Today's MOZEN: The Bodhisattva

By F LoBuono

A few months back I wrote a post commenting on the death of American aid worker Kayla Mueller while she was being held captive by ISIS in Syria. While I lauded her good intentions to aid the people of Syria, I was also critical of her for what I perceived as her naivete. I was actual a bit angry because I felt that her overwhelming desire to help blinded her to the consequences of her action. And, she paid for it with her life.

Now, I know that I was the one who was blind!

The more I researched this young women, the more remarkable I realized she truly was. From a very young age, Kayla practiced what every great religion preaches is the road to true salvation: service above self. It is better to give than it is to receive - love is the greatest power on earth. And, she didn't just talk about making the world a better place. She didn't just write that we need to make it a better place. She often traveled to the most difficult and dangerous places to make it so. Before she was twenty-five she had been to places most of only dream of. And, these were not first-class vacations. She went to help those who were most abused, who were in the most danger, thereby putting herself under the same conditions. She traveled to the West Bank to help Palestinian refugees. She went to India when disaster struck. And, after seeing the horrible suffering in Syria, she pledged her very life to help the Syrian people.

While she was working in Turkey, she made what many might consider questionable decisions in order to enter Syria. She felt to help the Syrian people she had to be were the suffering was. So, she was smuggled incognito to a hospital deep within Syria. Eventually, she was discovered and captured by ISIS. A recent report has surfaced that she was sexually abused by the leader of ISIS before she was accidentally killed by an allied air strike.

It is clear that this brave young woman suffered terrible indignities at the hand of her captors. In fact, some would say so much so that everything she had done to that point must have been in vain. But, they would be wrong. VERY wrong. The whole PURPOSE of Kayla Mueller's life was to give back; totally, completely, freely, and without reservation or fear. There was no ambiguity as to her mission in life. She found it and she executed it fully. She held nothing back. THIS is the heart of a warrior - a spiritually warrior whose heart is as pure as arctic ice and whose soul is as fearless as a gladiators! THIS, not her suffering, is her legacy. Her compassion and commitment was unshakable and clearly defined in a letter she wrote to her family, urging them not to worry about her. She ALWAYS knew what she was doing was right and nothing could shake that. Nothing.

If you're like me, you do what you can to help those less fortunate. Perhaps, you put some extra money in the church collection box. Or, you send a monthly donation to a local animal shelter to help defray their costs. I do my best to help a young man who is struggling in Ghana, West Africa. He is a victim of unfortunate circumstance and a government that has either forgotten about him or simply does not care. If I'm feeling a little flush financially, I'll send him $100 for food or medicine - for which he is eternally grateful. ALL of these things are admirable. As long as we do SOMETHING to eliminate suffering the world, we are on the right path. However, we often do these things to simply soothe our conscience that we are, indeed, doing something. Kayla Mueller was a force apart. She LIVED her commitment to help those suffering. And, she was, in my opinion, ultimately not afraid to die for it either.

Buddhists, as I understand it, believe that living among us are Bodhisattvas, or spirit guides. They are humans, or, more accurately, once WERE, who have reached the point of Enlightenment in their spiritual journey. In other words, they get it. They've made it to the point where they understand life at its most elemental level. There is nothing else left to learn. This is divine "nothingness" - no beginning and no end - only being. They are ready to become The Buddha. However, they delay their final journey to stay with us to help light the way. We have seen many in our lifetime. Some of them reach great notoriety and their names will live in eternity. And, they come in all shapes, sizes and cultures. You know them: Gandhi, MLK, Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela. Many, like Gandhi and King, gave their very lives freely to the cause of righteousness.


But, not all reach such fame. Still, they are just as influential, just as important. Kayla Mueller was one of these. She did not become "famous". In fact, until her tragic and untimely death, no one but her immediate circle had even heard of her. Her death made headlines, but that was NEVER her intent. She was not about fame and I am sure, that if it would have been possible, she would helped people around the world anonymously for the rest of her life. And, she would have been happy with the that. Her loss, even her degradation, cannot diminish or extinguish the light she provided to the world. The message, her message, is clear: LOVE WILL ALWAYS CONQUER HATE - if you have the strength and courage to believe. She did. And, now, she rests in Nirvana.