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