Changing society

A talk given at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church (November 22, 2016) Transcribed by Jeffrey Fuller and edited by David Loy --- It’s been two weeks today since the election, and many of us are still in a state of shock —traumatized, disheartened if not depressed, anxious, angry, fearful and somewhat confused, wondering what’s going to come next — and wondering if there might be some silver lining to what’s happening. My response today has two parts. First I’d like to identify a very real silver lining, or at least the possibility of a silver lining, depending on how we respond to the situation. And then I’d like to say a bit about what I think is the most important contribution of Buddhist teachings to this situation, which can help us understand and respond to it.