Hatred is treason against all life. It is to turn toward a living target and shoot. Internalized hatred is treason against oneself. It is to hold the gun to your own head or to the heads of those who look or appear like you. When you consciously or unconsciously hate others or your own physical incarnation it is a karmic response to systematically being a target of hatred in the world on a daily basis.
I have created these chants which are influenced by my life, spiritual walk, and my book The Way of Tenderness (Wisdom Publications) Working on recording them:
The Heart of Tenderness
Tenderness has a wellspring beneath it,
Draw from it to seek the good and obtain liberation,
May that which we have suffered be a moment of our lives and not our whole lives.
May we see what is truly in our own hearts without the distraction of imposed oppressive ideas of who others think we are.
May our rage be felt, breathed, and attended to on the path of awakening so that we may recover from ignorance and hatred.
Without words for what we have lost in prolonged mistreatment,
Let our grief lead us to an experience of well-being and sanity,
May we regain sight of the connectedness, the same connectedness we were born with when as babies our tongues touched the roof of our mouths,
Whether we are walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, let us draw upon the earth for ease and gentleness,
Let our arms caress our innermost fears,
And through this body, complete and perfect, its races, sexualities, and genders, let it be the gateway to enlightenment and to awaken collective awareness of our magnificence.
All Ancestors in all Directions,
All Honored Ones, Bodhisattvas, Mahasattvas,
Wisdom Beyond Wisdom, Maha Prajna Paramita
Meditation on Liberation
There is no superiority or inferiority among sentient beings.
To know this is to know liberation. To experience liberation in such a way is to experience compassion, wisdom, love and interrelationship. Authentic experiences of these qualities do not come with ideas that someone is better or worse than anyone else.
When we clearly see, not only with our eyes but with our hearts, who and what has erroneously claimed power and domination over others in this life, we begin to see the ways in which fear and hatred lead to the destruction of other lives.
Do not overlook with theories, religious, or biological approaches the palpable dimensions of racialized, sexualized, and gendered experiences that lead to human tragedy.
If we consider a spiritual path as a path through which we live out our lives, then we will bring our lived experiences along with us as we walk it.
Liberation cannot be experienced through introspection alone.
If this is true, may the struggles of our lives be the places through which we catalyze liberation. May we come to know our embodiment as the spiritual path by which we come to see and know the ever-presence of awakened ones before our birth.
All Ancestors in all directions
May we be at peace with our incarnation,
free to experience liberation and live in joy together,
with all beings.
I Can Breathe: A Meditation on Surviving Acts of Hatred
May I come back to this body,
May I come back to this breath,
May I come to know this body as the earth itself.
May I breathe myself back home,
And once again be introduced to this great life.
May the great light of this Earth surround me,
May I be released from past harm and imposed hatred.
May I come to recognize my existence in the true nature of life.
May I come back to this breath,
to this body, as the sacred place in which I remain awake
and connected to the fragrance and taste of liberation.
May I remain visible on the path of spirit,
and be seen and heard,
May love given be returned tenfold,
May awakening be known in this body,
at this time.
And when I can’t breathe,
May, I breathe in the next moment,
May I say, I can breathe.
*Eric Garner, a black man, father of six, was choked to death by Staten Island, NY police in July 2014. A film shot from a smartphone recorded Garner’s words, “I can’t breathe.”
Be Love
May the heavy become light,
May what’s ill become well,
May what’s violent become peace,
May rage be settled,
May the idea of enemy be banished,
May actions be filled with sincere purpose,
May wellness be illuminated,
May gifts be recognized,
May all that we know to BE LOVE,
pour out and overflow
wherever it is needed.
For All Beings
May all beings be cared for and loved,
Be listened to, understood and acknowledged despite different views,
Be accepted for who they are in this moment,
Be afforded patience,
Be allowed to live without fear of having their lives taken away or their bodies violated.
May all beings,
Be well in its broadest sense,
Be fed,
Be clothed,
Be treated as if their life is precious,
Be held in the eyes of each other as family.
May all beings,
Be appreciated,
Feel welcomed anywhere on the planet,
Be freed from acts of hatred and desperation including war, poverty, slavery, and street crimes,
Live on the planet, housed and protected from harm,
Be given what is needed to live fully, without scarcity,
Enjoy life, living without fear of one another,
Be able to speak freely in a voice and mind of undeniable love.
May all beings,
receive and share the gifts of life,
Be given time to rest, be still, and experience silence.
May all beings,
Be awake.