Spring Thunder
Many of us are barely awake. We’re living in the world, but we can’t really see it; it’s as though we’re sleepwalking.
To wake up first of all is to wake up to the beauty of the Earth.
You wake up to the fact that you have a body and that your body is made of the Earth and sun and stars. You wake up to the fact that the sky is beautiful and that our planet is a jewel of the cosmos.
Second, to wake up means to wake up to the suffering in the world . . . You want to find ways to bring relief, healing, and transformation. This requires a tremendous source of energy.
If you have a strong desire in you, a mind of love, that is the kind of energy that will help you do these two things: wake up to the beauties of the planet to heal yourself, and wake up to the suffering of the world to try to help.
It’s my conviction that we cannot change the world if we’re not able to change our way of thinking, our consciousness. Collective change in our way of thinking and seeing things is crucial.
Collective awakening is made up of individual awakening. You have to wake YOURSELF up first, and then those around you have a chance.
Peace, awakening, and enlightenment always begin with you.
You are the one you need to count on.
If you see the suffering in the world but you haven’t changed your way of living yet, it means the awakening isn’t strong enough. You haven’t really woken up.
In Zen, sometimes a teacher will shout, or hit you, so you can wake up — they’ll do whatever it takes. The Zen master’s shout is like a crash of spring thunder. It wakes you up and, with the rains that follow, grasses and flowers will bloom.
Thich Nhat Hanh
from Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet