Thoughts on Canada Day

  This Canada Day, Torontonians were entreated to the glorious site of a large rubber ducky on Lake Ontario. I thought it seemed an appropriate way to celebrate Canada, because it embodies the idea of new eyes and new discoveries. Just as a baby duck learns to look out at the world with soft eyes, so we might also say that Canada is a place for many beginnings, for a great many people. It often means a place where people can take refuge from hostile living conditions, or where people start new businesses, new careers and new families. It might also mean mastering a new language or, in my case, learning to work with people of diverse languages and cultures. While the rubber duck is hardly a national symbol (yet), there is something to say about it, and I suppose that in spite of its expensive cost, there is some symbolic meaning in it.
    I have been part of a meditation group for over 10 years now, and it is in the tradition of Chinese Chan Buddhism that I am studying and learning this beautiful spiritual tradition. I have to say that I have experienced what it means the most to 'be Canadian' by being part of this group. It signifies for me a kind of diverse, open, multicultural spiritual community that breaks the artificial boundaries that nations often create for themselves. I have met people of many nationalities and backgrounds simply through the practice of group meditation: Chinese, Taiwanese, Polish, Korean, Spanish, Persian, Italian, and the list goes on. I have found that although our stories can be quite different, we are all able to come together to support each other in a profound spiritual practice.
    With all the fear one encounters through media in this day and age, I am all the more grateful that we can mutually experience the benefits of contemplative practices and learning. Wherever there is an impasse or a power struggle conveyed in the media, I hearken back to times when I felt that I could share with others the most when my mind is calm, especially after a good and strong sitting practice. It sounds as though I am advertising meditation, but in fact I do believe that with a calmer and slower mindset, all people will be less quick to polarize or divide the world into 'good' and 'bad'. There would be more of a space for people to reflect on the workings of the mind which might cause them to react in certain circumstances or conditions, rather than attaching blame to another party for the troubles in the world. In a sense, I believe that in spite of its troubled treatment of natives in the past, the present nation of Canada still represents a place where people of all nationalities can come together and think deeply and reflectively about their commonalities and differences.