Sometimes, when anger wells up inside us, an outburst can actually do more harm than good.
But when it’s wrapped in poetry, the power is conserved but the harshness is somehow diluted, allowing the message to get through without causing an aggressive backlash.
Here’s a poem that encapsulates some of the anger I feel about climate change …
Mr Angry
My practice is that of a Buddhist
For practice makes perfect they say
So why do I still get so angry
When resources are frittered away?
The Earth has a finite collection
Of minerals, water and air
So why are we all quite so blasé?
It’s almost like nobody cares
They hoover the bed of the oceans
Till every fish has been caught
Then they freeze ’em till prices go mental
‘Cos profit’s their first and last thought
They cut down the trees in the forests
The lungs of the world it’s been said
To make palm oil for everyone’s cookies
Pretty soon Planet Earth will be dead
We marched in the sun at the seaside
In the hope that somebody would hear
Our demands that our leaders take action
To reverse all the climate change fears
But I fear for my grandchildren’s future
On a planet we all have sucked dry
They will never ever forgive us
When they find we’ve condemned them to die
Richard Blake © 2014
What Buddhism terms ‘good friends’, are sincere, honest people without a trace of deceit, who guide others toward the correct path, toward good. It also refers to people who lend their assistance or support to us so that we can practice Buddhism with full assurance.
Religion must teach an “attitude to life.” To live a life of true human dignity is certainly difficult.
There are times when we need to be reminded of the important things in life. When distractions come along it’s all too easy to get side tracked and let our focus slip. It isn’t that we forget that our Practice is the centre of our lives, it’s just that sometimes life itself can get in the way, albeit temporarily.
For me, my Buddhist Practice is a way of life. A routine that I go through every day, Gongyo, Daimoku, even writing this blog. But routine is also another word for boring, mundane or even hum-drum, so it’s important to keep in mind why we Practice.
There are times when we need to be reminded of the important things in life. When distractions come along it’s all too easy to get side tracked and let our practice slip. It isn’t that we forget, it’s just that sometimes life can get in the way, albeit temporarily.
Occasionally I really surprise myself, or rather something that in all truth should be blindingly obvious, suddenly permeates my grey matter and comes as a bit of a shock.
Having my Practice at the very core of my life, as my Honzon, as my anchor, is a very liberating state of affairs. As the focus of that Practice is my Gohonzon, making it the absolute centre and the pivot, around which my whole life revolves.
Living on the coast, it can get very foggy at times, to the point where you can’t see your hand in front of your face.
Some days we are strong, some days not so strong. Nichiren says this …
The Search For Enlightenment 
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