MARCH 8, 2024 POWWOW The earth is my witness Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha around 528 BCE (before the Christian era) at the age of 35. Buddha, the fully enlightened one, was called Shakyamuni, the sage of the Shakya clan. Society was transitioning from tribes to republics in India, so he was born in the city of Lumbini, in the republic of Shakya as a prince. He left that life to be a truth seeker. When he came to full and complete enlightenment he was challenged by the hosts of illusion led by Mara. Google Search wanted help to explain Mara, who represents the world of appearances and its illusory nature for those who want a more complete understanding of reality. Appearances can distract anyone from their most profound experience because they seem so compelling. Mara said, “You cannot do this!” and “Who is your witness?” Buddha touched the earth and said, “The earth is my witness.” You may have seen the famous Buddha statue as he touches the earth. Showers of flowers and a chorus of voices came forth bearing witness to his “awakening.” The earth is always bearing witness and our lives depend on this witness and how we relate to it. As we tune into our bodies and our intimate relationship with the earth we can mature in a good way. This year is the 50th Dance for Mother Earth Powwow. It will be at Skyline High School on March 23 and 24. It is the weekend after the spring equinox and the weekend before Easter. It is an auspicious time to tune into our bodies as an expression of Mother Earth and feel the vast interrelatedness of water, earth, air and sun and the infinite number of sentient beings in countless world systems. Our interrelatedness is increasingly clear as technology plays with rats, mice and viruses to learn the secret of life. The feedback can be shocking and we will learn when we dare. There is good science beyond bureaucratic compliance culture; anything that helps us know and be at home in our bodies. Healthy, happy and holy is the goal. The coming powwow will be a great opportunity to tune into yourself and the community, to feel the rhythm of the drums and dance with Mother Earth. The Native American Student Association at the University of Michigan has been working diligently from the beginning of the school year to prepare for the 2024 powwow. We can prepare ourselves now to attend and learn the importance of an indigenous-centered life. Any human being who looks deep into their heart will KEN PARKS Groundcover vendor No. 490 feel some connection to the original people of the earth under our feet. Look at the sign on Chapin Street in West Park: “Who Walked Here Before You.” I recommend “The Dawn of Everything” for its more complete view of archeological research that explores some of the many civilizations of “prehistory.” There is a Downstream podcast which summarizes “Everything We Think We Know About Early Human History Is Wrong.” Homo sapiens have been on this earth for 200-300 thousand years. There are still mysteries to be explored so let us honor all creation stories and celebrate that we are here. “Our Fires Still Burn” is a good documentary by Audrey Geyer about the survival and persistence of original peoples in North America. Peoples of European heritage have mostly lost their indigenous connection as they adopted the supremacism that is inherent in the civilization that grew out of the Enlightenment ideology with its belief in the supremacy of the rational mind and narrow individualism. The vision of progress that comes with this materialistic determinism continues to plague us with unintended consequences. Since 1990, neoliberal globalism is in its latest phase. Yanis Varoufakis calls out a new development, naming it “cloud capitalism” in his book “Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism.” Yanis was the Greek finance minister at the time of the country’s economic meltdown after 2008. He speaks of cloud capitalism as the high-tech imaginary realm which concentrates power into fewer hands and the info warfare insistence that there is no other choice. David Rogers Webb mastered the financial world, especially mergers and acquisitions, and offers us important observations in “The Great Taking.” This book and podcast educates us how “secured investors” can legally seize all property rights in a crisis. The struggle continues. Keep your eyes on the prize. The answer is under our feet. We have some 350 years of history to compost since the creation of capital and its deification, the sacrifice of life to this idol. This is a necessary process for those with open hearts and minds willing to engage in the struggle for deep freedom and discover who we are as human beings. I believe Groundcover News will have a table at the powwow where we can meet; there will be many tables and displays, including food. Let’s celebrate and dance! The awareness of freedom gets a lot of lip service on the Fourth of July. If we are honest with ourselves we will recognize that the great advances of dignity and freedom after the American revolution came from the abolitionist, labor, civil rights and peace movements. It may look like capitalism has won complete victory but the end of history will be at the end of time, and the challenge of our time is to understand the seamless nature of past, present and future in the context of timeless time. Only unconditional love can help us make sense of the chaos and suffering we experience. Composting all our garbage, including the sins of commission and omission is an important skill to study and master. Mindfulness training is good for this challenge. We must turn to our ancestors, the elders and lineage holders among us, and practice with spiritual friends towards a calm and clear social awareness that promotes creative struggle. There is plenty of work to do individually. Please come to the powwow and tune into the rhythm of Mother Earth. I have just discovered Willow Run Acres. T.C. Collins is a farmer, gardener, educator and organizer whose roots are deep in the African diaspora. His work is bringing earth and community together in Washtenaw County. I see a growing awareness that industrial food is a war on the earth and our bodies. We are approaching cancer as if it is as inevitable as the common cold. We have healing work to do. The earth is here for us. Let us bear witness together! GROUNDCOVER NEWS 5
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