Latter-day Saints women turn away from scandal-plagued Republican candidate in Arizona as reflected on by Sensei Michael Jinpa
The morning fog hangs low across Harborview Point bay. It blurs the distinction between water and sky. Before morning zazen, I reflect on human life. We often live through a similar mist of rationalization. We convince ourselves that compromises compartmentalize. We believe character can sever from authority. Yet, reality always asserts itself. It arrives with the clear, unyielding weight of the tide. This brings us to the recent actions of Latter-day Saints women.
News from Arizona offers a profound moment of moral clarity. Here, Latter-day Saints women openly break partisan ranks. They do so over sexual misconduct allegations against candidate Mark Lamb. Our culture often saturates with tribal loyalty. Refusing to ignore harmful conduct therefore requires deliberate courage. These voters choose not to insulate a leader. He shares their political banner. He speaks familiar rhetoric. However, they look squarely at the person. They weigh the fundamental gravity of trust.
Integrity and Karmic Accountability
In the Zen tradition, we speak continuously of karma. Karma is not celestial reward or punishment. It is the inescapable law of cause and effect. Every action of body, speech, and mind leaves a trace. We cannot expect genuine safety, integrity, or justice. These cannot blossom from seeds of deception. They cannot grow from abuse of power or ethical neglect. When an individual seeks public stewardship, the question is never merely about policy positions. It is about their conduct. Does it embody basic reverence for others’ dignity?
Before serving here at Clear Mind, I worked as a hospice chaplain. My years taught me a crucial lesson. When life strips away pretense, people never measure worth by status. They do not value power or partisan victory. They measure worth by how responsibly they loved. They measure by how cleanly they lived. Did they leave harm in their wake? True spiritual maturity begins when we cease making excuses for harming the vulnerable. Consequently, these women’s refusal to overlook misconduct is an act of deep spiritual accountability.
Conscience Over Allegiance
Our current political climate makes it easy to surrender discernment. We give it to tribal allegiance. When we do that, we enter spiritual sleepwalking. We abandon the precept of right action. Instead, we favor immediate advantage. However, conscience is not a partisan possession. When community members stand up, they declare certain behaviors fundamentally unacceptable. They do so regardless of who commits them. They cut through the fog of cynicism. They restore a baseline of shared human decency.
Mindful presence demands we confront reality as it is. We must not flinch. We must not spin narratives to soothe discomfort. When leaders fail the basic test of ethical conduct, supporting them corrodes community fabric. This happens even under the guise of political pragmatism. Accountability is not an act of malice. It is an expression of radical compassion for the community. It ensures harm is not normalized. It prevents harm from receiving a public mandate.
The bell finally chimes across the harbor. It calls our small circle back to stillness. The lesson remains clear and quiet. Real integrity cannot postpone. It cannot wait for a more convenient political season. May we all find the resolve to honor truth. We must choose truth over loyalty to a team. The health of our collective life depends entirely upon our willingness. We must walk the path of ethical clarity. These Latter-day Saints women show us the way.
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