Words on 9/11

Dharma Teachers

Letters from our Dharma Teachers

This is a time to express through our actions, our words, and our silence, the power of our Dharma practice. It is the power of compassion for the enormous suffering of so many beings. It is the power of lovingkindness as the central motivation of our lives. The Buddha expressed it so clearly: “Let one cultivate a boundless good will toward the entire world free from ill-will or enmity.” And it is the power of wisdom. What are the appropriate responses to violence and hatred in the world? This is a difficult question and we can only understand it in the silence and peace of our own minds. May the merit of all our practice and wholesome actions be shared by beings everywhere. May all awaken from the sleep of ignorance. May all be free.

--Joseph Goldstein



Just a few weeks ago I was sitting a retreat with a Tibetan teacher, Tsoknyi Rinpoche. One day someone asked him a question, “What do you do about the intense anger you might feel about evil people?” It was a startling question, coming out of nowhere. Tsoknyi Rinpoche seemed to think deeply about it, then said, “ You could begin by contemplating, ‘Do they really have free will?’” He was saying that people can be so governed by the conditioned forces arising in their minds that they are really at their mercy. This week I felt tormented by seeing Palestinian children dancing with glee in the streets of the West Bank, exultant at the devastation in America. I kept thinking, “How young to be so highly trained in hatred.” And I thought of Tsoknyi Rinpoche’s answer.

I think we need to be very grateful we know a way to work with our minds, to not be governed by habitual forces of separation and disconnection. This week I’ve felt more committed than ever to use those tools I’ve been so lucky to learn. And I’ve been immensely inspired to hear stories of people in NYC taking care of one another, helping each other, reminding all of us of the power of connection and love.

--Sharon Salzberg

PS Here is a quote from Aung San Su Kyi, leader of the democracy movement in Burma: “There is darkness in the world, but it is merely an absence of light. All the darkness in the world cannot dispel even the smallest candle flame. We need only to accustom ourselves to the dim vision, and then the blessing of light will grow.”


During such times of nightmare there is a strong energy that pulls us into the content of the tragedy (only natural) and our meditation practice is overwhelmed. This natural tendency needs to be seen and understood and the energy of seeing reinstated. This not to say avoid or deny the content but rather to be able to meet the challenges we face with as clear a mind as possible. This makes it far more likely that our responses are adequate i.e. wise and compassionate.

So please ATTENTION ATTENTION ATTENTION

PLEASE REMEMBER TO USE YOUR VIPASSANA PRACTICE RIGHT NOW! IT IS SO EASY TO GET LOST IN SORROW, OUTRAGE, FEAR ETC. IF YOU FACE SUCH FEELINGS WHEN THEY COME UP, YOU WILL BE MUCH MORE CLEAR AND ABLE TO RESPOND ADEQUATELY TO THE CHALLENGES OF LIVING IN NY DURING THIS NIGHTMARE.

Yours in the dharma,
Larry Rosenberg of Cambridge and IMS

“And how do you protect others when protecting yourself? By pursing the practice, developing it, devoting yourself to it.

“And how do you protect yourself when protecting others? Through endurance, harmlessness, and a mind of kindness & sympathy.”

-- Samyutta Nikaya 47:19

In times of crisis, we often feel we don’t have the time or energy to practice, but those are precisely the times when practice is most necessary. This is what we’ve been practicing for: the situations where the practice doesn’t come easily. When the winds of change reach hurricane force, our inner refuge of mindfulness concentration, and discernment is the only thing that will keep us from getting blown away. When we can be secure in our inner source for true happiness, we don’t expose ourselves to the devastation that comes when outside hopes for happiness and security are dashed. We have our shelter, our place of security, inside. And we needn’t be afraid that this is an escapist shelter. When the basis of our well-being is firm within, we can act with true courage and compassion for others, for we’re coming from a solid position of calmness and strength.

So take heart. Do what you can to help the living, and dedicate the merit of your practice to the dead. We may be powerless to change the past, but we do have the power to shape the present and the future by what we do, moment-to-moment, right now. And in maintaining our intention to be as skillful as possible in thought, word, and deed, we’ll find the only true refuge there is.

“They insulted me, hit me, beat me, robbed me — for those who brood on this, hostility isn’t stilled.

“They insulted me, hit me, beat me, robbed me — for those who don’t brood on this, hostility is stilled.

“Hostilities aren’t stilled through hostility, regardless. Hostilities are stilled through non-hostility: this, an unending truth.”

-- Dhammapada 3-6

from Thanissaro Bhikkhu