “As testament to our nation’s promise, the daughter and granddaughter of these immigrants sits on the highest court to the land, and will proudly administer the oath of citizenship to you.”
Here is a great act of compassion:
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg made a surprise appearance to welcome new Americans.
“My fellow Americans,” she began, “it is my great privilege to welcome you to citizenship in the democracy that is the USA.”
Administering the oath of citizenship to the 201 new Americans gathered at the New-York Historical Society Tuesday was Ginsburg’s idea. She read an article in the New York Times about how the historical society had been helping green-card holders prepare for the citizenship test and decided to reach out and tell the staff that, “if ever I am in town when they had a naturalization ceremony, I would be glad to participate.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/04/11/he-had-no-idea-ruth-bader-ginsburg-would-be-presiding-over-his-naturalization-ceremony/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.9caf008a3917