Buddhists Walk, not Run, for Peace, not President… 

Good things come to those who wait. Instant gratification is cheap, but unfulfilling. Time is the special sauce that adds flavor. And while it’s not something that the Buddha necessarily talked about, I think it goes well with the general thrust of Buddhism, which is essentially a non-thrust. Western action is heavily reactive, leaving no action unanswered, as I hear Mark Z exhort every day: “Engage, engage, engage,” as if social media were like going blindly into an empty void and people have to be reminded to say something to that best friend that they haven’t seen in years. 

Apparently, Mark Z has yet to get the word that people leave Facebook just to get away from the toxic level of aggressive behavior that often passes for engagement. Back to the point of the post: maybe if people weren’t so quick to engage, then maybe everybody would be happier for a few more minutes of each day. Those minutes add up and, if nurtured carefully, can make the difference between a bad life and a good one. 

If the monks that Walk for Peace accomplish nothing else, then they get the message out for mindfulness and meditation, that action is more important than reaction, especially when that action is a good one. I doubt that the Buddha ever talked about awareness of breath, but that’s what the monks talk about. That’s not Buddhism; that’s Vipassana meditation, so close enough, I guess. The important thing is that it’s non-reactive. Karma is about actions, not reactions. If you have nothing good to give, then SFTU. Again, the Buddha never said that, but someone did.