[Oe List ...] Charles Moore

[Gordon Harper via OE]

Salvatore --

I'm deeply grateful for your sharing your reflections and the insightful
reminder from Thich Nhat Hahn.  It recasts our colleague's action not as
something arising from a state of ultimate despair (as the media have
mostly depicted it), but instead as an act of ultimate compassion.
 Charles' death then becomes one given in love and on behalf of those among
us who continue to suffer the injustice of our racist institutions and
practices as well as on behalf of those of us who benefit from them and are
complicit in their continuation.

Thay's daring to compare this to Jesus' death will be deeply troubling to
those who see any suicide as a tragic act of unfaith (an understanding many
of us, including me, expressed in RS-1 when we used to tell the story of
Marilyn Monroe's death).  Once again, as we all stand before the Mystery,
it seems we have to say, "It depends."

Gordon


On Wed, Jul 9, 2014 at 11:14 AM, R.Salvatore Caruso via OE <
oe at lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:

> Dear colleagues:
>
>
> Like all of those who have responded here and those who have not, when I
> first read the news of Charles I was shocked,tears flowed, and a meditation
> on Charles began and continues mindfully in my consciousness. Charles has
> always been and continues to be part of my meditative council...
>
>
> Just one Charles story to add to those this event has given us for
> reflection as part of in our contemplative life.   I think we were living
> in Oak Park in the late 60's and early 70's so we were with Charles & Pat a
> lot during that time. Recruiting courses and the LCX were front and center.
> Our regional cadre helped support these efforts. I remember one time during
> that stretch when we were presenting something relative to the LCX at a new
> church...We were there with Charles & Pat and others. As we were leaving
> the church, I turned to Charles and asked him how he felt the meeting went
> ( I must have been a little invested in the outcome).  He said: "Did you
> hear the singing, great harmony, beautiful!". That's all he said. It's then
> I learned how to read a group. It's not what they say but what is their
> emotional response. This simple lesson was adapted into my business screen
> at the time and later as a facilitator.  He made a difference in my
> life...As human beings we tend to make decisions emotionally and then later
> or simultaneously rationalize them with our minds...What a profound life
> lesson..
>
>
> During most of the month of June this year I was in Plum Village
> monastery( France) to participate in a Thich Nhat Hahn( Thay) led retreat
> that focused on the theme of: "What happens when we die/What happens when
> we are alive"? ( the Zen approach)...Thay is one of my spiritual teachers.
> He's a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk whose lifelong efforts to generate
> peace and reconciliation moved Martin Luther King,Jr. to nominate him for
> Nobel Peace Prize in 1967.
>
>
> While I was at this retreat Thay, in a dharma talk,  shared his
> reflections on what he shared with MLK. During the 1965-66 period he was in
> communication with Martin on the war,  Martin asked him to share his
> thinking on the self immolation that monks were taking to protest the war.
> Thay said it was not an act out of despair but a clear intention to bring
> attention to the horrible war that the people did not want. It was a way to
> express for the voiceless the horrors of war brought about by two super
> powers. He said this was an act on B 1/2 of those without a voice and
> compared these acts to Jesus' death ( act) on the cross. In the end he said
> it was an act of compassion.
>
>
> So where do I take this understanding as it applies to Charles's act? From
> all that I've read here on this list serve from Charles and others who were
> close to him ( I hadn't seen him in many years), his final act of living
> appears to be an offering on B 1/2 of all... A protest around the
> foundational social issues of our time...He continues now in all of us. His
> act is not one I would choose.  I am involved in Mindfulness
> practices/training and Permaculture regenerative living systems here in
> Colorado, Nebraska and Mexico.  While the vision I once held to save the
> world has been lost, I do now work where I am to be/do the necessary deed
> locally to leave behind a trail of demonstrations where mindful &
> regenerative living goes on for others to see and practice. This unfolds as
> we speak.
>
>
> I take away for myself that the unintended (or intended?) consequence of
> this profound act on community ( ours in particular) and others we are a
> part of: is to draw us together at a time when many of us continue to be
> engaged in social activism and spiritual transformation. It requires that I
> pay more attention to relationships and take care of strong emotions when
> they signal  that healing is needed.
>
>
> Charles as you continue in the vast cosmos and in our hearts I say thank
> you for all you shared with us in your life and in your passing.. Continue
> on!
>
>
> Salvatore ( aka Ray) Caruso
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> OE mailing list
> OE at lists.wedgeblade.net
> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/pipermail/oe-wedgeblade.net/attachments/20140710/8526bff4/attachment.html>