Bewilderment

by Richard Powers

‘May all sentient beings . . .’ ” “. . . be free from needless suffering.” Where does that come from, anyway? I mean, before Mom. I told him. It came from Buddhism, the Four Immeasurables. “There are four good things worth practicing. Being kind toward everything alive. Staying level and steady. Feeling happy for any creature anywhere that is happy. And remembering that any suffering is also yours.”