Help Change the World

Here's today's good idea/bodhisattva alert (haven't had one of those for a long time!). Check out the "Ideas for Change" page at Change.org. Here's how it works according to their website:

"The Ideas for Change in America competition was created in response to Barack Obama's call for increased citizen involvement in government. The final round of voting began on January 5 and is comprised of the top 3 rated ideas from each of the 30 issues in the first round of the competition, which collectively received more than 250,000 votes. The top 10 rated ideas from the final round will be presented to the Obama administration on January 16th at an event at the National Press Club in Washington, DC..."

Voting ends on January 15, so visit the site soon! Some of the ideas that I like:

• Bridging the Empathy Gap -- An initiative to make empathy a cornerstone of government policy and practices, through coaching, trainings, public dialogue, and more.
• End Corporate Personhood -- "An 1886 Supreme Court clerk's headnotes misreading applied the 14th Amendment to corporations, extending to them all the rights, but none of the responsibilities, of human persons. The result has been the steady erosion of our democracy since then, and the consequent rise of the corporate state, which is primarily responsible for the military-corporate-media-academic complex, the expansion of the often brutal U.S. global empire (including the IMF, WTO, and World Bank) with its protecting militarism, and the destruction of our only planet's environment...Ending it is the start of the way back to humane civilization."
• Forgive Student Loans -- A bail-out for the rest of us. "The American middle and lower classes are crippled under the weight of educational debt; in these unusual times, as we bail out lenders and executives, we encourage the Obama administration to forgive student loans, providing a bail-out to the people and simultaneously increasing their spending power."
• Victory Gardens 2.0 -- Asking the Obamas to start a victory garden right at the White House; the veggies grown would go to the First Kitchen and to local food pantries. A powerful symbolic move which could inspire many others to start their own gardens, helping to grow our energy independence, food security, and sustainability.

Tassajara wrap-up...yet fire continues

Smoke in the mountains surrounding Tassajara (photo by Shundo David Haye)

If you've been reading this blog, you've gotten my personal story of the Basin Complex fire that's been raging in central California these past two weeks. My partner Gina, who spent those two weeks with a skeleton crew at Tassajara Zen Center helping to clear brush and prepare the area for fire, made it out safely on Monday.

This past Thursday, the fire raged through Tassajara. Thankfully, the five people who chose to stay behind to fight the fire are also safe, though trapped there because the road into Tassajara is now impassable. There was some damage, but because of everyone's efforts on Thursday and in the weeks before, most of the monastery was saved. David Zimmerman, Tassajara's director, wrote a very descriptive and harrowing narrative of the fire's visit.

Bodhisattva Alert: The fire has been devastating to San Francisco Zen Center, which is comprised of Tassajara, City Center, and Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. The Center relies heavily on revenue from the guest season at Tassajara to support all the activities and the many priests and Zen students connected with it. If you want to find out how to give 'em a hand to continue their good work, read this letter from SFZC president Robert Thomas.

And the Basin Complex fire continues to burn on and to threaten other parts of the beautiful Ventana Wilderness and the Los Padres National Forest, as well as communities in Cachagua, Jamesburg, and possibly Carmel Valley. To date, this fire has burned through more than 117,000 acres and is only 60% contained.

How to help earthquake victims in China

Bodhisattva Alert:
The Tzu Chi Foundation, a Buddhist relief organization that does amazing work worldwide, is focusing its compassion and good energy to China right now. Tzu Chi members will be heading into the streets to collect money and good wishes to start a fund for long term recovery efforts... you can donate online too. Be a bodhisattva and give 'em a hand.