Bodhisattvas and Nonviolence
Dōgen Zenji, the 13th century founder of Soto Zen, advised in a section of the Shōbōgenzō called Flowers of Emptiness (Kuge), that Buddhas are born in the flames of the fire. He observed that there is no reason for Buddhas to exist if there were not this fire. Fire of the world is what awakens the Buddha mind and informs our practice in the world. But how does one practice when cruelty is intense?
When cruelty becomes normalized and truth feels distorted at home in our families or in the larger society, our spiritual (Buddhist) path calls us neither to despair nor to hatred. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of the beloved community—a vision of a world in which justice, peace, and reconciliation are realized not through domination but through the transformative power of love. He wrote, “The aftermath of Nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community, while the aftermath of violence is tragic bitterness” (King, Stride Toward Freedom, 1958).
Thus, a gesture/mudra of Nonviolence that I derived from trainings of Climate Disobedience Center is having one hand saying NO (to actions of the person who is harming the fabric of life) and the other hand is on our hearts indicating our hearts are open to the inherent Buddha nature of the person whose action are causing harms. That we love the person even as we oppose their actions.
Photograph taken by during an interview by Brandy Cunningham. Sometimes the hand saying No is fiercer.
Photograph by Brandy Cunningham. Sometimes our Yes is more present than our No.
Zen master Thích Nhất Hạnh, who endured war and dictatorship in Vietnam, reminded us: "When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself. He does not need punishment; he needs help." (Peace Is Every Step, 1991)
Our Nonviolence (Ahimsa) or Buddhist path is not a call to passivity. Compassion is never a resignation. It is fierce, rooted, and discerning. It allows us to see clearly and to act skillfully. As Buddhists, we practice kshanti—the perfection of forbearance—not to avoid conflict, but to meet it without hatred. We resist systems of harm while refusing to dehumanize.
If you are grieving the rise of cruelty, know that our grief is sacred. It arises from your deep love for beings and for truth. Let it move you—not into isolation or apathy—but into deeper connection. I’m seeing great hope — radical hope these days.
As the Dhammapada teaches:
"Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal law."
(Dhammapada, verse 5)
The Dharma, Nonviolence (Ahimsa) and Buddhist practices have survived all kinds of cruelty, empires and exiles, prisons and propaganda. It continues through us—through our communities, our practices, our actions. Let us keep walking together, rooted in loving resistance, toward the beloved community—even now, especially now.