Good morning, everyone. Can you hear me? So, first of all, welcome. Thank you, all of you who are helping with the election in Wisconsin and I guess people in Nevada also who may be hearing this later. Thank you. So, I'm talking last week and this week about what he said about politics. So I don't know if there are any non-Buddhists there. Bodhisattvas, just to say, are beings dedicated to universal awakening, to helping liberate and relieve the suffering of all beings. And that's very much relevant in this current situation.

[01:05]

So again, thank you so much for Going door to door for helping to get out the vote in Wisconsin and Nevada. This is, as has been said, the most crucial election of our lifetimes. And yet what I want to talk about today is how we need to extend this work beyond the election and even beyond the inauguration. So I've been talking this week about the paramitas, which are transcendent practices of bodhisattvas. awakening practices for the benefit of all beings. There's a system of six and another of ten. Today I want to talk about the practice of patience and of enthusiasm. So, first of all, about bodhisattva politics in general, bodhisattvas start with the vow to free all beings, to support life, not killing.

[02:09]

to include all beings. Very important now, this sense of inclusivity and diversity. So in our meditation practice and in other spiritual practices, we connect with, we at least get glimpses of, we commune with ultimate universal reality, the wholeness of all being, the wholeness of our own lives. And this is wonderful, but our practice, Our actual practice, Bodhisattva's work, is to bring that universal transcendent sense of reality into our everyday activity. So how do we appreciate the particularities of the phenomenal world with all of its difficulties? Suffering is both personal or psychological and collective.

[03:12]

Through our practice of meditation, we see our own ancient twisted karma, our own portions of grasping and anger and confusion. And that's what's really most difficult about spiritual practice, is to study the self, to see our own But also, we see the suffering of everyone, of the world, of community, the suffering of injustice, of inequality, of poverty, of wars and genocides. So how do we respond to that? So I've been talking about this last week and this week. Bodhisattva values, I would say, are foundational American values. This applies to government leaders as well as to all of us as citizens.

[04:22]

How do we appreciate the values of dedication and commitment, of inclusivity, of compassion and empathy? So I would say this election is the choice between compassion and cruelty. How do we care for all beings, including those who disagree with us or who we disagree with? So as I've been saying, it is readily available to us in this difficult time to feel overwhelmed. even to feel hopeless. But hopelessness is not realistic. In actuality, all our actions have effects. We don't know the outcome, usually. And sometimes the outcome is something that happens over generations and centuries.

[05:27]

But we are practicing thanks to our spiritual ancestors, those with some of us chant in the Zen lineage, but in any spiritual tradition, people who have worked for this and also our cultural and political ancestors to appreciate all the efforts by Famous and non-famous people. All of the people who have worked... I've used the example of Monday of suffragettes. All the people, all the women, some men, but all the women who worked for decades and decades and marched and struggled before women were allowed to vote. About a century ago. Not much more than a century ago. And... And now, of course, women are under threat in this election and in the situation we're in. But also all the people who are marginalized by, to say, white supremacy, nationalists, whatever, women are in danger.

[06:44]

LGBT people are very much in danger. I've heard that the party of cruelty is now spending tens of millions of dollars, 60 plus millions of dollars, for campaign ads against trans people. And other LGBT people are very much endangered. So this is a crucial election. But feeling hopeless and feeling overwhelmed is not It's not realistic because we make a difference over time. And even in the midst of this great fierce urgency of now, as Dr. King said, of this election. So knocking on doors, listening to people, respecting the people we encounter, offering our views, but not in a way to try and convert people to agree with us completely. We have to be open to the diversity of views. This is challenging.

[07:46]

This is difficult. So that's why I want to talk about the practice of patience. Shanti in Sanskrit. So there's a system of six and a system of ten of these transcendent practices. Patience is very, very important. In some ways, I think the most important. But its partner is effort, energy, enthusiasm. So I also want to talk about that. and you know just to address the current situation patience is not only waiting for this election Tuesday which some of us may find torturous at times but also you know this situation will not be finished to next Tuesday we know that there will be efforts to overturn the election. And it won't be finished even after the inauguration, hopefully, of a candidate who respects inclusivity and diversity and differences.

[08:51]

So our patience is so important. But I want to say that patience is not passive. It's not just waiting passively. And you all know that because you're there on the ground trying to get out the vote. It's so important. The practice of patience is active. It's attentive. To pay attention to what's going on. To pay attention to the people around us. To do our best, even with our own limitations. To listen. To watch. To be watchful. To be patient. To be attentive and watchful. And then when we see some way to respond, to find our appropriate response. So all of you on the ground in Wisconsin and Nevada, and I've been trying to call everybody I know in swing states to encourage voting.

[09:53]

If we wait passively, not passively, patiently and watch, Patience is attentive and watchful. And then we might find some skillful means for an appropriate response. So this saying goes back to a great 10th century, I believe, Zen ancestor named Yunmen who was asked, what is the work of a Buddha's whole lifetime? What is the work of the lifetime of someone dedicated to awakening. And he said, an appropriate response. So what is an appropriate response? Well, I think all of you in Wisconsin and Nevada who are trying to get the vote out, that's an appropriate response. Trying to encourage people to vote in spite of their misgivings. You don't have to agree completely with one candidate or the other to see the differences, huge differences between the candidate of compassion and the candidate of inclusivity and the candidate of cruelty.

[11:11]

So skillful means is another one of these transcendent practices. And it's not like we have an instruction manual. Maybe a completely awakened Buddha knows 24-7 what is the appropriate response. But as bodhisattva practitioners, we are always patiently watching, waiting, paying attention. How can we respond helpfully? And we have to try things. It's trial and error. So it's really important to make mistakes. Don't try and be perfect. If you try and be perfect, you can end up just feeling overwhelmed and hopeless and numb. Try things. What is an appropriate response? Let it be informed by your sense of communion with something deeper, something ultimate, something universal. That reality we all have a sense of or else we wouldn't be here.

[12:15]

But appropriate response means making mistakes. Please make good mistakes, right mistakes. Try not to make harmful mistakes. But when we do, we confess that we try again. So, again, this practice of patience is difficult. And patience, there are, you know, in the Buddhist tradition, great Indian teacher, Shantideva, for example, talked about patience as forbearance and actually even being patient with what is difficult, being patient with even things that are horrible, being patient with all the suffering, being patient with how can we helpfully respond even to the horrors of the genocide in the Middle East. What can we do that makes a difference?

[13:20]

It may not be the perfect response, but what is an appropriate response? How do we assess, in the context of this election, something that is helpful? As I said, our effort, our work, our patience is not just about waiting for next Tuesday. I mean, some of us are feeling the tension from that, of course. It's stressful, I think, for lots of people, even people who aren't aware of it necessarily. We're in a stressful time, I would say, in our country and in the world. But patience is to... attention and again after the election even after the inauguration how are we going to help respond appropriately to heal this split in our country the people who are voting for cruelty are feel feeling fearful because they're

[14:24]

These are just my opinions, but I think they are feeling threatened, dangerously threatened, fearful of the changes that are happening now in the world, in our country. They want to continue their white privilege and their power. And of course, the party of cruelty is being funded by billionaires. who will benefit from the party of cruelty. So how do we persist? Relating to patience is the third of these paramitas, transcendent practices. The fourth is effort or enthusiasm or energy. We could translate it as virya. So this has many levels as well. How do we find the enthusiasm to continue to respond appropriately, to continue to try and be helpful, to pay attention, to sustain our patience?

[15:34]

How do we find the energy and effort to persist? Persistence is at the heart of this. So, you know, this also applies on the personal and the communal level. It's enthusiasm or energy. Meditative practices, other spiritual practices, are about connecting with energy, with effort, with enthusiasm. In Zazen, that maybe most of you have engaged in, part of that practice is that as we settle and commune with something deeper, some sense of wholeness. Energy is activated. And there are specific practices to activate energy in meditative traditions. How to arouse physical energy. So practices like yoga and martial arts are relevant to this. But also just sitting meditation is a kind of yogic practice that helps arouse physical energy, personal energy.

[16:44]

So this collection is about renewable energy. I would say that's one of the key issues, and it's both personal and it's global and communal. So alternative energy, renewable energy, is something we need in ourselves psychologically, but also one of the great issues that is not being talked about much in this election, unfortunately, is climate breakdown. Even though these huge storms are affecting people, I have a Dharma brother, a friend who's in Asheville, North Carolina. He's safe, but people around him, thanks to the recent hurricane, are still in devastated situations. More and more and more, we see the effects of climate damage, of the devastation of our environment. And so this is a key issue now. In going out and encouraging the vote, we are acting for

[17:48]

the whole world, the environment, for our climate, for our biodiversity, for future beings. So patience is patience to connect with future beings. I talked about this more on Monday, but future beings are looking to us. to help make a difference in this pivotal time, in this election and in the aftermath of the election, and even after, you know, hopefully a compassionate president is elected. we will have to continue to listen to the fears of others to try and heal the differences. These are not new. There's a new intensity to all of this, but all of this goes back to the founding of our wonderful country at which time only white males with property could vote. So part of our values, our Bodhisattva values and our American foundational values, our aspirations,

[18:55]

How do we help give voice and give votes to marginalized people, to people of color, to Hispanic people who are being denigrated by the party of cruelty? How do we encourage a voice for all beings? I look forward to a day when mountains and rivers and forests have to vote or have people representing them voting. Of course, along with all the marginalized people now, black people, Hispanic people, Asian American people, all the people that the party of cruelty wants to deport. This is such a key election. You all know it. That's why you're there. So everything we do now matters.

[20:00]

Everything we do now makes a difference. Just kindness and caring for the people around us, for our friends, for our family members, for our saga partners. in all the different Sanghas, in our own Sanghas, particular Sanghas of communities, but also in the Maha Sangha of election retreats and of just all beings, Buddhist or non-Buddhist, you know, who are working for caring, for compassion, for kindness, for diversity, inclusivity, listening, listening to the differences, paying respect, So I would say it's not mentioned in the list of the transcendent practices, but all of them are founded on respect. Respect for ourselves, respect for all beings, respect for beings who are being marginalized and persecuted, respect for beings who face mass deportation if the party of cruelty wins,

[21:04]

And again, after the inauguration, we still need to keep working on this, healing, listening to differences, speaking respectfully to those who disagree with us, trying to find common ground. So the outcome of this is uncertain. But it's not just about what happens Tuesday. But what happens Tuesday is going to be crucial. And there are many possibilities. And this is not just a problem of 2024. These divisions go back to the founding of our country, as I said. We're very much involved with the Civil War issues. We're still trying to heal the civil war. So our practice of caring and compassion is about healing and about respect and about including all beings, but also it's about making an effort, finding appropriate responses.

[22:14]

And, you know, we all have limitations. We all get tired, and it's important to rest and do appropriate self-care as well. That's part of the responses. So I could keep talking, but I think I will open the floor now. People in Milwaukee, I see on Zoom. People in the room at the election retreat. Other people online. I'm really interested in hearing your responses and your questions. This is challenging. I'm so grateful to all of you. for all the efforts you're making. Please hang in there. Please consider the practice of patience. You know, our sitting practice is a training in patience. We sit waiting for the bell to ring, sometimes painfully, sometimes joyfully, and everything in between.

[23:21]

And it's important to keep breathing as long as we can. So thank you all very much. I'm so grateful to you all. Rob, maybe you can help call up people in the room or online or people in Milwaukee too. Does anyone here in Milwaukee want to ask a question or make a comment? Michael, if we do, we're going to have to turn the microphone on. I have a speaker over there. I'll cut this out. Does anyone have a comment or question? How about in Oconomowoc? Yeah. Barbara? Barbara? Morning. I wanted to thank you, first of all, for your knowledge both on Wednesday and today of the non-Buddhists in the crowd and adding extra information for us. It's helpful. On the practice of patience, I feel like it's something I'm learning here as a new canvasser, first-time canvasser.

[24:30]

And in the beginning, I worried so much about what I'm going to say, saying the right thing and not making the mistake of saying the wrong thing. But what I'm learning from modeling really wonderful canvassers is that being patient at someone's door and waiting for them to offer something for me to hear is the real lesson in canvassing and the real value. People want to be heard and heard some incredible stories. It's such a gift to us. So patience is, in so many places, a really wonderful practice and we want to be reminded of it. So thank you. Thank you. Yes. Patience isn't easy. I'm here because my teacher was very patient with me. We have a question here from Tom.

[25:36]

Thanks again for your insightful, powerful Dharma talk. In terms of patients, what we run into, of course, is disinformation and what's called false truths, that sort of thing. A major issue that most people vote, as Bill Clinton said, it's the economy, stupid. And a lot of people are associating inflation with the Biden administration. And it's difficult to explain how inflation came about in a short visit. So I was wondering if you have any suggestions about that. Thank you. Oh, my. Well, I'm not an economist. I mistrust economists. Excuse me. Reality is so complicated.

[26:40]

There's so many levels. And I remember President Obama saying that that he left the economy in good shape. And, you know, anyway, we've been through so much. We've been through this pandemic, which we're still not completely finished with. I had my COVID shot recently, booster shot. You know, it's complicated. So I'm not, I don't know how to voice... Maybe somebody here can respond to how to talk patiently about the economy. I think it is about the economy, but I think there's so many other issues that people... feeling, you know, for the threat against women's health and all of the women who've been killed or sterilized by the abortion bans, you know, it's a big issue too.

[27:46]

But just how do we, but I would say one of the big issues along with climate is just respect. How do we respect differences instead of threatening to deport or in prison or whatever people would disagree with. So anyway, uh, but maybe somebody in, in somebody here can say something about the economy. I'll, I'll venture. I'm not an economist either, but I, I, uh, I would say that perhaps the easiest way to respond to that is to blame it on COVID because the relief package that was created to pull us out of the COVID crisis involved pouring a huge amount of money into the economy. And basically, we just printed money. And any time you do that, the value of the money declines, which means that things cost more. As much as I detest him, Lawrence Summers, who's the former president of Harvard, who's the secretary of the Treasury and who reminds me of Darth Vader, predicted exactly this when these relief measures were proposed.

[28:57]

He said that there's going to be a a huge amount of inflation, and he was right. But that was the trade-off. We got pulled out of this horrendous depression very quickly, but as a result, everything costs more. And the problem is not unique to the US. Yes, and the problem was not unique to the US. It was a worldwide problem. Thank you, Rob. That's a little bit helpful. I see Kat online who has her hand up. Go ahead. I would also add it might be helpful just to talk about the differences between the two candidates and their plans to address inflation, like rather than arguing about inflation. The causes like more just connecting over this idea of like, yeah, things are really expensive right now. A lot of people are hurting. So let's talk about what the two candidates want to do. Trump's plan is to put tariffs on all non-American made goods that economists are predicting that will be astronomically expensive.

[30:03]

It's going to be a cost that falls on consumers like his plan is not effective. well thought through. And Harris has a lot of different plans to try to make housing, child care, and all sorts of other things more affordable. So that would be my strategy in that situation is really talking about like, yes, things are bad right now, but what do the two candidates want to do and focusing on that instead? Thank you. I think that's exactly right. Yes. So I'm not using names of candidates who are parties intentionally, but the solution of tariffs and giving huge tax cuts to billionaires, which is why some billionaires are funding that campaign, is not going to be helpful to people on the ground in Wisconsin or Nevada or anywhere else. So, yes, thank you. That's a good response. Other comments or questions? Thank you very much, Ken.

[31:04]

I see a hand in Milwaukee. Milwaukee. I'm not sure we can hear the people in Milwaukee. I would like to hear what you have to say, but... Go ahead. Thank you for your talk, Taigen. when, and maybe you addressed a little bit about this, but how do you, what's an appropriate response for yourself and in your mind when, let's say someone's ranting about the other candidate, and of course my tendency would be to agree, oh yes, it's just, you know, awful, awful.

[32:07]

But how do you hold that in your mind? And You know, really, what is the appropriate response? Well, I don't know that I... Can you hear me? I don't know that I do this perfectly. I can start screaming at the television sometimes. But, you know, the basic practice of patience is to just listen, be respectful. We can have strong opinions. But yelling at somebody or ranting doesn't help. Breathing helps. Please breathe. Please continue to breathe when you're triggered by somebody saying... Somebody mentioned disinformation. One of the things to remember is that the people who are voting for the party of cruelty have been...

[33:11]

force-fed massive amounts of disinformation. So, uh, you know, we have to, uh, part, partly, you know, patience and energy has to do with sharing information. And, and yet, you know, some people won't be able to hear it. So we, we can still feel their pain, uh, uh, And, you know, over the next however many years, for the rest of our lifetime, we have to try and share what we consider truthful information. But it's not that the people who have been, excuse me for using a pejorative word, brainwashed, are not... terrible people is just that these particular views have been spread very widely and very skillfully by the party of cruelty.

[34:17]

So I don't know if that responds to your question, but to take a few breaths and listen and just, you know, we know what we believe and we can work for that, but I actually, you know, I'll just say I believe in preaching to the choir. So part of getting out the vote or maybe all of getting out the vote is to encourage people who aren't caught by all the disinformation, or not so much caught, to actually go and vote. It's really important to get out the vote. I think that's what these election retreats are about. And for the people who disagreed with us, just to listen respectfully, breathe, See if there's something in common that we can share. I don't know if that fits with the experience of people there in the election retreat. What I was thinking about was people that agree with you, you know, the party of cruelty.

[35:23]

So they're ranting and raving, going on about that. Do we agree with them? Do we get into it with them? Yes. Oh, my God, this is terrible. Do you do that, or do you just listen? I can listen. I can agree, but not to, you know, the practice of patience means that we learn the practice of patience through our impatience, studying our own impatience. Studying our own, how we are activated by people advocating cruelty is part of The practice of patience, to learn patience is to study and sit with and be present with and breathe into our own impatience. So that helps to ease it a little bit. And, you know, it may be helpful to some other person who agrees with us to let them rant for a while just to get, you know, to blow off steam or whatever.

[36:27]

And for all of us, how do we together study our impatience? and our difficulty with this, and that helps to develop the practice of patience. Thank you. I hope that's helpful. I think Mark wanted to respond. Yes, I'm just off camera, so sorry. It's okay. First of all, I heard you talk about enthusiasm or maintaining energy or self-care, and I just want you to know that the Sangha, has really cared for me very well. I feel very cared for, and it helps me to be resilient and take another step outside against what seems like impossible odds or difficulties. So that's the first thing I wanted to acknowledge in your talk. And the second thing is that this morning I read an article from the Center for Greater Good at the University of California in Berkeley, and they are addressing these issues specifically.

[37:28]

And the recipe that they explained helps me be more patient with the people on the ground that I'm meeting. The recipe is that there is fear on both sides. There's fear just under the surface and it causes people to rear up and gather their energy and defend themselves as if they're getting ready to die. And the unfortunate part of the recipe is history is showing that, well, the good thing is we're all the same. Whether we're voting on one side or the other, fear is in there. And being able to relate to that on both sides can encourage patience and can encourage dialogue and community. The unfortunate thing is that in many countries around the world, autocrats have stirred up the fear and then said they are the savior.

[38:33]

And I think that's what we're witnessing now. And there's no easy solution to that except to continue to act in love and with great intentions and, as you say, with patience. Thank you so much. Very well said. Thank you. That's very helpful. And yeah, to acknowledge the fear, to be patient with our fear, to realize that there's fear on all sides. And, you know, to breathe into that, to find trust. It doesn't mean blind trust. It means, you know, all of us working to respond to the fear? What's an appropriate response to fear? It's not a blaming war fear, but sometimes that happens. How do we just trust long-term?

[39:35]

So there are so many examples. I talked about this, I think, Monday or maybe last week, that change happens to feel like it's hopeless. It really isn't realistic. Change happens, I mentioned, you know, women getting the vote 100 years ago, gay marriage becoming legal, at least for now, the Berlin Wall coming down, apartheid ending in South Africa. Huge changes, unimaginable changes happen suddenly after lots and lots and lots and lots of patient work. So our patience, our steadiness, and yes, about community, about Sangha, it's very important that we are not, we're all in it together. And even the people who have different viewpoints, you know, are part of our larger community. I do think that Buddhism has spread in America thanks to the need and desire for community, which is so much absent in our culture, I think.

[40:43]

So how do we encourage community and caring for all beings? So thank you very much. I think there's time for one more question, Rob. We have a question here. So Rob, you're in Milwaukee. Okay. Hello. Hi, this is Vicki from Oakland. Hi. So in thinking about what you've said, I was reflecting about an incident yesterday where we were walking and someone was not comfortable for us being there and started yelling at us and then got someone else to follow us in a large truck And when we're thinking about patients, I was really appreciative of Rob, who spoke with the person and reinforced for us the legality of what we're doing, that we can walk and we're walking on the shoulders, really, of live people who have done this work.

[42:05]

And in the moment, being able to be in touch with courage and respect Yeah, it's just one of those moments that you can say, well, let's leave or continue. And I think there was a very useful way to do it yesterday. And it's more than talk. You know, it's just the instinctual moment of what you do. Yeah. Yes, thank you, thank you. Patience and enthusiasm is also about courage. Thank you for putting that word in. And standing for what we have to say, but also responding to someone who's threatening respectfully. This may be very much an issue in the months coming up after the election. There are the officials in government in Washington are talking about threats of violence, not this time at the Capitol, but locally.

[43:15]

So we have to be supportive of each other. We have to be courageous. And that means being patient, being respectful, expressing respect. There might be times to leave a situation. I don't know. But how do we just be present and face the situation we're in? That is the practice of patience. Yeah, I think in this case it was needing it, but assessing quickly. Yeah, so sometimes an appropriate response is immediate response. Appropriate response is happening every moment, and it's happening over time. And so... Again, enjoy. I talk to students about enjoying your inhale and exhale. Please enjoy your breath. It's a real support for patience, for energy, for courage. Again, thank you.

[44:19]

Thank you all so much for what you're doing. Rob, up to you. Do you want to have one more comment or a closing chant? You're moderating this, I guess. Are there any more thoughts or questions in Oconomowoc? Oh, Tom. You can unmute yourself. Tom online. Thank you. Hi. Thank you for that talk. I just wanted to say that in the party of cruelty... there are people, compassionate people. And in the party of compassion, there are cruel people. And I mean, it's, yeah. Yes. One of the great enemies of patience and of energy or enthusiasm and of courage is self-righteousness.

[45:20]

Right. Humility is so important. We don't have all the answers. That's why hopelessness is not realistic. We don't know the outcome of all of this. And there are many, many possibilities. So to be vehemently condemning or supporting, we have to pay attention. Patience has to do with paying attention. So how do we pay attention to our own tendencies to rant and rave and whatever? and to think that we have all the answers. We have some answers. We have some responses. An appropriate response is appropriate, but there's always more that we don't quite see. And that's why the examples I gave before, people who are experts in the situation of the Berlin Wall in Germany did not imagine that the Berlin Wall could fall even a month before.

[46:23]

Things change. They do. And that's partly why there's this reaction of white nationalist supremacists because they feel threatened by the fact that things change. And so we need to make America compassionate again. Thank you, Tiger. Thank you all so much. So we'll chant the closing. Beings are numberless. I vow to awaken with them. Illusions are inexhaustible. I vow to win them.

[47:27]

Buddha's gates are boundless. I vow to enter them. Buddha's way is unsurpassable. I vow to be coming. Bye-bye. Thank you all. Thank you so much. Thank you. Have a good day. Bye. Take care. Bye.

[48:00]

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