Salt * Wet * Fish

Seeing 911 again (and again) reminds me of a Chinese poem written by Jack Sim of the Restroom Association. In a TV interview, Jack showed off a Chinese poem he wrote after the tsunami, but it also applies to 911. I hope my translation is correct as I remembered it:

Heaven (or nature) destroys humans, sadness
Humans destroys humans, anger
When heaven destroys humans, only acceptance
But when humans destroys human, revenge
If we can forgive heaven for destroying humans
Why can we forgive humans for destroying humans?

It’s strange what some people calls Heaven’s Will or God’s Will, and we readily accept them, even though we don’t like it. Why is it that God’s Will only applies to some circumstances in our lives, but not all? How can we tell what is not God’s Will? Is it only when we are hungry for revenge, blinded by hatred than it’s not God’s Will, for if it is, we can only accept and forgive?

After the Sept 11 incident in 2001, I wrote a poem in heartland expressing how I felt about it:

It’s like the left hand not knowing that the right hand is part of the whole body.

I also hope that we can dedicate our love,
compassion and wisdom to those
who initiated the attacks,
who celebrated the attacks,
who masterminded the attacks and
the attackers who died or are injured in the attacks.

We are them, they are us.
We have all been there before and suffered the consequences before
May they one day change the hatred in their minds to love
May they one day change the anger in their minds to compassion
May they one day change the ignorance in their minds to wisdom

Let those who have suffered in the attacks,
Not to bear hatred in their minds, but to develop love
Not to bear vengeance in their minds, but to develop compassion
Not to bear anger in their minds, but to develop wisdom
And avoid turning the wheels of karma again… cause and effects