Buddhism has everything we need. I’ve met young activists who think if Buddhism could help, it would have done it already. Well, most people just don’t notice it’s possible to do this with Buddhism. We just need to do it with that motivation.
The first thing women see when they go to Buddhism for help is a hierarchy of male teachers looked after by women bringing them cups of tea. Buddhist patriarchy. A lot of women skedaddle.
The teachings themselves are quite different. I stuck it out because I was convinced from the beginning that this was good for me as a woman: despite the fact there were then no women teachers.
Buddhist teachings say the same things as Mother Nature-archy, matriarchy and partnership. Peace, treasure all life as equally precious, love is paramount. We all have the capacity for awakening, we are good beings. When we do nasty things, it’s just our confusion.
Natural Law is dharma, the second refuge. The teachings are the laws of nature. We’re part of nature. Our true nature, natural mind, is our aim. We are interconnected, not separate, and we’re not permanent, we change, like nature does.
Community, sangha, is the third refuge. A lot of Buddhist instructions, like generosity and patience, show how to treat others, so we can live together in harmony. The precepts are, don’t kill, don’t steal. When put in the positive, they say, give and share, don’t lie, speak the truth, communicate well, don’t indulge in the senses, keep your mind clear.
Wisdom and awakening are the first refuge. Buddhist void, often called Great Mother, is innate in all things, present in all nature, and in everything we do. She is our ultimate refuge. To me this is similar to the indigenous view, that everything is sacred and alive.
Tantra, practised in Tibet, takes it further: we can awaken through everything we do. Our human body is sacred, our place to awaken. Pleasure and beauty are holy, not sinful. The senses are a vehicle for awakening.
Tantra reflects matriarchy; I believe it comes from ancient times before patriarchy. I’m not a historian, or an archaeologist, but just by reading the iconography, it fits the picture.
We go to Buddhism to get out of the clutches of patriarchal values, which more and more, is greed, hatred and self-seeking. Buddha says that causes us suffering. Patriarchy has fallen more and more deeply into competition, money, attachment, clinging and anger, war, capitalism and neoliberalism.
Now, with climate change, we must get out of its clutches, or we all die together, pretty fast, along with all nature. Buddhism is important and helpful for practising this different way of life. Think of it as a complete change of values by which we live. When that’s our motivation, Buddhism can do it.
Traditionally, this kind of Buddhist meditation, Mahayana, has the aim of becoming a bodhisattva, you help others awaken and release suffering. Now we’ve got a different dimension of the suffering we have to release, because we’ll all die if we don’t. It’s not a matter of just individuals anymore.