Each of us individually has an effect on the lives of beings around us through the quiet processes going on in our minds. — Robert Thurman
Acquire a peaceful spirit and thousands around you will be saved. — Seraphim of Sarov
Emotions are contagious. We catch feelings from one another as though they were some kind of social virus. — Daniel Goleman
When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. — Victor Frankl
After reading those opening quotations, you won’t need to guess where I’m going in my post-sabbatical return to steady blogging and podcasting. Today’s world seems dominated by a contagion of anger and divisiveness. Many react to that world with more anger and divisiveness. They aim to defeat those other people and enthrone the right worldview.
Maybe the worldview we favor would indeed lead to less overall suffering. Or maybe it wouldn’t. There’s no question, however, that anger and hatred cause more suffering.
We can’t escape the news coming at us every day, nor should we. I believe in bearing witness to suffering. Doing what I can to ease it includes donating to charities that deliver help most efficiently to those in need, as well as contributing to political candidates and ideologies through my thoughts, words, and actions.
But…
I don’t cling to any of it. My beliefs (political, social, religious) are not me. I don’t let my ego confuse me into thinking I am always right and that others are wrong. I don’t let my moods get tied to the success or failure of any belief system.
In the words of the venerable Thai monk Ajahn Chah:
If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will have complete peace. Your struggle with the world will have come to an end.
The trick is to hold on to your compassion for the world’s suffering while letting go of your attachment to it. You won’t be able to fix it. You can’t donate enough money or fix enough social and political systems, even if you do have a valid solution. Here is a quotation I particularly love, from scholar Thupten Jinpa:
Not all problems can be solved, and not all problems can be solved by you or me.
So, how do we foster our compassion without being drawn into suffering?
Here’s a suggested routine for the start of every day:
This gatha from Thich Nhat Hanh: Waking up this morning I smile, / 24 brand new hours before me. / I vow to live fully in each moment / And to see beings through eyes of compassion.
The refuge affirmation: I take refuge in the Buddha. / I take refuge in the dharma. / I take refuge in the sangha.
The Four Immeasurables (Anam Thubten translation): May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. / May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness. / May all beings never be separated from joy that knows no suffering. / May all beings abide in equanimity free from bias and hatred.
A period (the length is up to you) of meditation in pure awareness—relaxed but alert, eyes open or closed, aware of breathing, sensations, thoughts, and feelings, but not attached to any of them. You let it all come and go on its own.
As you read or listen to this, you might pause here for a moment and then continue with a musical interlude.
The phrase “good vibrations” has become a ridiculed cliché even though the Beach Boys song remains a milestone in the history of rock and pop music. Even the V word alone often brings forth a smirk. The band’s leader, Brian Wilson, who died at age 82 on June 11, 2025, said the phrase grew out of a remark his mother made about dogs sensing “vibrations” from humans.
I hope any snarky readers give me a pass for saying I believe in good and bad vibrations. That belief is based on spiritual teachings like those from Robert Thurman and Seraphim of Sarov at the start of this post and on modern science.
In quantum mechanics, vibrations profoundly connect to energy, the structure and behavior of matter, and the underlying nature of particles and fields. Dr. Thurman is a leading spokesperson on the connection between science and Tibetan Buddhism. Here’s a fuller version of his quotation:
Each of us individually has an effect on the lives of beings around us through the quiet processes going on in our minds. If we are full of good feelings, they radiate around us and people want to be near. If we are full of bad feelings, others tend to stay away. So if we would be activists for good, for the positive, we must assume responsibility for our minds as well as our speech and our physical activities, otherwise our negative mental habits will drag down the entire community of beings. On the other hand, when we break through into the liberty of the heart, mind, and spirit in the process of enlightenment, we free others at the same time.
I can’t say with certainty that living with Seraphim of Sarov’s “peaceful spirit,” Bob Thurman’s “good feelings,” Ajahn Chah’s “letting go,” and Brian Wilson’s “good vibrations” will create vibrations needed to ease the world’s suffering, but…
I can’t think of a better path, and
It will ease mine.
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