Benazir Bhutto

Slain December 27, 2007

by Meg Wheatley

A great warrior woman has fallen,
Her karuna sword raised so high they had to strike her down.

Many blame her for her vulnerability, lifting herself through the sunroof
exposing herself so readily to violence.

Those who loved her say:

"She believed in democracy, and she believed in speaking to the people. . . .It's not reckless to go out and touch the people."

"She was moving almost in a sea of humanity. No system in the world can protect you against that."

In that sea of humanity, faces loving, needing, trusting. . .
Tell me how could she not lift herself through the sunroof to know them?
What are skillful means in such a welcome sea?

Tibetan teachers say that northwest Pakistan is the home
of the ancient kingdom of Oddiyana,
a golden land that flourished long, long ago,
far before we believe
there was wisdom on this planet.

Even, perhaps, it was Shambhala. land of this prophecy:

"There comes a time when all life on Earth is in danger. Great barbarian powers have arisen. Although these powers spend their wealth in preparations to annihilate one another, they have much in common: weapons of unfathomable destructive power, and technologies that lay waste our world. In this era, when the future of sentient life hangs by the frailest of threads, the kingdom of Shambhala emerges.

Now the time comes when great courage–moral and physical courage–is required of the Shambhala warriors, for they must go into the very heart of the barbarian power, into the pits and pockets and citadels where the weapons are kept, to dismantle them. . . .The Shambhala warriors have the courage to do this because they know that these weapons are manomaya (manmade).

The warriors of Shambhala have weapons of their own

Compassion
Insight
And knowing who they are and what they must do.

So it was with Benazir Bhutto.
Against the darkening forces that now inhabit her homeland
She raised her Shambhala weapons through the sunroof
Piercing the clouds
For one brief shining moment.

May we remember who she was
May we recognize who we are

Do not squander your life

Karuna. Sanskrit for compassion, any action taken to reduce suffering, tempered with wisdom.

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