Dona Nobis Pacem

On this day in which bloggers world-wide blog for peace, I ask…

Who can rest easy
accepting war's lasting costs?
The lives it destroys?

What does peace mean for
the prisoner in her cell?
The war refugee?

 When can peace lighten
a work-weary parent's toil
to feed his loved ones?

Where can the ruler
meet the outstretched hands yearning
for true equity?

How do we create
a language common to the
criminal and saint?

Why do we allow
artificial barriers
to mar connection?

May peace be with us
across national borders
and private strivings.

The international Blog4Peace movement was inspired by Mimi who requested that we title our posts Donna Nobis Pacem, Latin for Grant Us Peace.

As We Remember 9/11

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.... The chain reaction of evil — hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars — must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.


Martin Luther King, Jr.

*Peace Is Every Step* by Thich Nhat Hanh

During a recent challenge, as I confronted real fear, I happened to remember the above 134-page book. Someone recommended it to me a while back, but I had fairly quickly set it aside without reading it completely. Now, I found myself drawn to the words of its author, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, about whom the Dalai Lama has said, “He shows us the connection between personal, inner peace and peace on Earth.” By the time I finished reading the book, I found I could breathe again, even though the challenge was still not fully resolved. As I am grateful for the transformation this book facilitated in me, I thought I would share it with you.

Born in 1926, the author Thich Nhat Hanh is a Zen master, poet, and peace activist whom Martin Luther King, Jr. nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Finding it necessary to seek asylum outside his native land, he has lived in France in his later years. In addition to promoting mindfulness practice through various means, he has published more than 100 books.

Peace Is Every Step was assembled by friends who used the author's lectures, published and unpublished writings, and informal conversations. The collection is arranged in three parts: 1. “Breathe! You Are Alive;” 2. “Transformation and Healing;” and 3. “Peace Is Every Step.” I suspect some will find the book’s lean style, maybe even its content, disappointing. I know I had to be ready before I could embrace the complexity behind its deceptive simplicity. When I did, the words became pellucid insights into existential truths. At the risk of stripping the book of its elegant intricacy, I share with you some favorite quotes:

• The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.
  


• Most of us are victims of a kind of living that is not mindful ….
  


• When you begin to see that your enemy is suffering, that is the beginning of insight.
  


• Understanding … intense suffering and realizing compassion in the midst of it, you become a joyful person, even if your life is very hard.
  


• Peace is available in every moment, in every breath, in every step.