Dear friends,
In this meditation for peace,
We are going to sit in solidarity with suffering people everywhere.
At the same time,
We will hopefully gain the ability to work to bring about peace in our own lives.
What we do might seem like a small contribution,
But at least let's not add to the pain or suffering of the world.
We begin by taking a few moments to sit and hold in our hearts and thoughts all people who are suffering because of war.
This beautiful planet of ours is suffering the effects of climate change.
Seeing people engaged in acts of violence and war brings to mind the idea of a ship sinking while the passengers argue about the accommodation and the contents.
Hostility never made sense and it makes even less sense today.
Let us call a halt to this madness and work together for peace.
We need to cooperate together to save this fragile vessel that supports us all.
A one minute pause now.
Welcome back.
The Prayer of Saint Francis Where there is worry,
Pardon.
Where there is doubt,
Faith.
Where there is despair,
Hope.
Where there is darkness,
Light.
Where there is sadness,
Joy.
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
Although it can seem difficult,
Even impossible at times,
Understanding and cooperation between very different people is possible.
I'm sure in our own lives we've all come across,
And we have friendly contact with,
People of widely distinctive backgrounds,
Nationalities,
Races,
People with highly differing religious and political opinions.
But we all get along.
We find interest and fascination in these differences.
And even if sometimes we have preconceived notions about a different group as a group,
Our ideas are changed by personal interaction with one or two people from the group.
We think with gratitude on these happy and interesting relationships.
And we give thanks for the fact that we are not all alike,
Like peas in a pod.
If we as individuals can get along with people who are very different from us,
Why can't this be so between large groups,
Large communities and nations?
Why do we see on our TV screens images of destruction and death?
Pain and suffering inflicted by one group upon another?
In his wonderful reflection Pale Blue Dot,
The astronomer Carl Sagan refers to our Earth as a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena.
He refers to the rivers of blood spilled by generals and emperors so that in glory and triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot.
So pointless.
So meaningless.
Even today we see ongoing cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this Pale Blue Dot on the not-so-different inhabitants of another corner of our planet.
And all this at a time when scientists the world over are calling upon us to work together to prevent the Earth being turned into an inhospitable wasteland.
What do we need to do to persuade our leaders and all the warring parties to talk peace and respond to the cry of the Earth?
Another pause for reflection.
One minute.
Welcome back.
So now we call to mind people suffering the effects of war in our time.
We remember those who have died,
The bereaved,
People who are missing,
Those who are injured,
People who have been made homeless due to war and everyone who has suffered or is suffering loss.
We all know the happiness we feel when we do good and we will all have experienced the unhappiness we feel if we do a bad deed.
Life is like that.
We carry our deeds with us for good or ill.
Justice does not require external forces or external judgement.
We cannot escape the consequences of our actions.
Our deeds can turn our existence into heaven or hell right here on Earth.
So we must also remember those who harm their minds and their souls by taking part in acts of violence.
Let's have a one minute pause in solidarity with suffering people everywhere.
Welcome back.
Next,
Some thoughts from the Tao Te Ching.
The next question is what to do in the case of serious disputes between countries.
In September 2001,
After the attacks of 9-11,
The Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh shared his thoughts on how America should respond to terrorism.
He was asked,
If you could speak to Osama Bin Laden,
What would you say to him?
Likewise,
If you were to speak to the American people,
What would you suggest we do at this point,
Individually and as a nation?
His reply,
If I were given the opportunity to be face to face with Osama Bin Laden,
The first thing I would do is listen.
I would try to understand why he had acted in that cruel way.
I would try to understand all of the suffering that has led him to violence.
It might not be easy to listen in that way,
So I would have to remain calm and lucid.
After listening for some time,
We might need to take a break,
To allow what has been said to enter into our consciousness.
Only when we felt calm and lucid would we respond.
We would respond point by point to what had been said.
We would respond gently but firmly,
In such a way as to help them discover their own misunderstandings,
So that of their own will they will stop committing violent acts.
For the American people,
I would suggest that we do everything we can to restore our calm and our lucidity,
Before responding to the situation.
To respond too quickly,
Before we have had much understanding of the situation,
May be very dangerous.
The first thing we can do is to cool the flames of anger and hatred that are so strong in us.
It is crucial to look at the way we feed the hatred and violence within us,
And to take immediate steps to cut off the nourishment for our hatred and violence.
He goes on,
All violence is injustice.
The fire of hatred and violence cannot be extinguished by adding more hatred and violence to the fire.
The only antidote to violence is compassion.
To understand,
We must find paths of communication,
So that we can listen to those who desperately are calling out for our understanding.
Because such an act of violence is a desperate call for attention and for help.
There are people who want one thing only,
Revenge.
America is burning with hatred.
We have to tell our friends,
You are children of Christ,
Of Mohammed,
Of Moses and of the Buddha.
You have to return to yourselves and look deeply and find out why this violence happened.
Why is there so much hatred?
What lies under all this violence?
Why do they hate so much,
That they would sacrifice their own lives and bring about so much suffering to other people?
Why would these young people,
Full of vitality and strength,
Have chosen to lose their lives to commit such violence?
This is what we have to understand.
We have to find a way to stop violence,
Of course.
If need be,
We have to put the men responsible in prison.
But the important thing is to look deeply and ask,
Why did this happen?
What responsibility do we have in this happening?
Maybe they misunderstood us.
What has made them misunderstand us so much to make them hate so much?
All of the hijackers were so young and yet they sacrificed their lives.
For what?
Why did they do that?
What kind of deep suffering is there?
It will require deep listening and deep looking to understand that.
To have compassion in this situation is to perform a great act of forgiveness.
We can begin right now to practice calming our anger.
Looking deeply at the roots of the hatred and violence in our society and in our world.
And listening with compassion in order to hear and understand what we have not yet had the capacity to hear and to understand.
When we have listened and looked deeply,
We may begin to develop the energy of brotherhood and sisterhood between all nations.
Which is the deepest spiritual heritage of all religious and cultural traditions.
In this way,
The peace and understanding within the whole world is increased day by day.
That was an extract from an interview with Thich Nhat Hanh following 9-11.
Another pause now,
60 seconds.
Welcome back.
I'd like now to share five quotes on the subject of peace.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness.
Only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate.
Only love can do that.
Martin Luther King Jr.
It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.
Aristotle An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.
Mahatma Gandhi Without inner peace,
Outer peace is impossible.
We all wish for world peace.
But world peace will never be achieved unless we first establish peace within our own minds.
We can send so-called peacekeeping forces into areas of conflict.
But peace cannot be imposed from the outside with guns.
Only by creating peace within our own mind and helping others to do the same can we hope to achieve peace in this world.
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso And finally,
Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace.
The Buddha And now to conclude our meditation,
Some words of advice for life from Howard W.
Hunter.
This year,
Mend a quarrel.
Seek out a forgotten friend.
Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust.
Write a letter.
Give a soft answer.
Encourage youth.
Manifest your loyalty in word and deed.
Keep a promise.
Forgo a grudge.
Forgive an enemy.
Apologise.
Try to understand.
Examine your demands on others.
Think first of someone else.
Be kind.
Be gentle.
Laugh a little more.
Express your gratitude.
Welcome a stranger.
Gladden the heart of a child.
Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth.
Speak your love and then speak it again.
Words of Howard W.
Hunter Namaste
