Well, here we are. If you know me, you know that I’m
unhappy and upset that Hillary didn’t win the U.S. Presidential election. Kudos
to her, though, for a tough and weird race and for winning the popular vote. I’ve
supported her for years – I actually got to shake her hand once when I first
lived in DC and she was the new First Lady. I still think she could/would make
a truly awesome President. Thank you, Hillary, for running!
A hallmark of our grand experiment of governance – our constitutional
republic – is a peaceful transition of power through elections. From old to
new, one party to another, it is a cornerstone value of our system. It is one
that I wholeheartedly embrace and that I will be proud to share throughout the
world during my career in the U.S. Foreign Service.
So, I look to the future with hope and with a watchful eye.
I am also emboldened to continue my support of the Democratic Party and specifically
of the Progressive wing – Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and others. I
will do what I can to win back the Senate, if not all of Congress, in 2018.
But not now. Right now I’m sad, and weary, and tired of
fighting. I don’t want to think about politics. I want to think about hugging
my dog, Cosmo, and kissing my husband, Mark, when I return home to Boston for
Thanksgiving. I want to work on my projects, and binge-watch some Netflix
shows, and ride my bicycle, and get back to yoga. The rest can wait, for now.
Whether you are celebrating, commiserating, or crying –
we all need some of this right now:
The essence of Buddhism is the conviction that we have within us at each moment the ability to overcome any problem or difficulty that we may encounter in life; a capacity to transform any suffering. Our lives possess this power because they are inseparable from the fundamental law that underlies the workings of all life and the universe.
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is thus a vow, an expression of determination, to embrace and manifest our Buddha nature. It is a pledge to oneself to never yield to difficulties and to win over one’s suffering. At the same time, it is a vow to help others reveal this law in their own lives and achieve happiness.
The individual characters that make up Myoho-renge-kyo express key characteristics of this law. Myo can be translated as mystic or wonderful, and ho means law. This law is called mystic because it is difficult to comprehend. What exactly is it that is difficult to comprehend? It is the wonder of ordinary people, beset by delusion and suffering, awakening to the fundamental law in their own lives, bringing forth wisdom and compassion and realizing that they are inherently Buddhas able to solve their own problems and those of others. The Mystic Law transforms the life of anyone—even the unhappiest person, at any time and in any circumstances—into a life of supreme happiness.
To chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is an act of faith in the Mystic Law and in the magnitude of life’s inherent possibilities. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is not a mystical phrase that brings forth supernatural power, nor is it an entity transcending ourselves that we rely upon. It is the principle that those who live normal lives and make consistent efforts will duly triumph.
from The Meaning of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
