An extraordinary joke - Battlecry of Freedom

 

The vow of the awakening hero is a little like an extraordinary joke. The awakening hero vows to remain and not attain full awakening until all other beings are awakened. Yet the fact of the vow—if it is maintained— guarantees full awakening. It guarantees full awakening because it embraces the nonduality of view and intention. To live in a manner that upholds this vow, is itself the cause of awakening.

Battlecry of Freedom by Ngakma Nor’dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2019, ISBN 978-1-898185-46-8 Part II - the slogans, p. 194

Wisdom and kindness - Battlecry of Freedom

 

Kindness is not always wise. Sometimes trying to be kind in supporting someone in a situation does not help that person escape it, and there could be a wiser approach. Nevertheless such kindly intent is free of blame.

Assuming the capacity for wisdom, however, can be dangerous and far from kind. It could be deemed that there is a need to be cruel to be kind. Practitioners may believe this is skilful wrathful activity, when in fact it is just stupidly stumbling around hurting people. 

‘The only internal damtsig is wisdom.
The only external damtsig is kindness.’

Battlecry of Freedom by Ngakma Nor’dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2019, ISBN 978-1-898185-46-8 Part II - the slogans, p. 194

Everyone’s lives are interconnected - Battlecry of Freedom

 

Everyone is always completely compromised. It is not possible to live in the world without cooperating with the exploitation of others, or without inadvertently hurting others. Everyone everywhere is totally dependent on everyone else. Everyone’s lives are interconnected. This is not about being politically correct. It is not about buying fairly traded products, and recycling to save the planet, donating to charities, working as a volunteer, and so forth – though such activity may be beneficial. It is about accepting the reality of being unable to live as a physically present human being without harming others. It is about taking responsibility for harm through that acceptance, rather than abdicating responsibility because there is no intention to harm. It is about attempting to live causing as little harm as possible, and making life meaningful by being as much benefit as possible.

Battlecry of Freedom by Ngakma Nor’dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2019, ISBN 978-1-898185-46-8 Part II - the slogans, p. 189