January 17th, 2010 - Zen Temple, Vermont

Day of meditation with 12 people. Lovely to share the day that way.

Sensei gave a talk on Haiti and the cause of suffering. Over carrot juice and boiled tofu that tasted like the best stuff on earth, she explained.

Haiti is on everyone's mind. We must address it, and dedicate the day's sitting to Haiti. She encouraged donations, and a re-examination of the root cause.

It was not an earthquake. If people's houses had been properly built, non right on top of one another . . . And why were all those people in the capitol? (Or on the island in the first place, I add.)

Systems of greed. A good conversation over tea after the day's sit, between the 12 of us. The conversation again encircled Haiti, our privilege, our way of taking things for granted. They talked again of donating. I said something about remembering not to get too "oh, those poor Haitians" about it all.

I said it, I hope, more kindly than it is written here.

Just as the systems of greed bound us up together, my liberation is bound up with Haiti's. I need the community connectedness, the spontaneous expressions of joy. Even this week, I am relying on an African-Haitian belief that my sending of energy can be felt by a man holding a gun and taking advantage of the chaos and the fear.

Brother, put it down and use your strength to rebuild your country. As one of the lovely, older women today said: "All anyone ever needs to feel is that they are whole, and ok just as they are." Brother, you are loved. Stand up to your friends and put down the gun. Look around you.

As Sensei said, the best way to help is to simply make yourself available. People will draw out what they need. Haiti is one symbol. There is suffering (and, I add, liberation) everywhere.

Sensei gave me the temple's 2010 dedication card. The Japanese characters: Open, Liberation, a symbol for a man, a symbol for a woman. She said today she learned why. So did I.