According to the Chinese sages the Year of the Sheep /Ram /Goat is Yin energy, a symbol of peace, harmonious co-existence, and tranquility. That is the primary and fundamental mood for 2015. It relates to passive and nurturing times. It will help the healing of past events caused by social and personal turmoil and commotion.

Is it really that easy? Do we just turn the corner on the New Year and all the disorder, divisiveness and racism; will they simply go away as a result of the astrological promise? Unfortunately - no - it is not that easy.

So how do we make sense of such astrological assurances in the age of science? The qualities of the predictions are more than metaphor and allegory, more than symbol and superstition. In the prescientific East Asian world the cosmos were ruled by metaphysics. East Asian astrology developed from Chinese philosophy and uses the principles of yin and yang. As in feng shui, metaphysical principles were not merely capricious dictates, there was a strong dose of empiricism, pragmatism, and wisdom. The underlying principle of this metaphysics is balance. Thus, if 2014 was a year of behavioral excesses we might have an expectation that a more calming period is at hand to balance the extreme we have already experienced.

The coming year of the Ram becomes a template for our aspirations. There is the yearning for each of us as humans, we as Buddhist practitioners, to imagine what is possible (peaceful, harmonious co-existence and tranquility) and invest ourselves in making such a sphere reality. For that is ultimately what we must do. Not accept the unacceptable, but work through our inherent humanity, our loving-kindness, to recreate the world around us into a compassionate and just world.

We must consciously use upaya with those we know and those we don't, not to change minds, but to provide insight into the nature of reality. We need to provide a passage to Sunyata for those unable to see beyond their preconceptions. Employ your voice, your mind, and your body in the transformation of our society's worst inclinations to preferences of integrity and impartiality for all.

In the United States we have ideal values of equality and justice for all. These values are worthy, but, fall far short of being realized. We have much work to do, and there are many ways to accomplish a more peaceful and just society. By devoting ourselves to living up to these values each day, starting today, we will create a society long promised and live our Buddhist practice.

To you and yours in the coming year we wish you the potential of the Year of the Ram.

Love and Gassho . . . Monshin and Shumon

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