I am well aware that in these troubled times, many of us simply stop watching and reading bad news. My use of the phrase "senseless society" may tilt your opinion quickly in the thinking of "Here we go again." But, in my defense, I hope to rise above the bad news by offering a view of safety and sanity. However, first things first:
THE SITUATION: A SENSELESS SOCIETY
Politics! It did not have to be this way, but for the time being it is a way of fear, confusion, misinformation, the splitting of friendships, families, boards, governmental organizations, services, news outlets, municipalities, and even the military. In other words, even the task of describing the danger of our present situation is daunting.
I will try, however, to state the "senselessness" of our society and world situation by drawing on the expertise of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Following the horror of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a group of scientists who helped build the first atomic bomb realized the horror of what they had created, and what it might portend for the future of civilization's survival. In order to help guard against the danger of individuals and even nations' use of nuclear weapons, the concerned group of scientists in Chicago founded the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists for the purpose of educating the general public of the dangers potentially threatening global catastrophe.
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists publishes articles regularly, available to the general public. The organization consists of renowned scientists from around the world. Each year they convene in late January to consider the actions and non-actions of world leaders and governments, asking what has been done to save our planet from catastrophic destruction, always keeping in mind the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as reminders of what devastation we can enact on one another and the planet.
You may yourself read and reflect on the report of the Bulletin. They addressed the following concerns, acknowledging that Russia, China, the United States and other major countries have become increasingly aggressive, adversarial, and nationalistic. In particular, concerns raised had to do with the following:
THE RESPONSE: SAFETY AND SANITY
First, let me quickly add that there remain governments as well as professional organizations and determined individuals who carry on the worthy and courageous work of serving humanity. Those individuals and groups, thankfully, are too numerous to name in this short writing. Therefore, I will point to four other sources available to you: Buddha, Moses, Christ, and Lao Tzu. I have chosen these sources as a resource not only because of who they are, but also because they offer windows into practices that may assist us in the search for safety and sanity.
The omnipresent Virtue will take shape according only to the Way.
The Way itself is like something seen in a dream, elusive, evading one.
In it are images, elusive, evading one.
In it are things like shadows in twilight.
In it are essences, subtle but real,
Embedded in truth.
More can and will be said about our response to a senseless society. And in future writings I will return to:
the mind of Buddha
the commandments of Moses
the heart of Christ
the Way of Lao Tzu
I see each of these as providing a sane and safe response to the senseless society in which we find ourselves at this time.
(The translation of poem 21 in Tao Te Ching is by R.B. Blakney, Lao Tzu, Wisdom of Ancient China.)
THE SITUATION: A SENSELESS SOCIETY
Politics! It did not have to be this way, but for the time being it is a way of fear, confusion, misinformation, the splitting of friendships, families, boards, governmental organizations, services, news outlets, municipalities, and even the military. In other words, even the task of describing the danger of our present situation is daunting.
I will try, however, to state the "senselessness" of our society and world situation by drawing on the expertise of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Following the horror of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a group of scientists who helped build the first atomic bomb realized the horror of what they had created, and what it might portend for the future of civilization's survival. In order to help guard against the danger of individuals and even nations' use of nuclear weapons, the concerned group of scientists in Chicago founded the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists for the purpose of educating the general public of the dangers potentially threatening global catastrophe.
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists publishes articles regularly, available to the general public. The organization consists of renowned scientists from around the world. Each year they convene in late January to consider the actions and non-actions of world leaders and governments, asking what has been done to save our planet from catastrophic destruction, always keeping in mind the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as reminders of what devastation we can enact on one another and the planet.
You may yourself read and reflect on the report of the Bulletin. They addressed the following concerns, acknowledging that Russia, China, the United States and other major countries have become increasingly aggressive, adversarial, and nationalistic. In particular, concerns raised had to do with the following:
- "a lack of leadership on nuclear issues with no country stepping up to stem the growing sense of disorder and breakdown of norms."
- "a troubling climate outlook" with record-breaking trends continued in 2024 and 2025. Globally averaged temperature in 2024 was at the warmest level in 175 years of record-keeping.
- "Increasing chaos, disorder, and disinformation in the world's information ecosystem threaten society's capacity to address difficult challenges in 2025, and it is clear that AI has great potential to accelerate these processes of information corruption."
- "Four major concerns: the possibility that scientists could create mirror life, the continued evolution of AI and biological weapons systems, and the dismantling and degradation of US public health infrastructure... ."
THE RESPONSE: SAFETY AND SANITY
First, let me quickly add that there remain governments as well as professional organizations and determined individuals who carry on the worthy and courageous work of serving humanity. Those individuals and groups, thankfully, are too numerous to name in this short writing. Therefore, I will point to four other sources available to you: Buddha, Moses, Christ, and Lao Tzu. I have chosen these sources as a resource not only because of who they are, but also because they offer windows into practices that may assist us in the search for safety and sanity.
- Buddha: The prince, Siddhartha Gautama lived a sheltered life in Nepal until he left to witness the widespread suffering of aging, sickness, death, and the misery of groups warring with each other. From this experience of suffering he preached the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path that concludes with a deep meditative concentration taught in Tibet, China, Japan, and world-wide sites. Often the meditation employs the universal mantra: om mani padme hum ("Hail to the Jewel in the Lotus") evoking the image, compassion, and wisdom of Buddha for a suffering, senseless society.
- Moses: Moses was a Hebrew prophet. He led the Israelites out of their slavery in Egypt. Following an Exodus that crossed the Red Sea, they arrived in a wilderness where Moses spent 40 years with his quarrelsome group of hungry, scared, confused band of followers. They had barely escaped their previous decades of slavery, only to fall into the temptations of idolatry and demand that Moses lead them back into Egypt. When Moses could take it no longer, he sought solitude on Mount Sinai where he was given the Ten Commandments. The commandments begin like this: "I am the Lord thy God — Thou shalt have no other gods [ultimate value on being] before me." This is a high bar challenging our senseless society with its gods of wealth and power.
- Christ: What can we say that has not been said about Jesus Christ and his words? But let me risk simplifying by referring to what has become known as the "beatitudes." There are eight, and each one refers to a new state of existence, or what the New Testament scholar, Rudolf Bultmann, referred to as an "eschatological existence," the awakening to a condition of being in which one's life is oriented toward the "kingdom of God," rather than the frivolities of the world. Returning to the beatitudes of which Jesus spoke (See Matthew 5:3-10), I choose only one: "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God."
- Lao Tzu: We know little about this mysterious old man whose name is associated with the Tao Te Ching. The work itself is a collection of 81 chapters or poems rising from Chinese mysticism. Around 1100 BCE, in the Chou dynasty, the individual known as Lao Tzu is thought to have served as an archivist in the Chou court at Wangcheng. Despairing the "senselessness" of his time and society, he left that world behind but not before compiling some or all of these writings we find in the Tao Te Ching that has become a "face" for the religion we know as Taoism. Taoism focuses on nature, simplicity, balance, meditative practice, intentionally resisting the lure of a senseless world. This path is known as the Way.
The omnipresent Virtue will take shape according only to the Way.
The Way itself is like something seen in a dream, elusive, evading one.
In it are images, elusive, evading one.
In it are things like shadows in twilight.
In it are essences, subtle but real,
Embedded in truth.
More can and will be said about our response to a senseless society. And in future writings I will return to:
the mind of Buddha
the commandments of Moses
the heart of Christ
the Way of Lao Tzu
I see each of these as providing a sane and safe response to the senseless society in which we find ourselves at this time.
(The translation of poem 21 in Tao Te Ching is by R.B. Blakney, Lao Tzu, Wisdom of Ancient China.)
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