Iran is a wake-up call - a Buddhist view
(Photo by Buddy AN on Unsplash
The images we are all seeing from the Middle East are an inescapable, unfolding horror. While others analyse the politics, the military and the markets, I find myself asking a different question: As people seeking to live with wisdom and compassion, how do we respond to a world that seems to be tearing itself apart?
I would like to offer some Buddhist insights which are typically bracing - maybe even confronting - but, I hope, empowering too.
Iran is about us
The images we see are of mourning families carrying coffins through the streets. Men and women picking pitifully through the rubble of what was once their home. Our hearts may naturally open to their suffering - an impulse we may choose to harness.
But for many, our psychological self-defences kick in right away. We contemplate how what’s happening in Iran is - thank heavens - half a world away. We may pay more at the gas pump. There will be economic and political fall-out. But the raw horror is ‘over there’. It’s not directly about me.
Lamas would tell us that if we think that way, we are mistaken. While not the same in form or scale, all around us lives are being levelled. Relationships fracture; financial foundations crumble; health vanishes in a single heartbeat. People about us are unexpectedly and sometimes quite suddenly losing their lives. One day - maybe sooner than I think - I, too, will be the one in that coffin.
People don’t often talk like this. We don’t want to come across as negative. But if we want to know how best to live, we must face reality. As my kind guru, Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden, writes of our precious human lives:
‘Such a life, and all things are impermanent, changing constantly, disintegrating moment by moment, and eventually disappearing to exist no more. One should be aware that death is definite, its timing unpredictable… The faults of samsara are manifold, its uncertainty perplexing, with no limit to its dissatisfaction…’
Instead of turning away from what horrifies, may it serve as a reminder: this is not “Other.” This is about me. I live in an ocean of suffering and one day it will touch me, just as it is so evidently touching the lives of those I am watching right now on TV.
Agency through compassion
That first, heartfelt impulse of sympathy for the suffering of others is a powerful tool. It gives us a sense of agency in an immediate and practical way.
As bombs and missiles began raining down on Iran, as well as the inevitable impact on the many, innocent, decent people, already struggling to live under a tyrannical regime, I also wondered: ‘what about the animals?’ I know how terrified our pets get on an occasional night of fireworks. And what about those who have lost everything? After some online searching, I made a small donation to the Vafa animal shelter in Tehran. In a world fractured by ideology and borders, food and water for a frightened dog needs no translation. It is a small act of sanity in a landscape of chaos.
We may be moved, instead, to practice compassion closer to home. And that’s a valid response too. Even if the beneficiaries have nothing to do with Iran, when we use our recognition of the pervasive nature of suffering to make our own compassion more authentic, we turn tragedy to a positive purpose.
Recognising our own good fortune
What if we do live half a world away in our safe homes enjoying comfortable lives? If our most important relationships are settled and supportive - or even better? What if we currently have no worrying diagnoses and are able to fill our days with meaningful activity? If that’s the case, how lucky are we?
Most of us live in the countries we do through the good fortune of winning the ovarian lottery. If we are enjoying the results of good karma – let’s celebrate that. And also let’s keep creating the karmic causes for these experiences to continue.
Imagine for just a moment what it must be like to be one of the tens of millions of Iranians who just want to be left alone to live modest lives, but who instead face brutality from their own side and bombardment from the skies.
The truth is that we are living like gods right now. The reality we experience is precious beyond measure. We may not feel it, a lot of the time. But compared to most people on earth, most people in history, and most sentient beings, our lives represent those of the rarest good fortune. If what is happening in Iran helps us realise this - a realisation being when our understanding of a subject deepens to the point that it changes our behaviour - then perhaps we may be moved to live with greater gratitude. To use our good fortune more wisely, and to respond to others with more immediate and genuine compassion.
No time to lose!
A well-known Buddhist metaphor for samsara is a burning house: if we found ourselves in a building engulfed by flames, we wouldn’t hesitate—we would get out as fast as we could.
Iran serves as the same reminder. There is no ultimate safety to be found in this world. When we die, each one of us is going to lose everything and everyone precious to us. Let’s not pretend it won’t happen to me, too. We are all in the departure lounge.
The Buddhist view is, however, that something does continue after we leave: very subtle consciousness. And what arises in subtle consciousness at the time of death creates the context for our next lifetime’s reality - a process I describe in more detail here.
Alternatively, we may decide that we’ve had it with samsara. With birth, ageing, sickness and death. With living as different beings, who knows how many times or on what planets, pointlessly cycling through eternity. We may opt, instead, for nirvana – a mind no longer afflicted by karma and delusion. Or perhaps the goal of a bodhisattva may appeal – attaining enlightenment to help others escape that burning building.
Getting down to the actual work, however, sitting on our cushions, letting go of our inner demons, using the many tools offered to explore our minds at increasingly subtle levels – that’s something we’re often less good at. Can’t we just have a coffee and enjoy this moment instead?!
By all means enjoy the coffee, but don’t neglect the inner work. If you have made it this far in the article you, like me, are a being of rare good fortune. You have time for inner development and are drawn to higher level questions that most people give little thought to. As a bare minimum, let’s try to ensure our next time round the sun is better than this one. Ideally, why not see if we can slip free from samsara permanently?
The door is open
If this post has made for grim reading, let me leave you with some encouragement. We are not merely bags of bones. Even on a conventional level, our consciousness has no boundaries and its natural state is deeply peaceful.
At an ultimate level, our consciousness is capable of realities well beyond the merely peaceful. We may experience enduring states so blissful and sublime that there simply aren’t words to describe them: teachers of all the great spiritual traditions use metaphors like divine realms, pure lands, enlightenment.
The war in Iran is horrifying, but it is also a mirror, reflecting—without any false equivalence—the inherent fragility of our lives and the urgent necessity of the path. We can choose to be victims of the world’s chaos, or we can recognise that within us lies a peace that no bomb can reach. We don’t have to wait for a next life to seek this. We can start now, by using our horror to fuel our compassion and our relatively immense good fortune to motivate our practice.
The house is burning - but the door is wide open.
Update from Twala Trust
Photo: Waggley Tail Club members who are returning from their daily Big Walk checking out a dog arriving from the 24 Hour Vet in Harare where much of the Doggy Tuesday veterinary work is done.
This week’s charity update comes from Twala Trust Animal Sanctuary in Zimbabwe, one of the three non-profits you support as paying subscribers. Over to Sarah:
“Doggy Tuesday provides lifetime care to around 600 dogs, plus our Waggley Tail Club resident dogs at Twala who are mostly elderly or disabled rural dogs. This includes lifetime veterinary care, incorporating vaccinations and sterilisation.
This dog has a debilitating skin condition that has made her very unwell. She needs special care, including a balanced diet, medication and flea control, all provided by Twala Trust.
A sweet girl who's had a tough life. Sterilisation and vaccination will change her life, as will ongoing care and support through Doggy Tuesday
This dear little guy has Parvo virus. Because we have dedicated quarantine areas we are able to treat this often fatal disease if the pups are brought in early enough. He will then be vaccinated regularly to ensure he is safe from infectious diseases.”
Hi Everyone,
David here again. My heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you who choose to support my work, and some of the most vulnerable people and animals in the world, by being a paying subscriber.
May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness!
May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering!
May all beings never be parted from the happiness that is without suffering!
May all beings abide in peace and equanimity, their minds free from craving, hatred and indifference.
Thank you, David for another powerful reminder of the fragility of peace. Your post makes me pause, put down my coffee (!!) and feel deep gratitude for the quiet, ordinary moments that so many people and animals in conflict zones don’t have. I also look forward to your updates and photos on the amazing organizations that continue their charitable work.🩵🙏✨
Thank you for this reminder about the Precious Human Birth. We really did win the lottery and most of us don’t realize it. I also donated to Vafa Animal Shelter. 🙏❤️