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Embracing the Present Moment: Continuation of the Path
This title has been reviewed for accuracy.
What Makes a Good Peace Activist?
Thầy shares how to be a successful peace activist group, where “successful” means most likely to create a peaceful society and a world without war. Thầy’s model for peace making is profoundly far-sighted and comprehensive, linking personal spiritual practice with activist group communication ethics with that group’s capacity to model and propagate that compassion and lovingkindness as the foundation for peace, safety, and happiness for all. “In order for the group to have the energy needed for transformation and transforming and healing society, the group has to embody harmony and peace.” Thus, peace workers first “have to take care of their spiritual dimension of daily life,” so that contemplation and social action become “two aspects of one reality.” All peace workers, Thay says, should know how to transform suffering—their own and that of others—into compassion and loving kindness. Sometimes, Thầy invites us to see, the person who listens deeply, who resists anger and fear but shows compassion, who embodies a peaceful presence is the true activist, the leader to follow. Sometimes, when no one like that stands up, “you are that person, you have to be that person,” “you are the bodhisattva that can bring salvation.” Thầy asks those attending to propose a conference in Israel to address the well-being of the Palestinians, as balanced in relationship to the well-being of the Israelis. He introduces his then still new concept of interbeing, stating that “peace workers, have to, have to work on that principle,” “and you realize that, in order for you to be really happy and safe, you have to work for the safety and the happiness of the other side.” As Thầy makes clear, there is, ultimately, no other side: “The question is to interbe or not to be at all.”
This talk was offered on a Day of Mindfulness for Peace and Social Change Activists during the Isreal Tour in the year 1997. Thầy offered this talk at Kibbutz Harel, near Latrun, in Israel.
Part of the following collections
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