I would like to share a poem from Martin Niemöller.
At this point in time, I find it most appropriate although it may seem that I am digressing from our Dharma subject.
But before you are quick to judge, please bear with me and read on -
"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak out for me."
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came...
Niemöller was a Christian cleric and a vocal critic of Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime of racial extermination - first it was the Communists/Unionists, then the Jews, and then Catholics that were persecuted in during their years in power.
His above poem is not limited to the time of Hitler, but tells a story of the universal truth that we are all interconnected.
We all have a moral duty to help or even defend one another, because there will come a day when you may need someone else's help - that's when you'll need a friend most of all.
Would anyone stand up and speak for you then?
Now, with Dharma and "Dharmic responsibility" - should not we care about one another and all others even more than just this sense of moral duty? Especially when we say we understand KARMA.
If we fear our own karma, we should also care about the karma of others. Because we are all inter-related.
In this circle of life, we are all interdependently-independent.
Hence, what goes around will definitely come around.
So, dear Friends of this sacred space, I humbly request that we please always encourage learning, sharing and giving.
Let us become true Dharma Ambassadors and Dorje Shugden Practitioners NOW.
HOPE, HARMONY, PEACE AND MUTUAL RESPECT should always reside where Dharma is practised.
This is why Guru, Buddha, Dharma & Sangha is a refuge for us all.
And for those who have nowhere else to go and no one else who can even speak to them about Dorje Shugden, we be always be their voice, may this place always be a haven for them.
When it becomes a haven for them, it will become a haven for all.
Let us be the bridge that will close the gaps between intolerance, misunderstandings and eternal loving kindness.
Let this space be as sacred and beautiful as just that.
May it truly be so.
Thank you deeply from a very sentimental Helena.
