Shodo Spring

THE FOUR GREAT VOWS OF A BODHISATTVA
However innumerable beings are, I vow to save them;
However inexhaustible the passions are, I vow to extinguish them;
However immeasurable the Dharmas are, I vow to master them;
However incomparable the Buddha-truth is, I vow to attain it.

"One morning, 15 of us sat on the sidewalk facing the White House, entering relationship with a single person who seems to have great power. The other days, dozens of people sat or stood on the sidewalk facing the public, chanting and singing, being arrested. Both were powerful. The first is the path to which I belong: relationship, intimacy, being present.

"When I was asked why I was there, I answered “We need a planet to live on.”

~ Shodo Spring, a Zen priest who has dedicated her life to socially engaged Buddhism. Shodo is a trained therapist, mother of two, and grandmother of four, who received priest ordination from Shohaku Okumura. She took part in the Tar Sands action.

http://tarsandsaction.org/