Despite all of our efforts to the contrary, this year’s Peace Walk was a wonderful success. We forgot to put out posters until the weekend before the walk, the scheduled newspaper article promoting the walk never ran, and the morning of the walk was greeted by the year’s first heavy snowfall. But when the eight of us from Open Gate arrived at the lake, dedicated peacewalkers were already at the park waiting for us, wondering if we would show up. Twenty-six hardy souls set out on the long, slow march with us, and by the time we circled back to the starting point, fifty-one different people had walked for all or part of the trek. Their dedication showed us that the lessons of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the continuing efforts of Thich Nhat Hanh have been taken to heart. We have learned that peace is not a single goal to attain, but an ongoing practice. Though there will always be conflict in the world, steady and dedicated efforts by sincere and compassionate people ensure that there will always be peace right alongside it.“Nirvana and the ordinary world of suffering are not two things but related to each other. There is no nirvana except where the world of suffering is; there is no world of suffering apart from nirvana. For existence is not mutually exclusive.”
-Buddha
Lankavatara Sutra
No comments:
Post a Comment