Four Parts of a Problem

In Adage #17, Master Sheng Yen outlines four steps in dealing with a problem:

When faced with any difficulty of life, resolve it by following these four steps: face it, accept it, deal with it, and then let it go.
Recently, there has been a lot of coverage on the news about the outbreak of gun violence, both in the US and Canada. I was curious to know, how does Master Sheng Yen's adage apply to handling violence? How can we face something that seems to be out of our control, because it is often based on the motivations of isolated people and incidents?
   I think it's important to first of all accept that a difficulty is a difficulty-whether it's yours or it's mine. In fact, from a Chan perspective, there is no separate "me" and "you" because it's all being experienced by mind. It's easy to see the news coverage and think that the perpetrator of a violent act is solely responsible. In fact, the media often wants viewers to believe that violence is literally done by "isolated" people, such as young males who spend their time playing video games. But this way of portraying the perpetrators only adds to the illusion that violence comes from a single person, randomly or even by virtue of their eccentricities. Such a view doesn't consider the totality of what is happening in a society collectively that furthers the chances of violence.
  Cause and conditions do not start from isolated events; they are the result of interlocking factors. I have been studying this idea in both Master Sheng Yen's Chan and Enlightenment and World of Chan. We "face" this situation by not pretending that problems belong exclusively to someone else. If my heart is not peaceful, for example, then I am not any different from those who are violent. The only difference is cause and conditions that might put me in a better position to know how to handle emotions, as well as certain privilege. In facing violence around me, I am seeing that there is no beginning to it; it is simply what I am living with along with other sentient beings around me. Then I can start to accept it: I can own up to the issue as a difficulty that I am suffering from alongside all sentient beings. I don't pretend that the problem belongs to someone else, or can be removed by removing someone else. It becomes our problem, mutually.
   Dealing with the problem means to try to do my part to minimize violence, out of compassion and respect for sentient life. It doesn't mean that I take on everyone's suffering as my own, but it means that I do my small part in not harming others; learning to relax so that I am not being lead by thoughts or emotions that are negative; and continuing to study spiritual teachings that uplift my character as much as I can. This is not easy, but it's possible if everyone tried to do it in a small way. It really has to start from one's mindset, not to give rise to feelings of discrimination, anger or hatred.
   Letting go...well, I think letting go doesn't mean letting go of the difficulty. Instead, it means to let go of self grasping. There is a difference between someone who tries to work on themselves and someone who is so identified with a problem that they decide to go on a crusade about it. Back in the 1800s there was an infamous lady named Carrie Nation, who decided to "do her part" to control alcohol consumption, by going into bars and threatening bartenders with a hatchet if they sold alcohol of any kind. Well, needless to say, this is perhaps going too far! But actually, many people hold symbolic hatchets when they decide they want to change something. They try to make themselves into walking symbols of a problem by doing something that shows their determination--perhaps a trademark, such as hugging a tree when there is a bulldozer. Such kinds of solutions often create more agitation and conflict than they are designed to mitigate. I think it's because the person is so attached to a cause that they neglect the needs or wishes of others, and this creates misunderstandings and needless conflict.
    After writing this post, I feel more relaxed. It is as though writing it helped me find who I am again.


References
http://www.dharmadrum.org/content/about/about2.aspx?sn=46