Reading from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

Then a ploughman said, Speak to us of Work.

And he answered, saying: You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.

For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons,

And to step out of life’s procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.

When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music….

Always you have been told that work is a curse and labor a misfortune.

But I say to you that when you work you fulfill a part of earth’s furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born,

And in keeping yourself with labor you are in truth loving life,

And to love life through labor is to be intimate with life’s inmost secret….

Work is love made visible.

And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.

For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man’s hunger.

And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distills a poison in the wine.

And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man’s ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.

Sermon

         I have a great deal of respect for those who work with their hands;, perhaps because it was instilled in me at an early age, for my parents worked with their hands and were proud of it and proud of and loyal to the labor unions that ensured they were paid a living wage. The earliest laws of the Hebrews were the Laws of Righteousness in the Bbiblical book Leviticus. We read, “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning. You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind…” [Lev 19:13]. (There are dozens of such laws in the Bible, which are remarkable if we study some of the extremely cruel laws of the Code of Hammurabi and other ancient middle-eastern societies though some of the cruelty did creep into the Bible as well.) And let us not forget that the Bible gave us the Sabbath. The spirit of the ancient Hebrew laws is the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have done unto you, or love your neighbor as yourself. I am grateful for our Unitarian Universalist Second Principle—justice, equity, and compassion in human relations.

         All of these concepts relate to what we refer to as “right relations” in our interactions with one another. Another way of expressing it is “covenant relations,” where we have a set of rules that we agree will guide our interactions. So “ right relations” means that we interact in a way that is right, morally correct, or mutually beneficial. We would characterize “right relations” as having kindness and respect as foundational behaviors.

         It is remarkable that in spite of almost 2,000 years after the ancient Hebrew Scriptures were combined with the teachings of Jesus to form the Bible, we had to have labor unions in the 20th century so that working people would be treated properly and paid a living wage. Are we condemned to having our religious values relegated to the world of ideals?!? We cannot deny the tendency of human nature towards greed. Many of Mohandas Gandhi’s sayings are famous, but one that is appropriate for Labor Day is, “There is enough for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed.” Captains of industry and small business people have taken advantage of their employees throughout the ages as if such teachings as “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him.” (Lev 19:13) never existed. No wonder we have to have civil laws to guarantee human rights and unions to give power to workers!

         Unions have been weakened each decade since the 1970’s. The latest split in union ranks last month led many to suspect that unions may not survive. If they do not, then who will protect working people from ever decreasing wages and benefits? Is greed running rampant throughout our world? I was encouraged to read in the Standard Times yesterday (the Editorial, Sept. 3, 2005) that security guard companies, like the Pinkerton, Burns, and Wackenhut, have been bought by a handful of largely European-based multinationals; some of them have subsidiaries in such countries as South Africa and Indonesia, Holland, Germany, and England. These guards may become represented by European unions that are looking to become global. Globalization may turn out to be a strengthening of unions as they spread across the world. Multinational unions might become bastions of true righteousness, softening the specter of globalization. The Standard Times writes, “These far-flung unions envision a day when unions from every continent can sit across the table from a global employer and negotiate a common code of conduct and worker rights.” It gives me hope that we may see ancient teachings of social justice be brought to bear through global people power!

         Small enclaves of people engaging their religion’s teachings on right relations are taking place all over the world. One such organization is called Sarvodaya that has engaged people in 5,000 villages in Sri Lanka. “ Sarva” is a Sanskrit word that means “all” or “everyone.” And “ udaya” connotes “awakening.” Put together, it means “everyone wakes up.” Although the concept of sarvodaya was popularized by Gandhi, Buddhist monks and lay people have used it as a slogan in their training programs. (Remember that Buddhism sprang from Hinduism and also that Gandhi was an eclectic when it came to religion!) Gandhi’s idea of small market industries that tap the traditional livelihood of people has been a powerful model for Sarvodaya. (Macy/Whitmyer, pp 148-164) This was the organization I contributed money to when the Tsunami hit, for I knew they were well equipped to get people back on their feet by helping one another.

         When I first started visiting India, almost all adult males (and some of the women) in my in-laws’ family wore cotton village-spun tunics. In fact, every item of clothing was village spun. You might remember the first Prime Minister of India, Nehru, wearing such clothes. They were always white and beige, rather like I am wearing today,. coincidentally! A few of my in-laws did spinning in their homes in solidarity with villagers. Perhaps you remember Gandhi and his wife spinning on the porch of their home. I was only a girl but I still hold these images in my mind. (I know Gandhi was already dead by then, but there were many newsreels about him in the aftermath of India’s independence from Britain.) I have been thinking lately of switching my wardrobe to only clothing that is made in villages by craftspeople in third world nations and people in this country who are making clothing with sustainable development practices.

         We have talked before about the Eight-Fold path of Buddhism. The fifth precept is Right Livelihood. Buddhists interpret this as employment or business that is beneficial to the community as well as the individual. In Buddhism, all human activities must in the end be beneficial to the community. This led me to look at our own Seven Principles. I am glad to see that only the first principle dealing with the inherent worth and dignity of every person is concerned with the individual. All others are oriented towards community.

         The Sarvodaya communities have based their work philosophy on the Right Livelihood precept. They have added to this other teachings of the Buddha: metta, which means loving-kindness; karuna, which means compassion; and mudita, which means benefiting others. At their village meetings, these words are used constantly. A Buddhist monk is gently involved in their work organizations to keep them on track philosophically and these words are used often in their training programs. Language that we use often is powerful, don’t you think?

         These meetings have encouraged some truly sophisticated discussion by simple people. When they discussed getting more fuel for their industries, talk turned to solar and wind energy as well as dung from the animals, for cooking fuel. They are fortunate to have more educated people among them to guide them in this, as well as European and American NGO’s (non governmental organizations) supporting them financially.

         One more thing they have defined to be especially important to their lives is cultural and spiritual development, which includes meditation and prayers, stories, dances, dramas, and festivals. They said that human beings need all these things as well as right livelihood. Sophisticated thinking indeed! An industrialized society could learn much from these island people, for we have lost our cultural songs, dances, and stories, and the only festivals that remain are Easter, Fourth of July, and Christmas—no wonder we make so much of them!

         Our work, including our volunteer work gives us the greatest opportunity to put our beliefs into action. Paul of Tarsus, the apostle, thought that work was a very important part of life. He was a tent-maker himself, even though he was a wealthy man and did not have to work. He was adamant that everyone should work and contribute to the community. The Dalai Lama counsels us all to learn a useful skill; he knows how to fix clocks and watches.

         In the responsive reading, Marge Piercy said, “I want to be with people who submerge in the task….The work of the world is common as mud.” And Kahlil Gibran counseled, “… to love life through labor is to be intimate with life’s inmost secret….” In truth, some of the daily work we must do can feel like drudgery. Perhaps it seems this way because we are not “ submerging ourselves in the task.” The most famous modern Buddhist teaching is that of mindfulness, which means to be in the present moment with every task for only in the present moment is joy to be experienced and only with complete attention to the task can it be done right, whether washing the dishes or writing a poem.

         Whatever we do, it is worth doing well, for that is where we are spending our time. And if we can support others in their work, let us do it with respect and caring. This is Labor Day weekend. There is no memorial to lay a wreath for workers of the world, but we can hold them in our hearts, as well as our own selves who are workers too. And we can sing a union song that will no doubt survive for generations of world history. Let us sing Hymn 109, As We Come Marching, Marching.

References

The following has inspired and informed this sermon:

Das, Lama Surya. Awakening the Buddha Within, New York: Broadway Books, 1997.

Loori, John Daido. The Eight Gates of Zen, Mt. Tremper, New York: 1992.

Whitmyer, Claude, editor. “Sarvodya,” by Joanna Macy from Mindfulness and Meaningful Work, Berkeley, CA: Paralax Press, 1994.