“True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., April 4th, 1967.
In our Zen tradition, we seek to cut through the three poisons of greed, anger, and delusion. In this space, we strive to illuminate how these poisons pervade not just our individual minds, but our societal systems as well — from capitalism to imperialism, racism, militarism and beyond.
We aim to look closely and critically at how these systemic manifestations condition our daily lives, with a focus on our lived experiences and day-to-day encounters with the systemic roots of suffering. This reflection is characterized by key questions such as:
Together, we can illuminate the ways in which the personal, the communal, and the systemic intertwine. Beyond sharing our reflections, we can envision and work towards the kind of world we aspire to inhabit, cultivate compassion, and move towards collective liberation.
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