Every Little Thing

Two weeks ago, I went to see The Scottsboro Boys, an amazing musical about a terrible tragedy in American history. Using the framework of a minstrel show, a terrifically talented cast of black actors and the irrepressible John Cullum tell the tragic tale of the repeated trials and convictions of nine black youths falsely accused of raping two white women in Alabama in the 1930s. At the final curtain, I was on my feet, tears streaming down my face, overcome by the thought of how much suffering humans inflict upon one another.

Although The Scottsboro Boys is about the racism of American whites against blacks, my tears were also for all the Jews killed by Christians, the Protestants killed by Catholics and vice-a-versa, Darfur, Somalia, Israelis and Palestinians, Muslims and Hindis, and on and on. It made me think about the fact that as long as humans have existed, we have found ways to classify ourselves in relation to others. Classification - dividing people into "us" and "them," is the first of the 8 stages of genocide, the ultimate and most extreme expression of prejudice and racism.

Why are there such extreme expressions of hatred in the world? The Yoga Sutras teach me that all of the violence I see in my world is caused by the way I have treated others in the past.

There is a connection of cause and effect: the seeds ripen into experiences refreshingly pleasant or painful in their torment; depending on whether you have done good to others or done them wrong instead. Book II.14

There is no option of separating myself from what I see. I can't blame it on someone else, or claim that it has nothing to do with me. My karma causes not only what I see, but the perception of the "me" who sees it. But I am a good person. I volunteer. I help others. I am kind and compassionate. How could the violence I see come from me? According to the commentary to the sutras:

It's crucial to realize that mental seeds act just like physical seeds. No one puts a corn seed into the ground and then stands there, expecting corn to pop up in a day or two. Mental seeds are planted in the mind simply by our being aware that we are doing, or saying, or thinking something toward someone else. Seeds enter the storehouse and wait to be called up, like airplanes standing in line to take off. The Essential Yoga Sutra, Geshe Michael Roach & Lama Christie McNally

So how does this connect to me and the violence I see in the world? Saturday, as I was leaving my house to teach yoga, I saw someone I know in town walking his dog. The thought flitted through my mind: "He's a bit peculiar." This was followed immediately by another thought: "He'd have to be to be odd to be married to __________ - she's such a character." I saw myself think these thoughts and immediately stopped short. Wasn't this a small way of classifying people as us (normal ones) and them (the odd ones)? And don't I/we think thoughts like this all day long? Just as a small acorn produces a giant oak tree, our small mental seeds manifest as much bigger experiences. Unchecked, these thoughts -- the thoughts I/we are thinking about others all day long -- grow into all the violence and hatred we see around us.

Here's the good news. It is possible to destroy these karmic seeds. 1. Recognize the ignorant/negative thought you have had. 2. Remorse: feel genuine remorse - not guilt - with the understanding that you are ultimately harming yourself. 3. Resolve: make a realistic resolution not to do this for a reasonable period of time - a few hours, a day, a week. 4. Remidiate: Take a positive action or thought to counteract the negative one. Do something nice for that person. Meditate on love and compassion, etc. 5. Absolve yourself. Don't beat yourself up. Just resolve to do better. (More on karma here.) Dedicate all of these steps to the negative seed and it will die.

And more good news: If you make it a way of life never to hurt others [and this includes thinking negative thoughts about others] then in your presence all conflict comes to an end. Yoga Sutras Book II.35.

Go see The Scottsboro Boys. It was incredibly well done and a story that should be heard. Watch your thoughts. If you catch yourself thinking ill of someone, stop and reflect. Maybe the reason that there is still conflict and prejudice in the world is because of the little thoughts we think all day long where we differentiate between "me" and "you," and "us" and "them. " And replace those thoughts with kindness and compassion. After all: We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness.- Thich Nhat Hanh

• Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Bible: Galatians (6:7)
• Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. Bible: Job (4:8)
• The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt. - Frederick Buechner