Is the world just sadder, or is it me?

What else could go wrong?

dead tree

The war in Ukraine is coming up on year three, the far-right government in Israel has been handed its excuse to eliminate the Palestinian State as a response to Hamas terrorism, Europe is lurching towards the far-right, and populist authoritarianism seems to be spreading everywhere.

Pisistratus was perhaps the first populist authoritarian in a world not ready for the proto-democracy of Athens. But unlike Pisistratus, whose tyranny was in many respects progressive, sponsoring arts, addressing income inequality, and so on, these modern day tyrants are regressive.

What does this mean for Buddhists? Buddhist history indicates that Buddhism flourishes best during times of progressive governance and peace, and suffers when rulers are intolerant and prone to violence. Modern day Tibet and China are perfect examples of this.

Most Buddhists in the West are liberal, have progressive values, and value democracy. We have the benefit of living in the most developed economies, have access to modern health care, and are more highly educated than most people in Buddhist countries have ever been due to our high rate of literacy. However, Buddhists in the West have no political voice. We are a tiny fraction of the population. We also live in a time where the climate crisis is becoming more severe, and it is more and more evident that we will not collectively get our acts together to mitigate it.

What do we do? The sad answer is that there is really nothing we can do. We can engage in magical thinking, imagining that we can forestall the worst with prayers, mantras, and positive thinking. Good luck with that.

In the Pali Canon, it is recounted that when the Kosalians wanted to invade the Buddha’s hometown, Kapilavastu, he greeted their army under a living tree, and succeeded in persuading them that their invasion was a bad idea. Later, of course, they again decided to invade, murdering and enslaving the Buddha’s kinfolk. This time, the Buddha sat beneath a dead tree and impassively observed the carnage.

What moral do we derive from this? We cannot save our planet if the people on the planet do not learn to cooperate for our mutual best interest. We cannot prevent people from giving into their worst impulses when they are driven by the three afflictions. All we can do is find a dead tree to sit under and observe.

The Buddha’s path involves recognizing and becoming free from the three afflictions that are the cause of suffering. We cannot liberate others, nor can we make them happy. All we can do is practice our own path, and compassionately wish that all life is happy and free from suffering.