For a brief time the events of 9/11 forged a more compassionate, a more cooperative spirit among Americans. The honeymoon lasted only a short while. Given a broad mandate to retaliate and to impose draconian security measures in an attempt to protect the nation, George W. Bush made the lasting impressions on our country. We endure ever more intrusive inspections in order to be permitted to fly. Thousands of patriotic young men and women quickly volunteered for military service. Many of them have died and others continue to die in a ten-year old war in Afghanistan–initiated to locate and kill Osama Bin Laden, which wound up taking almost all of those years. It didn’t help that resources were diverted to also fight in Iraq, a handy way to take attention away from the fact that Bin Laden could not be found. If enemy number 1 could not be dealt with, at least we could rid the world of another evil man. Then there was the pretext of weapons of mass destruction, which did not exist. All of which also cost many American lives and many American dollars–which, along with across the board tax cuts (especially for the ultra-wealthy), have major responsibility for our present financial straits. So, while Bin Laden succeeded in killing several thousand people in those attacks 10 years ago, his and George W’s legacy has had a much more serious, long-lasting and continuing legacy than either could have imagined at the time.

More than ever, we all need to remember the sacrifices of those who died on 9/11 and as a result of the aftermath. More than that, we need to rekindle the compassion and cooperation that briefly enveloped America. While I may (rightly, I believe) point fingers at Bush, that won’t make life in America any better for me or anyone else. What is needed is tolerance and understanding. Tolerance of those whose religion, whose culture, whose values differ from our own. Understanding that the security of the nation lies not in more onerous invasions of privacy but in more openness to alternatives in religion and politics. For myself, praying every day for the peace and security of the land, as Nichiren Daishonin admonished 750 years ago, in a letter to the regent of Japan.

• How did she die?
• When did she die?
• Where did she die?

What became apparent, and what Casey Anthony was convicted of, were a series of lies regarding the disappearance and the whereabouts of her daughter. While these suggested, strongly perhaps, her involvement in her daughter’s death, they were not conclusive in proving her guilt. It’s that simple. Did she in fact kill her daughter? Perhaps. But with the evidence available to prosecutors, no one can say for sure. Where the laws of Florida and other states in America fall short, the law of cause effect will always come through. From the Buddhist perspective, whatever (if anything) Casey Anthony had to do with the death of  her daughter, will be reflected in her karma. Perhaps that supplies little solace to those who would prefer the judicial system provide immediate justice. Nonetheless, no one can escape the effects of the causes  they make, whether those effects are quickly or readily apparent to others.

Also, belatedly, if you had a comment that was trashed erroneously (i.e., you are not a spammer) try submitting it again and I will review what comes in for integrity. I had to do a lot of bulk deletions to clean up this blog.

• Exclusion can’t be at the discretion of the inspector, because that introduces the potential argument that the discretion is being abused–racial, religious, sexual, age or other non-rational based profiling
• The inspector is  a low-level person who is occupationally bound to adhere to rules, to NOT exercise discretion because of the risks above and because it takes more time to figure out who is  in and who is out

Still, despite the appeal to terrorists of airplane terrorism, there  are countless other ways to inflict massive casualties on the populace:

• Shopping malls, stadiums, hotels, etc. (not so common here but frequently used elsewhere)
• Subways, trains, cruise ships and other modes of transportation
• Water supplies, chemical plants, refineries, etc.

How many of them have ANY inspections of persons, belongings or baggage–let alone meaningful checks. Sure, going into government buildings and secure facilities there are metal detectors and checks of belongings, but those are exceptions.

Meanwhile, inspections  before boarding planes gets more and more intrusive. This trend will likely only get worse assuming officials take seriously the notion that is out there now that Al Qaeda or others are researching and considering surgically implanting explosives in suicide bombers. Hey, if they are already willing to die for their cause, what’s the difference whether they are wearing a bomb or ARE a bomb?!

In 13th Century Japan, Nichiren Daishonin said this:

“If you care anything for your personal security, you should first of all pray for order and tranquility throughout the four corners of the land, should you not?” ["On Establishing the  Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land," The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol-1, page 24, Soka Gakkai, 1999]

His admonition applies equally well to the 21st Century America. He didn’t advise political or military strategies; he advocated the application of Buddhist prayer–focused daimoku, the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Not likely a TSA approach of course. Yet, for the all the good that the indignities of intensive searching do for us, the Buddhist approach in the end is the one that will ultimately make the difference. That’s my view. If you don’t share the Buddhist perspective, at least you can offer prayers in the religion you do practice–rather than enduring the situation that now exists. For myself, I plan on using other modes of travel with the possible exception of dire necessity for rapid trips.

Awaiting a rescan on May 17th, I daily freaked out. Going to the Gohonzon with daimoku I thought the worst as my stomach turned somersaults. The mind/body connection is amazing; more  later. I reread SGI President Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture on “The Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life.” I reread portions of The Buddha in Your Mirror. I reread portions of Mike Lisagor’s book, Romancing the Buddha. Most importantly, I had a long-time SGI friend come and chant daimoku with me. On the 16th, while chanting, I prayed for some word or concept that would refresh and  reassure me. Soon thereafter I recalled the postcard I received from my sponsor on the occasion of receiving my  Gohonzon almost 32 years ago. On it was a quote from Nichiren’s writing, “Letter to Niike.” It reads: “The journey from Kamakura to  Kyoto takes 12 days. If you journey for 11 but stop on the 12th, how can you view the moon over the capital?” That did the trick. It takes as long as it takes. I got the scan on Sunday, confident that my prayers of complete recovery would be confirmed–and confident that  I would  use this experience to encourage others to remain steadfast in their faith. The surgeon confirmed on Monday that the omentum was healing nicely and no further follow-up or action on his part would be necessary. On Tuesday, the stomach that had been turning somersaults was now calm; a convincing demonstration of how the mind affects the body.

I must add that I have been somewhat lazy about completing my goals of reading the Gosho (the  collected writings of Nichiren Daishonin) and the Human Revolution (Daisaku Ikeda’s history of the movement of the Buddhist lay organization in widely propagating Buddhism) cover to  cover. Moreover, I have relaxing a bit much from encouraging fellow members. So I am now  back on the front lines, assuming the  responsibility of a district leader having resigned  from a chapter leader position almost 7 years ago. I feel reborn, refreshed, revitalized. If this were Christmas day and the Cratchits lived nearby, I certainly would buy them a goose.

Nichiren says, “When great evil occurs, great good follows.” (WND, 1119). So something good can come from this, amidst all the political posturing and finger-pointing. It’s not inappropriate, rather it’s essential to look at the causes of this collapse if the effects are to be avoided in the future. When you have politicians enabling, through a laissez-faire approach to the financial sector, these Buttheads of the Universe to take free-market capitalism to its most extreme the outcome is certainly foreseeable. Not, of course, to George “Herbert Hoover” (or maybe we should call him Beavis) Bush and his friends in the Republican party. Government regulation has a place, to protect citizens and taxpayers from the worst excesses of human nature. We have laws that punish criminals. We also have regulations and regulators to help prevent crimes. It may not be possible, practical or sensible to try to protect everyone from greed and stupidity, but it certainly is reasonable to have more oversight and control of the financial sector than we have had in recent years.