Joan Halifax: What Would a Bodhisattva Do?

We have to ask: What would a Bodhisattva do? Whether it is in relation to revoking a woman’s right to choose, capital punishment, the deep incivility in our society, the exploitation of the natural world, the life-destroying patterns of attachment to lifestyle, or the myriad other sufferings that arise from our vast confusion, hatred, and clinging.


In her infinite compassion, the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara of many hands and eyes brought all suffering beings to the other shore, turned around and saw the world was immediately repopulated by suffering beings. Did she, as one and many, turn away from those who were in samsara, retreat to a cave, and heap in futility? Or did she, as one and many, show up again... and again... and again? So many of us are endeavoring to show up in the tangle of this travesty around the overturning of Roe v. Wade. We as a community stand with you who are dedicated to protecting the rights of women and certainly those who are disproportionately affected, including women of color.

This recent decision by the Supreme Court is a tragic threat to women's health care and autonomy. In contemplating this situation, we feel that the decision is fundamentally about power and control, which is also reflected in gutted climate legislation, the threat to same-sex marriage legislation, and more. We know that there are medical and psycho-social reasons for abortion that are life-saving. We also know that there are varying views on when life begins. As we bear witness to these different views, we also feel that the protection of reproductive choice is a fundamental right that must be upheld.

We stand with millions of you whose voices are rising up across the land in opposition to the Supreme Court's decision. We see you on the steps of the Supreme Court, and in the halls of academia and in houses of worship, as this ruling opens the door for undoing other areas of personal autonomy, from contraception and same-sex marriage to interracial marriage.

So what would a Bodhisattva do? Like Avalokiteshvara, our way is to show up, to turn toward the world’s suffering, including our own, and to offer whatever relief we can as individuals and communities of care. May we do so. And may we do it with conviction, with courage, with balance, with love, and with each other.

🙏 Joan Halifax 

https://www.upaya.org/about/roshi/