Like so many others, my heart really goes out to all those affected by these fires, human, animal or other organic form.  

Last Friday at 7 pm there was a 3-minute prayer for rain, asking us to imagine sheets of water deluging down, putting out fires, soaking into the ground, preventing fires spreading, bringing relief.  And rain did come to some of the affected areas.  I’ll be doing this again, every Friday until the end of the bushfire season, praying for rain for the affected areas in Australia.  will you join me? 
Tejasvini 
 

Receiving all metta into our sad hearts here in Australia. Many of us have received open hearted responses of care from other sangha members all around the world checking in with us. Sangha in action. 
I saw a drawing recently depicting a group of traditional superheroes, Superman etc, greeting a tired, ash covered Australian volunteer firefighter with a simple caption “welcome to the club.”
These everyday workers have left their office desks, classrooms, businesses, studies, farms, families  etc and have been on the fire frontline for months. You see their tiny forms in media pictures sometimes in the front of monsterous walls of flame, putting their lives at risk to save others. They have collectively saved thousands of homes and lives.  
Some will struggle to ever fully recover from what they have witnessed during this time on the frontline. Some have lost their lives and left small children and family members at home devastated.

I heard a story of a bush apiarist who, when going back into a burnt landscape to check on his hives, took up the offer of help from young student apiarists. However, these students were so traumatised by the ongoing sound of the cries they heard in the bush of the badly burnt animals that were still alive, the beekeeper had to arrange counselling for them after that day and drop the idea of students helping on further trips. 

I am so grateful for my connection with the three jewels at times like this. The dharma gives a cosmic perspective and meditation practices provide welcome support in the face of this immense suffering, without freezing up completely. I hope our government wakes up to the ‘cries of the world‘ so clearly evident from the people in this country protesting on the streets to the devastated animal populations and the blackened bush.

And whilst Australia faces this tragic event I am also very aware of other significant painful events happening around the world. The tonglen practice sharpens the heart to take what we are experiencing and utilise the tenderising of our own hearts to raise our awareness of others in the world also experiencing catastrophic events.  Metta to all those suffering  
In the face of tragedy we still have the amazing resilience and bravery of everyday human beings that definitely fosters hope. So many instances of love, connection, kindness and generosity are also happening in our blackened countryside. 

Thanks for this. And again, thanks for your sacrifice in putting yourself on the line in pursuit of climate justice. At this point non-violence civil disobedience seems to be the only sensible response: it has worked many times before. 

Thank you. I appreciate you putting yourself on the line in this way. The notion that not inconveniencing people is a higher ideal than campaigning to prevent serious damage to our planet’s ecosystem seems absurd to me.

In terms of the Buddha and social action, he said it was not an offense for a monk or nun to release animals from hunters’ traps. Legally those animals could be considered to belong to the hunters, and the monks or nuns releasing them could therefore be regarded as taking the not-given, but as long as they were acting out of compassion the Buddha was OK with it. I think this is a good example of the Buddha advocating disruptive, yet compassionate, action.

Thank you Maitrisiddhi for sharing this and for the piece you wrote in May which I have only just read. I found it so helpful to read about how you you are responding to the climate crisis through the Dharma.

I will be in London tomorrow and then during the 2nd week of action predominantly to meditate with others. I will contact Joe Mishan .

With metta, Joy