War
and Peace
“May
I be filled with loving kindness.
May
I be well.
May
I be peaceful and at ease.
May
I be happy.”
Meditation
on Loving-Kindness
I
tried to write about war today, it being Memorial Day and all, but
found I could not. Instead, I want to share this version of the
Buddhist loving-kindness meditation. This is a short, modern version
of the original; Jack Kornfield recommends it in his book, A Path
with Heart. It is meant to be said first as it is written above,
for oneself, and then for other people. Begin with people that you
know and love, and expand to people with whom you have a problem.
Over time, you can expand further to include the country and the
world. It is meant to be said repeatedly, either aloud or silently,
as a mantra in meditation and continued daily for several weeks. The
beginning of peace without is peace within.
Wars
are rooted in ignorance of another culture. I'm sure the Japanese had
no idea what would result from bombing our ships in Pearl Harbor. And
I'm equally certain, no one in Afghanistan knew what would be the end
result of allowing Osama Bin Laden to set up housekeeping in Tora
Bora. And we westerners are equally ignorant. Afghanistan has been at
war more or less continuously since the days of Alexander the Great
and Genghis Khan. War is a way of life for this country divided by
centuries old sectarian and tribal rivalries. Yet, we continue to
believe that our presence there will change things. We believe that
arming them and training them to kill efficiently, will somehow make
them more peaceful and secure. How weird is that?
There
is so much going on in the world that we cannot change. The only
thing on earth that we truly do have a modicum of control over is
ourselves. So let peace begin there. Your contribution to peace on
this Memorial Day can be to bring your own loving-kindness to it.
In
the spirit,
Jane
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