Orange County Buddhist Church
Orange County Buddhist Church
Reflections on the book, "Practicing Peace in times of War"
Recently I have read a wonderful book that I can recommend to read. It is titled, "Practicing Peace In Times of War" by Pema Chodron. Pema Chodron is an American woman who has studied Tibetan Buddhism and has written several other books as well.
In this book Pema Chodron discusses the only ultimate solution to peace, whether it is world peace, peace at the workplace, or peace within one's own family. The ultimate solution is within our own heart's and minds, to live peacefully ourselves. As she writes in her opening line of the book, "War and Peace begin in the hearts of individuals".
We frequently think that war and peace is something that is determined by governments, world leaders, or nations. But whether we are at war or at peace has its origins in the hearts and minds of people. Peace is not just something between nations, but peace is something that must be practiced in the home, at work, and in our community. There can be no peace in the world if we cannot live peacefully with our own spouses and families. This book addresses that issue on a very personal level that anyone can relate to.
In her book, Pema Chodron mentions how she was once watching tv, and they were broadcasting a news event at a peace protest. There were two opposing groups, the peace protestors and the supporters of the war. The two groups got into a fight, and she saw some of the peace protestors hitting people with their protest signs. She thought to herself, "What is wrong with this picture? How can one be violent while you are protesting for peace?”
When conflicts arise between people, we find that our hearts and minds “harden” and we become stubborn about our particular view or position. This hardened heart and mind then turns into anger, hatred, prejudice, and a myriad of other emotions that destroys our “peace.”
Have you ever had an argument with your husband or wife, and in your discussion your spouse will say to you, “Well, you don’t have to get mad about it!” We then respond, “Mad?! I’m not mad!” You yourself cannot see that you’re raging mad.
Rev. Kubose, whom I had the wonderful opportunity to study under, used to say in his messages, “When you get angry, why don’t you say the Nembutsu? It is amazing that when you say the Nembutsu, your anger is melted away.”
It is hard to say the Nembutsu in the midst of being really angry, but Rev. Kubose recommended something that we should all try the next time we find ourselves angered. What reciting the Nembutsu does, is allow us to pause, even for a moment, to look at ourselves and the situation. That pause might be the difference between having our hearts and minds tightening and hardening into something stubborn and unwavering, to becoming something flexible, soft, and open.
In the Larger Sutra there is a wonderful passage that states that for a person who meets with the Nembutsu, their body becomes “soft and supple.” This is a poetic metaphor for saying the same thing that Pema Chodron makes in her book. It is to pause, so that our hearts and minds will not harden.
The world is in need of people with “soft and supple minds and bodies” to create peace in one’s family, to create peace at the workplace, to create peace among nations and worlds.
Just think if world leaders were able to meet and discuss issues without having their hearts and minds becoming “hardened.” Just think if you could talk to your spouse about your children, about work, about your personal finances, without your heart and mind becoming “hardened.” Just think if you could talk to your boss or people at work without every discussion becoming one mass of hardened, stubborn egos. How peaceful the world, your family, your marriage, your life would be.
As we live in an increasingly frightful world of conflict, war, and aggression, may we find the way of softening our hearts and minds through the Dharma.
Namuamidabutsu,
Rev. Marvin Harada
