I don’t think this directive needs much explanation or commentary. It is simple and clear. It’s obvious and outrageous. It’s intended to be serious and humorous at the same time. I think it’s exactly what we need during this time of living in an ongoing pandemic. And it’s what we need in our human lives of contending with change, stress, and disappointment. It can be successfully adopted and utilized in our personal lives or at work. I’ve used it in working with CEO’s and in my weekly Zen meditation group. I feel lighter practicing with this saying.
It is a formal slogan, intended to be reflected upon, practiced, and embodied as a way of life. It comes from an ancient Tibetan Buddhist practice of working with sayings or directives as a means of waking up, of transcending our usual narrow and egotistical viewpoints. (This particular translation comes from my friend Norman Fischer, from his book Training in Compassion.)
Here are a few ideas on how we might understand and work with this slogan.
Do Good. Avoid Harm – We all want this right? Easy, check. But not so fast. Doing good and avoiding harm is harder than it sounds at first. It means living and working within a framework of helping others instead of merely surviving, trying to make a living, or maximizing our own benefit. What are you doing to help or harm our environment? In what ways are you supporting others, at work and outside of work – to grow and to flourish?
Appreciate Your Lunacy – Great word, lunacy. It is intended to free us up from ideas of knowing, of having it all together. Instead, appreciate how much you don’t know, the mystery of consciousness and of our lives. There is a tremendous amount of lunacy in how we’ve designed the various systems and assumptions that impact our thinking and our daily lives. I often look at our cities, our institutions, the ways we’ve organized our work lives and personal lives and think – how did we ever create these? It can be a great relief to let go of trying to make sense of things.
Pray For Help – We all need help, whether we pray, or wish, or ask. I like to pray. It makes me stop and think, that in some way, meditation practice is a form of prayer. It’s a way of letting go, and seeing what happens, without knowing what will happen. And, if the word pray doesn’t work for you, you can substitute asking for help, or look for support.
Do Good. Avoid Harm. Appreciate Your Lunacy. Pray For Help – what else do you need?