Why did we look up for blessing — instead of around, and down?

A Left-Handed Commencement Address, by Ursula K. Le Guin, 1983 (speech)

As I write this, I get the feeling that “left-hand path” and “right-hand path” are terms that could stir up some debate.

I have very little knowledge of these terms.

Ever since I was 13 years old, when I bought my first book on Zen with my babysitting money, I’ve loved studying different religions, cultures, traditions, etc. But it’s only been a year or so since the terms “left-hand path” and “right-hand path” caught my attention.

From what I’ve gleaned from ol’ reliable (i.e., Wikipedia), the terms are often associated with Western esotericism, where some believe the left-hand path and right-hand path refer to black magic and white magic, respectively. Others reject this categorization, believing that left-hand simply refers to mysterious kinds of workings, which are not necessarily “bad” or “evil”’ magical actions.

History (Wikipedia’s version) tells us that the terms originated in Indian Tantra, where the right-hand path is one that follows social conventions and ethical codes, while the left-hand path breaks those conventions and codes.

Clear as mud?*

It might be enough for understanding (partially if not fully) why Ursula Le Guin named her powerful 1983 Mills College commencement speech “A Left-Handed Commencement Address.”

It might help women answer the question, “How do we win in a society where we are second-class citizens?”

The patriarchy is alive and well, after all.

“And when you fail, and are defeated, and in pain, and in the dark, then I hope you will remember that darkness is your country, where you live, where no wars are fought and no wars are won, but where the future is. Our roots are in the dark; the earth is our country. Why did we look up for blessing — instead of around, and down?”

Read the speech in its entirety, and check out some of Le Guin’s other important work, on her website.

Photo credit: Copyright © by Marian Wood Kolisch

*Having said all this, I should point out that Le Guin has a novel called “The Left Hand of Darkness,” which I have yet to read and could also shed light on the speech’s title. I personally don’t think the name of the speech has relation to the idiom “a left-handed compliment.”