"Many of us worry about
the situation of the world. We don't know when the bombs
will explode. We feel that we are on the edge of time.
As individuals, we feel helpless, despairing. The situation
is so dangerous, injustice is so widespread, the danger is so
close. In this kind of situation, if we panic, things will
only become worse. We need to remain calm, to see clearly.
Meditation is to be aware, and to try to help.
"I like to use the example
of a small boat crossing the Gulf of Siam. In Vietnam, there
are many people, called boat people, who leave the country in
small boats. Often the boats are caught in rough seas or
storms, the people may panic, and boats can sink. Bit if
even one person aboard can remain calm, lucid, knowing what to
do and what not to do, he or she can help the boat survive.
His or her expression --face, voice-- communicates clarity and
calmness, and people have trust in that person. They will
listen to what he or she says. One such person can save
the lives of many.
"Our world is something
like a small boat. Compared with the cosmos, our planet
is a very small boat. We are about to panic because our
situation is no better than the situation of the small boat in
the sea. You know that we have more than 50,000 nuclear
weapons. Humankind has become a very dangerous species.
We need people who can sit still and be able to smile, who can
walk peacefully. We need people like that in order to save
us. Mahayana Buddhism says that you are that person, that
each of you it that person."
from "Being
Peace"
by Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich
Nhat Hanh, poet, Zen master, and chairman of the Vietnamese Buddhist
Peace delegation during the war, was nominated by Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. for the Nobel Peace Prize. Nhat Hanh lives in
exile in France, where he continues his writing, teaching, gardening,
and helping refugees worldwide.
His new book is "Living Buddha, Living Christ"
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