artwork by Magda Cabrero
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On Monday, Magda will guide us to explore the Third Mindfulness Training, “True Love”. Magda shares:
Thich Nhat Hanh says that in order to feel true love we need to cultivate understanding. In my desire to truly love those who have suffered systematic forms of discrimination, I would like to explore the wisdom that so many oppressed people derive from their deep connection with the earth. I hope that the lessons I share here can help us expand our circle of interbeing and heal our planet.
THE GIFTS OF THE HUMBLE
The gifted individuals who inspire me to become a better person have shared their gifts through humility.
The Buddha, of noble birth, performed the ultimate act of humility when he described The Path to aspiring bhikkhus by using the words that Svasti, an untouchable boy, had used to describe how to take care of water buffalo. Taking care of water buffalo was a role performed only by untouchables. Thich Nhat Hanh, my humble teacher, opens and closes his Old Paths, White Clouds with the experiences and perspectives of Svasti. Svasti and Buddha formed a transformational bond through their humility and deep connection with the earth they sat on together. Svasti made a cushion for Buddha from the grass he fed the buffalo, and offered Buddha his rice, thinking, “Surely he won’t find my rice too humble.”
HUMUS AND HUMILITY
The word ‘humility’ derives from ‘humus’, defined as the organic component of soil. While the concept of humility is associated with the most enlightened beings, it is of course also related to the concept of humiliation.
I saw one of the most powerful representations of humiliation in Vienna, Austria, in the sculpture of a Jewish man forced to scrub the streets after the Nazi takeover of his country. His head is lying so low that his beard is touching the floor between his feet. His small, rounded kneeling body is wrapped in barbed wire. I saw this sculpture a few days after I had seen in Berlin a photo of young German men burning books written by Jews. With each book, they burned precious opportunities to develop the understanding that can foster true love.
I recently remembered the Vienna sculpture at a ceramic factory in Morocco, where I saw a man with soiled clothes sitting on the floor mixing mud. My preconceived notions immediately made me classify him a street beggar. To my surprise I soon discovered that he was a talented artisan creating a beautiful ceramic work.
CULTIVATING UNDERSTANDING TO FOSTER NON-DISCRIMINATION
In my desire to expand my understanding, I have studied three groups of people – Native Americans, Berbers and Tibetans – who have been victims of systematic discrimination, but who have still been able to cultivate a deep wisdom about the earth. I consider their wisdom, some of which I had the opportunity to receive in person, to be essential to the healing and wellbeing of our planet.
NATIVE AMERICANS
In New Mexico I met a Native American gardener who had a great deal of knowledge about agriculture and plant care. Early in the conversation he mentioned his grandmother, who made sure that he would inherit the green fingers of her generation. His indigenous wisdom reminds me of how famished British settlers in North America would have perished had not been for the ingenious Three Sisters farming method used by Native Americans.
I recently read about the life of a Piscataway boy growing up in the Chesapeake Bay region. Meet Naiche: A Native Boy From the Chesapeake Bay Area was written by OHMC’s Making Visible participant, Gabrielle Tayac. Her cousin Naiche’s long hair symbolizes his pride in, and gratitude towards, his ancestors. His father regards rocks as the most ancient beings on earth. The Piscataway venerate trees, especially the red cedar, as the carriers of the spirits of their ancestors. They also revere birds, and have adopted the wild turkey feather as their symbol. Through fire they send prayers to their ancestors. For thousands of years they have celebrated the birth of mother earth in the spring, renewing their vow to take care of her.
I appreciate that Native Americans treat stories as medicine. My favorite story is about White Buffalo Calf Woman. This Lakota story validates the female aspects of nature and emphasizes the importance of maintaining right and reciprocal relations between humans and the rest of the natural world.
I appreciate how many Native Americans’ expansive view of the planet is manifested in the medicine wheel; it teaches that there is no whole if the parts are not in balance with one another. Family and home comprise a much wider circle. To those who abide by the medicine wheel, the earth is a cathedral; their drums manifest the earth’s rhythms and vibrations. While valued, children understand that they are not the center of the earth but its continuation.
I also appreciate the holistic Two-Spirit view about gender and sexuality, a concept that the rest of the world is barely beginning to understand.
BERBERS IN MOROCCO
The wisdom of the American Indian finds parallels in the Berbers of North Africa.
During my recent visit to Morocco, our guide explained that the Berber diet is very nutritious and that Berbers possess a deep understanding of natural healing products and remedies, as well as of farming practices in desert oases. They hold the ancestral secrets of living in the Sahara, which makes them some of the most adaptable people on earth. They are also experts at creating living spaces with mud, my favorite type of architecture.
In the Sahara Desert I met two-year-old Fatima, along with her mother and grandmother. We sat on a rug over the peach sands under a camel skin tent. We drank tea from glass sticans - Fatima held hers gracefully - and ate bread the family had made for us. Fatima stole the show. When scolded for disrupting the conversation, she explained assertively and expressively to her mother in a dialect of the Amazigh language that she wanted to play with me. This clever girl already displayed a wisdom beyond her years. I am filled with hope and faith that she will carry on the wisdom of her ancestors.
TIBETANS
My interest in Tibetan culture began when I visited Nepal, where many Tibetan refugees live. While drinking butter tea at the home of a Tibetan family, I learned about their commitment to perpetuating their culture, language and spiritual tradition despite their exile. I also learned about the spiritual and philosophical significance of mandalas from a young man whose mission in life is to create mandalas and share their ancestral wisdom. Mandalas illustrate the diverse ways of perceiving reality. They form a harmonic whole in their symmetrical diversity. Tibetans’ respect for a variety of ancestral ways is evident when they welcome visitors by asking: “To what sublime tradition, revered sir, do you belong?”
Tibetans are deeply spiritual and often meditate on flowers and other delicate gifts of nature. They have a deep understanding of vibrations, such as those produced by their sacred gongs. Tibetan monks have refined their vocal capacities so that they can sing chords by themselves. But while they are experts on sound they create mandalas in total silence. They practice their rituals with an ethic of extreme mindfulness.
A Tibetan man in my community sells spiritual items made in the Himalayas. I bought from him the bell I use for my spiritual rituals, every bit bracelet I own, and a very special handmade clay mandala for one of my sons. Whenever I visit his store he tells me a peaceful, earth-connected story related to the Himalayas. He always gives me an additional item such as the copper bracelet I wear every day. When I bought the mandala, he gave me a prayer vajra which comprises the imperishable quality of the diamond and the force of the thunderbolt. With emotion he described the vajra as a very special gift for my son. I treasure every lesson I learn from that deeply spiritual man.
When I think about Native Americans, Berbers and Tibetans, including some individuals I have been privileged to know, my heart fills with gratitude for their gifts of wisdom. Their wisdom has helped me understand essential lessons about the healing of the earth as well as about the meaning of dignity, helping expand my true love circle of Interbeing.
We will explore the following questions:
How do I expand my true love circle of interbeing through understanding?
What role does humility play in my life?
Who have been my humble teachers?
How do I expand my understanding of universal dignity?
How do I foster deeper connections with those who possess wisdom about the earth?
How do I intentionally learn from them?