Love Means All

On the evening of January 13th, 2020, we held a lamp prayer at the Shwedagon Pagoda with the teaching staff and students of the Winter School of the University for Life and Peace. Together, we had a meditation session of Chan practice. We pray for planet Earth with a serene and peaceful mind.

An ecosystem is an interdependent diversity and balanced support among organisms. It isn’t a deliberate effort but the way it is. There is a balance in our ecosystem. However, mankind has disrupted it. Ecological crises therefore arise. Now, we must act to solve the problems before they become inexorable damage.

Hence, we must regard our ecosystem with spirituality. By spirituality, we are referring to “love”. Without love, spirituality would be absent. We must regard people, matters, and all with love. It is only loved that can restore the functionality of the ecosystem.

Every plant or animal has spirituality. Yet, the quintessential value of spirituality is knowing how to love, how to inspire love. Therefore, be loving towards everything is a distinctive characteristic of spirituality.

Homage to the wisdom Dharmakaya that is all-pervasive -

the auspicious and sacred Shwedagon Pagoda.

May the lamp of the mind be lit for mankind,

To part from delusions - the harms caused by greed, aversion, and ignorance;

To part from danger - the pain brought by covetousness.

Awaken the spirituality of mankind,

Transform the ecological crises of planet Earth.

Allow Earth to sustain, free from disasters, and restore the interdependent harmony among beings.

Let’s pray for the lives lost in the Australia wildfires -

Be free from fear and be at peace.

Let’s pray for world peace -

Be free from disasters and suffering.

May the world be at peace,

Dharma prospers.

Now, follow my lead for a resonance of a peaceful mind.

Breathe in, put your palms together, and relax.

Quiet down, let’s quiet down. Let our minds return to their origin.

Pray this state of serenity connects the mind of all beings.

Together, the energy field of Earth resonates.

Let all the compassion and virtues manifest.

Allow the peaceful energy of the mind to cure ourselves and Mother Earth.

Let’s safeguard this primordial awareness.

See the root of the problem, find the answers, and take action.

Together, we will sustain as an entity of interdependence.