Today I want to talk about the Buddhist concept of being a warrior. A warrior not in the sense of fighting or even of defending....but in the Buddhist sense a warrior is someone who has the fearlessness and courage to respond to the world with compassion in the face of fear. 
 
Many assume that this means Buddhists are passive, milk toasts, panty waists that never take a stand - or stand for anything. Nothing could be further from the truth. Fearlessness and courage is not the absence of fear but rather it is responding to the world in a compassionate in the face of fear. 
 
An election is at hand that has polarized the country. You see maps that depict the country in terms of red or blue states. You are on one side or the other.  
 
I decided some time ago that it was not my job to try and convince sangha members what moral stands they should take. And I don’t believe it is the role of religion to tell it’s practitioners what stand to take on every moral or political issue (as some religions do).  
 
However, I do believe it is the job of religion to help cultivate and nurture compassion and wisdom within it’s practitioners. Then through their own natural intelligence practitioners will decide what issues they should take a stand on — or become involved with. 
 
It is through the cultivation of compassion and wisdom that we develop fearlessness. It is only possible to truly understand fearlessness once we have known fear. And once we have cultivated fearlessness we then can go onto become warriors. Not warriors of violence, but warriors of compassion. Being a warrior in this sense means not being afraid to become involved and help others. To respond out of compassion and wisdom rather than out of hatred or anger.  
 
1. Not being afraid to stare down suffering -- look it right in the face.  
• Homeless people you meet,  
• People you meet who are seem to endless create their own inner problems and want to talk about their problems - don't turn away from those people. 
• People who are constantly causing turmoil in their lives and other lives 
 
2. Having the courage to conquer your ego clinging. 
• not always protecting yourself  
• not always positioning yourself to get more - to get praise,  
• not always justifying what you do, 
• not giving with an expectation of return. 
 
3. Courage to give up your entrenched ideas about the way things should be. The way you think the world should be is connected to your delusional mind. Realize that you view the world based upon you past experiences. 
 
4. Respond to the world the way it is -- right now. Every day the world presents itself with opportunities. 
 
5. Courage to respond to everyone with compassion.... 
• Even those with opposing views, 
• Those who hurt you,  
• Those who do nothing but try to slander or destroy you..... 
• Respond to everyone of those with compassion. 
 
7. To become the type of person who is content never to be quite that sure of who you are.........always free to be someone new -- somebody more. More kind, more compassionate, more patient, more generous. 
 
 
His Holiness the Dalai Lama said,  
 
“No matter what is going on never give up. Develop the heart. Too much energy in your country is spent developing the mind instead of the heart. Be compassionate, Not just to your friends but to everyone. Be compassionate. Work for peace in your heart and in the world. Work for peace and I say again never give up. No matter what is happening no matter what is going on around you never give up.” 
 
I believe what His Holiness is talking about is developing fearlessness and becoming a warrior for peace and compassion. So I encourage you to use your own natural intelligence and to decide for yourself what issues you feel strongly about. Then become a gentle warrior for that cause — whether it is the peace movement, abolishing the death penalty, ending racism and bias, or working to end hunger. 
 
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The world is dangerous not because of those who do harm, but because of those who look at it without doing anything.” It is through the meditation practice that we develop compassion and wisdom to try to end suffering in the world. To live consciously is not easy — it means we must face fears, and pains that challenge our heart. But it is possible. Then slowly - bit by bit — we can begin to develop the mindfulness to stop harming self and others by becoming a warrior for peace.