Viewpoint January 2008
The Power of Small Actions
by Barbara Aplington
I'm sitting by my father's side, waiting for him to pass. I hold his hand day and night, watching every breath, listening to every sound, and feeling the remaining warmth of his body. He was well loved— and there is no shortage of family and friends who come or call bearing blessings and support these days. My greatest solace, however, is knowing that Buddhist monks and nuns in the Himalayan mountains will be praying for his peaceful transition. I find comfort in the blessed protection chord wrapped around his wrist, the photograph of Trulshig Rinpoche watching over him, and the Buddhist prayers radiating from my iPod.
We live in a global community, touched by the spirits, rituals, and beauty of a myriad of cultures, traditions and religions worldwide. We also live in a time of instant access to great injustices committed by men everywhere and are bombarded with constant information about wars, disasters, human rights violations, and atrocities worldwide. My na√Øve and compassionate heart and mind struggle to understand this side of humankind's nature. I am aware of where the seeming power lies— governments and corporations— and that their ultimate concern is a bottom line that does not include the benefit of all others. But what can I do?
As an American traveling beyond our borders, I'm aware that my government, thought the greatest of all by many, doesn't live up to its great potential. Our politicians preach, "We are Americans! God Bless America!" But there are billions of people in the world and I wonder why they not preaching, "We are Humans! God Bless Humanity!" People in my sphere are deeply disturbed and depressed by world affairs and the plight of peoples everywhere. We all want to do something, anything, of benefit. The privilege of travel and spending time in "the third world" has given me the experience of our connectedness. The freedom and means to leave our borders and the first hand exposure to other cultures and parts of the world are not only opportunities, but necessities if we can ever hope to live in a just world and honor our global community. After exposing ourselves to other places in the world, it is not as easy to sit by idly as our government ignores, or attacks, lands that we ourselves have walked on and people who've touched our hearts. For me, that place of first exposure and global connection was Nepal. Nepal, however, is only one very small country among a plethora of others. As individuals fortunate enough to have been born in the Western world, it's my belief that unless we look outside ourselves, our families, our communities and our national borders, and befriend those who are beyond what's familiar and safe for us, then there is little chance for a peaceful existence for any one of us.
My first friend from Nepal, Gombu Sherpa, grew up at the foot of the largest mountain monastery in the Everest region of Nepal, called Thupten Choling. The monastary's abbot, 84-year old Trulshig Rinpoche, is highly revered and is a long-time teacher to His Holiness The Dalai Lama. Trulshig Rinpoche and the monastic community at Thupten Choling were exiled from Tibet. Each year when I visit, there's a new handful of Tibetans who have just risked their lives to walk over the mountain pass to freedom. They are on their way to Dharamsala, India to see their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. Spending time in Nepal, I experience first hand what it means to live in a global community. I'm revered by many simply because I'm there— because I drink tea in their kitchens, look into their eyes, and play with their children. That was all it took to build a bridge of relationship with my world neighbors. I raise a small amount of money from my community in San Diego to put tin roofs onto, and smokeless stoves into, the huts where the anis (nuns) live. These simple additions reduce the two greatest health risks to them— lung and rheumatic disease. I also support other projects in Nepal. In exchange, the Nepalese take me into their community. I sit through their ceremonies and experience their everyday lives. I witness the sole purpose of their existence and daily activity— to pray for the benefit for all of humanity, not just Tibetans.
Nepal is also in the midst of a civil war. A Maoist
insurgency threatens the freedoms and religious practices of those living
in its borders. In addition, the Chinese government is forcing Nepal to
return "escaped"
Tibetans to China. This is only the plight of one group of people in one
small country in our global community.
If women are routinely raped, if people are tortured for their ethnicities
and religious beliefs, if children are forced into slave labor, or if the
multitude of violations committed against individuals anywhere continue,
then none of us will live peacefully anywhere. We're all affected by
the circumstances of every living creature. As individuals, we have no
freedom unless as a race we all have the same freedoms.
Mainstream media
controls my awareness with mindless distractions. World situations are
enormous and beyond my control. I'm told constantly through advertisements
what I need to own and do in order to be a success in my society. And I
am only one small individual of limited financial means. Nonetheless, I'm
compelled to find small actions that honor the reality that I live in one
community— a global one. I believe that if each one of us did one tiny
action to benefit anyone, anywhere in the undeveloped world, and spent
any amount of time on their soil, in their homes and communities, we would
find that we do have the power to build a just global community. We need
to protect those in distant lands as if they were our own— and we can
do this one small person at a time.
My father has now passed and I can hear prayers in the Himalayas. Blessings
to us all everywhere.
Barbara Aplington is a licensed acupuncturist with a healing arts practice in San Diego. Each fall, she brings a small group to the lower Everest region of Nepal for an intimate cultural and spiritual experience. Along with Jim Aplington, she represents contemporary painters from Tibet and traditional art from Nepal at Lotus Loft in Little Italy. For more information on any of these projects and art showings, she can be reached at 619.991.2097 or barbaplington@mac.com, www.egofreejourneys.com.