by Diane Ryan
member of the Contemplative Outreach Ltd trustee team
Breckenridge, Colorado, USA
The Buddhist monks have completed their journey from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington, D.C. They walked on foot for over 2300 miles, inspiring thousands of spectators along the way with their message of peace, mindfulness and nonviolence. People report being affected just by their presence. From watching videos of the monks, we notice their focus, their determination, their equanimity, their attentiveness to those they greet. They did not hold rallies or carry signs, just an embodied message of peace. They walked on foot despite harsh weather and busy roads, taking along only bare essentials and eating only one meal a day. Their discipline is apparent.
The monks’ leader, Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, gave short interviews in response to the immense public interest generated by his group. Pannakara talked about the need for compassion for each other and how forgiveness releases us from our own prison of non-forgiveness. He spoke about the practice of meditation and how it leads to an inner stillness from which one can respond mindfully, instead of reacting, to life’s circumstances. He taught that there is no difference between all of us and that peace depends upon community. He warned against the dangers of anger and encouraged us to choose peace everyday, admitting that it may not be easy, but it is necessary.
“I told myself that we are not alone. When we started out in Fort Worth, Texas, we were alone. And then after that, we’re not alone anymore. And after this walk, we are not alone.”
– Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara
Impressed by the action of these monks, the question came up within our own community of what Contemplative Outreach is doing during this time. If we look at the teachings of Thomas Keating and other Christian contemplative teachers, we are also encouraged to embody peace. Our daily discipline of consenting to God’s presence and action during our times of Centering Prayer leads to that inner stillness and healing from which compassion, forgiveness, and acceptance flow. We learn to respond and not react. Recognizing our own basic goodness and that of every other human being connects us together as one human family. And many of us have experienced the transmission of peace that comes from someone who has been transformed by their practice of Centering Prayer.
So, what are we doing? At least in spirit, all of us are walking right alongside our Buddhist brothers as we live out our daily commitment to practice. Our walk is also within our prayer groups, our chapters and our teams as we companion others who want to receive the gift of Centering Prayer. And, there are many members of our global community who are literally walking. They are taking their transformed selves out into their own communities to practice compassion and forgiveness and to spread unity, peace and love.
For me, personally, the fruit of my Centering Prayer practice has influenced the way I participate in community life. The sense of unity with all others that has grown within me causes me to embrace the saying “if your child is not safe, my child (or grandchild) is not safe.” That guides my work in writing to my legislators to support gun safety legislation and in sharing those thoughts with others. Compassion takes me to our local food bank where every week we serve hundreds of people who are working but struggling to make ends meet, are recent immigrants, or whose physical or mental challenges have led to food insecurity. In striving to convey acceptance for all who live here, I volunteer to work with Spanish speakers who are learning English. I doubt they learn much from me as I do not speak Spanish, but I know they appreciate the support they see in a group of us who show up in the evening to guide them through lessons. Recently I have had a few serious conversations about what nonviolence really means, and how one thing we can all do as individuals is to remove the violent language that has insidiously crept into our everyday speech. I intend to carry that commitment with me the next time I attend a political rally and the language becomes violent, even if I agree with the underlying message. These are small things from one person in a small mountain town, but it’s the way I try to walk a contemplative life.
+
“The truth is there is ultimately only one Self and this is God manifesting in us. God manifests most effectively when we are not thinking about ourselves at all. … We are influencing other people by personal spiritual work on ourselves, not for our own sake, but for the sake of the transformation in Christ of the whole human family.
“I am absolutely certain that anyone in any religion or no religion who sincerely commits to the transformative process is changing the world more than they could be by any other activity. In due time, they will have particular activities recommended to them by the Spirit as part of their vocation, but the most important work is to work on ourselves.”
– Thomas Keating, God is Love: The Heart of All Creation
