“The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without trying to…” (Tao Te Ching, Verse 8)

 Growing up in the 1960s and 70s, I watched violence erupt at home and abroad: civil rights, the Vietnam War, and the assassinations of President John Kennedy, his brother Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King. (It seems we have a history of killing leaders who preach non-violence.)

I was too uptight to be a hippy, but surrounded myself with more free-spirited others who explored faraway places, like India, South America, and the Peace Corps. I stayed in college, dabbled in psychedelic drugs, and studied a lot, mostly philosophy, religion, and art history. Like many teenagers, I was fiercely idealistic. I clung to the vision of “peace on earth”, and believed I would know it in my lifetime. 

Aspiration is not a word I use much. Today, I am using it more. I aspire to be patient and kind to those I meet. I aspire to think and write clearly. At the 1988 Republican Convention, George H. W. Bush expressed his aspiration that the United States become a “kinder and gentler nation”, a vision he repeated in his Inaugural Address in 1989, after winning the Presidency. Today I repeat it silently like a mantra: may we become a kinder, gentler nation.

A generation later, immediately after the 9/11 attack, President Bush’s son, George W. Bush, declared the “war on terror”. Bush deliberately used the language of good and evil, declaring America the “good guys” and Al-Qaeda the “evil ones”. In a single moment, his father’s aspiration that we become a “kinder, gentler nation” dissolved, replaced by a demand for war, to be won at all costs. The language of war is now pouring from the lips of our political leaders daily.

War and violence can be addictive. It’s exciting, gives us a clear focus. Chris Hodges is a veteran war correspondent who has seen up close the power of war, from Central America to the Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Gaza, and the Balkans. He knows the terrain of war, inside and out. He says:

“I learned early on that war forms its own culture. The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug, one I ingested for many years… The enduring attraction of war is this: even with its destruction and carnage it can give us what we long for in life. It can give us purpose, meaning, a reason for living. Only when we are in the midst of conflict does the shallowness and vapidness of much of our lives become apparent. Trivia dominates our conversations and increasingly our airwaves. And war is an enticing elixir. It gives us resolve, a cause. It allows us to be noble.” (Chris Hodges, War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning, page 3)

This reenactment of war is in sharp contrast to the central teaching of Christianity, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Growing up as a practicing Christian, I cherished the profound beauty and power of liturgy, church music, and prayers. Over the years, I’ve found lifelong friendships in church community. I’ve also struggled with the arrogance, hypocrisy, manipulation, and demand for faith with no room to question (Virgin Birth, for instance) that weaves through church leadership, causing great harm to the very people who are to be embraced. 

Buddhism offers a place of comfort and practical training to cultivate the qualities of compassion and wisdom. As we grow into these qualities, we are better able to protect life and decrease violence in ourselves, our families, and society. Buddhist practice helps me live into the Christian commandment, “to love your neighbor as yourself.”

Along the way, Zen practice attracted my son. He invited me to join him for a Zen retreat, and I discovered in Zen a simplicity and directness that stirred my deep belief that peace on earth can indeed become a reality.

One Zen teaching is called “The Four Immeasurables”. It is used to guide meditation practice. These stand as universal prayers:

“May all beings be free from suffering and the root of suffering. 

May all beings know happiness and the root of happiness. 

May all beings live in sympathetic joy, rejoicing in the happiness of others.

May all beings live in equanimity, free from passion, aggression, and delusion.”

Thich Nhat Hanh was a Zen Buddhist monk and teacher. He emphasizes the need for volition (or willingness) to bring aspiration into reality. He says:

“… (Volition) is your desire, your hope, your aspiration. It’s the energy that keeps you alive. You want to be someone, you want to do something with your life. If you’re motivated by compassion and love, your volition will give you the energy and direction to grow and become even more loving and compassionate. However, if your desire is to possess or to win at all costs, this kind of volition is toxic and will not help your love to grow. You can practice developing a strong and positive volition. You can even put your commitment in words, such as: “I vow to develop understanding and compassion in me, so I can become an instrument of peace and love, to help society and the world.”

( Thich Nhat Hanh, https://www.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/comments/t30ymp/what_love_needs_to_survive_from_thich_nhat_hanh/ )

We are interconnected, here and abroad, across the globe. In our search for peace, may we remember the wisdom of Martin Luther King: 

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” (The Rev. Martin Luther King, Letter From Birmingham, written April 16, 1963, while incarcerated in the Alabama jail)

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

~ Do you share the vision of a “kindler, gentler nation”? 

~ If so, how do you imagine we create that?

~ If not, how do you envision the future for America?