Many of you have heard me discuss the Five Mindfulness Trainings as taught by Thich Nhat Hanh. These are the precepts given by the Buddha for lay persons to follow in order to live an ethical and moral life which is part of the Eightfold Noble Path leading to the end of suffering. The first Training is not to kill. Earlier this year I had planned to teach these Five Trainings to Midshipmen and Faculty at the USNA. The first Training, not to kill, gave me a real dilemma—after all, the mission of the navy includes defending the U.S. and fighting our enemies, which could include killing. I asked the monks and nuns at Thay’s monasteries in Vermont how to handle this dilemma. They suggested that I should emphasize the protection of lives, and rewrite the training to suit the military. This is what I presented to the USNA:
Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivate compassion and learn ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals. Except in the defense of my country, I am determined not to kill or let others kill. If I am required to take lives in the defense of my country, I will do so without anger or hatred and will prevent all unnecessary killing of humans, animals, plants and minerals. I will not condone any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life, except for the protection of lives as directed by higher authority.
If you have seen the World War I movie, “Sergeant York” you will recall
that York as a civilian in the mountains of Tennessee, was a real
sharpshooter. After his “Born Again”
experience, he became a pacifist and tried to evade the draft. He was inducted but wanted some
non-combatant role, but when the army discovered how good he was with the
rifle, he was assigned to the infantry and sent to the front lines in
Europe. In one intense battle, his unit
lost many men, including those in command.
Now Sergeant York was in command.
He decided he needed to do something to stop the killing of his men and
asked them to cover him. He proceeded
to eliminate the German soldiers one at a time, until they surrendered. He was a hero and later he was awarded the
Congressional Medal of Honor; and movie studios offered him large amounts of
money for his story. He refused to sell
his story because he said that he did not want any reward for killing. He only did it to protect lives. The monks at the Maple Forest Monastery saw
this movie and suggested that Sergeant York acted in a manner that I should
suggest to the midshipmen, viz., he was trying to prevent further killing. This is what I tried to convey in the First
Mindfulness Training. Phyllis Culham
arranged to show the videotape of “Sergeant York” to the midshipmen.
What will be conveyed in
the interview with TNH is that we need to communicate, listen deeply,
understand, and develop the right frame of mind before we act. We should not react with fear, anger and
violence, but we need to act with a clear, lucid and understanding mind to
reduce the chances of further
terrorism. The action should not be
merely to imprison the terrorists, but to make changes in national policy and
our personal and national attitudes to help eliminate the hatred toward us that
now exists.
Interview of TNH by
Anne A. Simpkinson
If you could
speak to Osama bin Laden, what would you say to him?
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 had led him to violence. It
might not be easy to listen in that way, so I would have to remain calm and
lucid. I would need several friends with me, who are strong in the practice of
deep listening, listening without reacting, without judging and blaming. In
this way, an atmosphere of support would be created for this person and those
connected so that they could share completely, trust that they are really being
heard.
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 to help them to discover their own misunderstandings so
that they will stop violent acts from their own will.
My comment: I’m not sure that Thay would expect that
this would transform the mind of Osama bin Laden, but this is the approach our
nation should take vis a vis those who hate us. The approach includes a change in attitude of our citizens and our
leaders. We need a dialogue to engender
understanding on both sides. Most
Americans strongly believe that Osama bin Laden and the terrorists are evil;
but keep in mind that they strongly believe that we are evil. Most seem to believe that there is an
absolute good and evil as there is an absolute black and white. Buddhists, however, believe that we as human
beings do not understand the ultimate truth—and the truth is not as simple as
black and white or good and evil.
What is the difference between bin Laden’s view and that
of President Bush? They are mirror opposites. What bin Laden sees
as good - an Islamic jihad against an impious and materialistic imperialism -
Bush sees as evil. What Bush sees as good American principles and the
defender of freedom - bin Laden sees as evil. They are two different versions
of the same holy war between good and evil.
I’m not defending the terrorists, only trying to point out that we must
understand how this black-and-white way of thinking deludes not only Islamic
terrorists but also us, and therefore brings more suffering into the world.
If you were to speak to the American people, what would you suggest we do at this point, individually and as a nation?
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 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.
When we react out
of fear and hatred, we do not yet have a deep understanding of the situation.
Our action will only be a very quick and superficial way of responding to the
situation and not much true benefit and healing will occur. Yet if we wait and
follow the process of calming our anger, looking deeply into the situation, and
listening with great will to understand the roots of suffering that are the
cause of the violent actions, only then will we have sufficient insight to
respond in such a way that healing and reconciliation can be realized for
everyone involved.
In South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission has made attempts to realize this. All the parties involved in
violence and injustice agreed to listen to each other in a calm and supportive
environment, to look together deeply at the roots of violent acts and to find
agreeable arrangements to respond to the situations. The presence of strong
spiritual leaders is very helpful to support and maintain such an environment.
We can look at this model for resolving conflicts that are arising right in the
present moment; we do not have to wait many years to realize this.
You personally experienced the devastation caused by the war fought in Vietnam and worked to end the hostilities there. What do you say to people who are grief-stricken and enraged because they have lost loved ones in the terrorist attack?
I understand the
suffering of those who have lost beloved ones in this tragedy. In situations of
great loss and grief, I had to find my calm in order to restore my lucidity and
my heart of understanding and compassion. With the practice of deep looking, I
realized that if we respond to cruelty with cruelty, injustice and suffering
will only increase.
[In his Public Talk at the Riverside Church, New York -
September 25th, 2001, he said, “During the
war in Vietnam, there was a lot of injustice, and many thousands, including
friends of mine, many disciples of mine, were killed. I got very angry. One
time I learned that the city of Ben Tre, a city of three hundred thousand
people, was bombarded by American aviation just because some guerillas came to
the city and tried to shoot down American aircraft. The guerillas did not
succeed, and after that they went away. And the city was destroyed. And the
military man who was responsible for that declared later that he had to destroy
the city of Ben Tre to save it. I was very angry.
But at that time, I was already a practitioner, a solid practitioner. I did not
say anything, I did not act, because I knew that acting or saying things while
you are angry is not wise. It may create a lot of destruction. I went back to
myself, recognizing my anger, embracing it, and looked deeply into the nature
of my suffering.”
It is crucial that
we not respond in any way until we have calmness and clarity with which to see
the reality of the situation. We knew that to respond with violence and hatred
would only damage ourselves and those around us.
My comment: We are not presenting the past mistakes of our country to degrade it, but to show that while we suffered a lot with the attacks on the WTC and Pentagon, we as a country have inflicted even more suffering on others in the past. The perspective of some is that our past actions against civilians is no worse than a terrorist attack against our own civilians. The number of people in Ben Tre village was about 8 to 10 times of the number of people in the WTC at the time or the attack.
What is the "right action" to take with regard to responding to terrorist attacks? Should we seek justice through military action? Through judicial processes? Is military action and/or retaliation justified if it can prevent future innocents from being killed?
America is burning
with hatred. That is why we have to tell our Christian friends, "You are
children of Christ." 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? That 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
that happen? What responsibility do we have in that happening?" Maybe they
misunderstood us. But what has made them misunderstand us so much to make them
hate so much?
The method of the
Buddha is to look deeply to see the source of suffering; the source of the
violence. If we have violence within ourselves, any action can make that
violence explode.
The "right
action" is the action that results in the fires of hatred and violence
being extinguished.
My comment: TNH acknowledges that we may have to put those responsible in prison—this would take military action. Remember the First Mindfulness Training for the Military—the only killing that is justified is in the protection of lives, and this includes protection of our citizens from terrorists. Right action will minimize civilian casualties and we would try to understand why we are hated and then take positive steps to help reduce that hatred.
In your new book "Anger," you give an example of "compassionate listening" as a tool to heal families. Can that tool be used at a national level, and if so, how would that work?
We recommended that
the Palestinians and Israeli talk about their suffering, fears, and despair in
a public forum that all the world could hear. We could all listen without
judging, without condemning in order to understand the experience of both
sides. This would prepare the ground of understanding for peace talks to occur.
The same situation
now exists between the American people and people of Islamic and Arabic
nations. There is much misunderstanding and lack of the kind of communication
that hinders our ability to resolve our difficulties peacefully.
My comment: This answer is related to the first question regarding what TNH would have said to Osama bin Laden. We need communication and deep listening in order to develop understanding on both sides.
Compassion is a very large part of Buddhism and Buddhist practice. But at this point in time, compassion towards terrorists seems impossible to muster. Is it realistic to think people can feel true compassion now?
Without
understanding, compassion is impossible. When you understand the suffering of
others, you do not have to force yourself to feel compassion, the door of your
heart will just naturally open. 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 first
embrace the suffering, both outside of America and within America. We need to
look after the victims here within our country and also to have compassion for
the hijackers and their families because they are also victims of ignorance and
hatred. In this way we can truly practice non-discrimination. We do not need to
wait many years or decades to realize reconciliation and forgiveness. We need a
wake up call now in order not to allow hatred to overwhelm our hearts.
What
do you think would be the most effective spiritual response to this tragedy?
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 compassion begins to form in our
hearts and minds, we begin to develop concrete responses to our situation. 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.
To
develop compassion in our own heart is the only effective spiritual response to
hatred and violence. That compassion will be the result of calming our anger,
looking deeply at the roots of our violence, deep listening, and understanding
the suffering of everyone involved in the acts of hatred and violence.
My
Comment: In Buddhist psychology, we speak in terms of seeds in our
consciousness. We have the seeds of anger, despair and fear in our
consciousness. But we also have the
seeds of understanding, compassion, and forgiveness. If we know how to water the seeds of wisdom, compassion and
forgiveness in us, these seeds will manifest themselves to help us to perform
an act of forgiveness and compassion. I believe that we have the same seeds
within the collective consciousness of our nation; and if our leaders will
water the seeds of understanding, compassion, and forgiveness within our
people, rather than the seeds of anger and hatred, we will be on the right road
to end terrorism.
In today’s service we discussed the Buddhist perspective, but we have included wisdom from some of the other religions. The Chalice lighting and Opening Words were from Buddhism, our responsive reading was from the Tao, our first hymn was from a poem by the 13th century Islamic mystic Rumi, the teaching to the children was from the Buddhist tradition, and the interview was with a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who was visiting the United States on September 11, and our closing words are from Christianity. I want to thank the Mindfulness Practice Group for their help in preparation for the service and for their participation.
Buddhism cannot be understood intellectually, it must be experienced. Let us try to experience one aspect of Buddhism, meditation, keeping in mind that meditation is practiced in other religions. Let’s meditate now to calm our minds and bodies. Make yourself comfortable, close your eyes, sit with your back straight, feet flat on the floor, be aware of your breath as it enters your nostrils or by concentrating on the rising and falling of your abdomen. I’ll invite the bell to start and at the end I will invite the bell to sound three times.
(Meditation)
Closing words: The Prayer of St. Francis
Lord,
make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where
there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where
there is injury, 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.
It
is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.
© Art Hansen October 7, 2001
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