Depletion of merit

"Why should we cherish all sentient beings?
Sentient beings are the roots of the Tree of Awakening
The Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas are the flowers and the fruits
Compassion is the water for the roots"

– Avatamsaka Sutra, as quoted in Gary Snyder, Mountains and Rivers without End

On the north side of East Burnside in East Portland, about a block west of the 162nd avenue Max stop, an entire apartment building of low income folks is being evicted. A few miles further west lies the new campus of Dharma Rain Zen Center, where I practice meditation every Sunday.

Can merit be depleted? The metaphor of the Tree of Awakening quoted here, with its roots that need water, and its flowers and fruits that need air and sunlight, is beautiful, but also haunting.

A tree grows towards the light. Water is the universal solvent that allows an uninterrupted flow of energy and nutrients to all parts of the organism. We know that without adequate supplies of it, or if they are dammed up and disrupted, the tree will never bear fruit, or if it does, the flowers and fruits will soon wither and die.

We who yearn for peace and serenity should take note: if we aren't giving any attention to the roots, the tree from which we sprang will not be healthy. As we reach up towards the light, we also need to attend to the roots and water them.

Ideally, we can equally identify with both the flowers, the leaves the branches, and the roots. We can even become like the molecules of water, moving freely throughout, not getting stuck in one position.

I only learned of the situation faced by the residents of the building on East Burnside yesterday. But a few weeks earlier, I started volunteering with the newly formed Portland Tenants Union. Our group received an email through the grapevine from an organizer in the building, calling for support, and I had just about an hour's notice before showing up there to learn more. (I also feel a certain connection to this place, since I've biked past it every day for years on my way to and from work.) I have posted a couple of quick videos I took interviewing residents, many of whom are seniors and disabled folks.

Here are the quick interviews I did:

https://youtu.be/tXDlqvGF9VY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y78e6p0U4Nw

It shouldn't take great imagination to realize that any one of us, given various twists or turns of fate, could end up struggling to pay the rent on a marginally maintained rental unit like the folks I interviewed. It seems like this purely practical factor alone should help us tap into the wellspring we need to "water the roots." But even if not, we can see where things will go if we don't step up to address these problems. We are collectively faced with the prospect of more and more brutality, with vulnerable people at risk of becoming homeless. We already have a serious shortage of housing, and increasing numbers of people forced into homelessness.

While we don't yet know exactly what to do to "fix" all the problems like this one, that should not stop us from jumping in and working with others in whatever ways look potentially promising. A medic on a battlefield does not just shrug their shoulders because there are too many wounded. They do triage, and help whoever they can reach in whatever ways appear most appropriate. Maybe we aren't medics with specialized training, but if all the medics are busy or overwhelmed, do we simply shrug our shoulders?

Instead, I hope that, even if we can't all take a crash course in emergency medicine, we at least rise to the occasion with whatever skills we already have, and stand ready to assist as best we can.