My sermon given on July 5th at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia.
My friends, we live in troubled times. When I last spoke with you during August 2008; it was the Sunday after the shooting tragedy that had occurred at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. Unfortunately not much has changed for the better with respect to mitigating the continual occurrence of various tragedies - as recently evidenced by the shooting of a well known gynecologist, the events taking place in Iran, missiles be shot off in North Korea, political scandals, extensive bankruptcies, employment at an all time low, blue people hating green people, orange people hating turquoise people, and purple people hating everyone, to name just a few.
Back then, I offered some thoughts on how we might use some Zen Practices of Healing and the virtue of love to help us cope and to achieve a more loving, peaceful, and caring world. By way of illustration I referenced a fairly well known book and movie, “The Wizard of OZ.” For it is within this simple story, not only did I find it beset with moral values, but something deeper – spiritual guidance (Zen wisdom, if you will).
Previously, I reflected on the Tin Man in the story, who was seeking a heart and the Wizard’s response that he should remember that “a heart is not judged by how much you love, but how much you are loved by others.” But in these times, it seems that the virtue of love (alone) is not sufficient and that it needs to be augmented with the virtue of courage. So this time my focus will be on Courage - a virtue that was so prominent within our forefathers and mothers in their struggle for this country’s independence which we commemorate this July 4th weekend.
Accordingly, today let us journey again down the Yellow Brick Road with a Lion in his quest for courage from the story of the “Wizard of OZ” and hopefully pick up some helpful, useable Zen philosophy, as well.
Let us consider briefly the meaning of Courage and of Zen.
Courage transforms fear into determination. It is the embracing of life fully and doing what must be done even when it is difficult, risky, or unpopular. It allows us to face adversity with confidence. Courage opens us to new possibilities and gives us the strength to sacrifice for what we love. It is being fearless and brave. Spiritually, it is acting on moral values of what is right.
Zen practice is Buddhist in origin; it is a form of meditation that seeks to attain an intuitive illumination of mind and spirit. One, hopefully, realizes an “awakening” and spiritual enrichment through the direct individual assessment of one’s own experiences rather than through theory and the study of religious texts.
Now with regards to the quest for courage, in one of the chapters and/or scenes during Dorothy’s journey to meet the Wizard, she encounters a Lion. The great Lion bounds out in front of her with a terrible roar, gnashing his teeth and striking out with his sharp claws. Dorothy’s dog Toto, in a protective stance, runs barking towards the Lion. When the great beast opens his mouth to bite the dog, Dorothy fearing that Toto would be killed and heedless of the danger, rushes forward and slaps the lion upon his nose as hard as she could. The Lion immediately retreats and starts to whine in a cowardly fashion. When asked why he was such a coward, the Lion replied – I don’t know; it is a mystery and I suppose I was born that way. But others expect a Lion to be courageous so I learned if I roar very loudly, I can frighten others and have them think I am very brave.
Let us consider who was really courageous in this episode. Not the Lion who admits to being a coward and because of what others think he must be - has been forced to play out a fraud to live up to their expectations. It is apparent that Toto and Dorothy in their protective stances were the courageous ones, not by “roaring” the loudest or making bolstering claims but by taking decisive action. And what spiritual lesson can we learn from this tale - - excuse the pun?
I submit that one’s true self – one’s spiritual essence, one’s very internal nature – is completely fearless and does not fear any challenge. Unfortunately, a lot of our thinking and behavior tends to be shackled by the material world and is generally based on fears. Consequently, there arises a compulsion to conquer others to compensate for not having conquered one’s own fears. We see this played out every day in the real world from the posturing of dictators, terrorists’ acts, so-called “ideological” murderous shootings, discrimination, to bullying on the playground. The Lion was foolishly confusing courage with intimidation. An individual possessing true courage does not resort to intimidation. Only a bully uses intimidation and is cruel and/or demeans others.
In another episode, the Lion is walking down a hallway towards the Wizard’s throne room, twisting his tail nervously when he suddenly wails out in pain. “Someone pulled my tail,” he cries. The Scarecrow points out, “You did it yourself.” This single moment captures a profound Zen teaching of “There is no greater illusion than fear.” Referencing back to one of our forefathers, Franklin Roosevelt put it this way: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Later on when marching through the Haunted Forest toward the Witch’s Castle, the Lion self-destructively chants: “I do believe in spooks, I do, I do.” Instead the Lion should be using a positive affirmation to conquer his fear – the same way Dorothy does by chanting: “Lions, and tigers, and bears – oh my!”
How then does the Lion finally find his courage? It is when the Lion discovers that Dorothy is being held prisoner in the Witch’s Castle and his love for her overpowers his fears. In a flash, the Lion discovers his higher self, recognizes his unique talents, and impulsively decides to use his strengths to save Dorothy. As a famous Zen sage wrote: “Because of deep love, one often finds courage.”
Finally when the Wizard presents the Lion with a medal for exhibiting courage and bravery, he states that the Lion is simply under the delusion that because you have fears, you have no courage. The Wizard then with Zen-like clarity confides: “You are confusing courage with wisdom. Courage lies in how one deals with fear, not in the absence of it.”
I believe the message here is clear. If you, like the Lion, discover your true self and your purpose in life, you too can access the infinite potential of the cosmos, freeing yourself to experience life as a miraculous expression of love. All it takes is a little courage.
I offer for consideration Six Steps in the Practice of Courage. 1) Reach beyond your comfort zone, 2) Welcome new challenges, 3) Do what you know is right regardless of the cost, 4) Face the truth - being humble and open, 5) Don’t let your fears hold you back, and 6) Fully accept life’s invitations.
Hopefully, I have illustrated a little of the Zen philosophy that is contained in the story of the Wizard of OZ. May your journey down the Yellow Brick Road make your life glorious and joyful in every way. Let us be thankful for the gift of Courage for it allows us to spread our wings. “May it be so.”
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