A
Proposal to Listen For Peace and
Security
The
following transcription is of Thich Nhat Hanh's
introduction talk and the initial Proposal to
Listen For Peace and Security. The talk was made
September 2002 at:
- Naropa
University
- School
of Extended Studies
- Boulder,
Colorado
- September
2002
This
transcription is part of an hour program, 'To
Listen For Peace, A Talk by Thich Nacht Hanh ',
broadcast on Free Speech TV, www.fstv.org
. The full program is now available on the web,
click here
to watch.
The
next satelate broadcasts of 'To Listen For Peace'
are this week and next week on Dish Network
Satellite TV channel 9415:
- Sunday
29th December 12:30:00 EST and 20:30:00 EST and
- Sunday
4 January 12:30:00 EST and 20:30:00
EST.
The
full program is 1 hour, the last twenty minutes is
Thich Nhat Hanh's introduction and the reading of
'A Proposal to Listen for Peace and Security'.
I
have a VCR copy of the full program that I'd be
happy to loan out.
Email: Listen@at7.us
Edits are welcome to the transcript below. I'd be
happy to make a pdf file of this if it can be
useful.
GLOBAL
PATH TOWARD PEACE
In
the past three years we have sponsored many groups
of Palestinians and Israelis to come to Plum
Village, www.plumvillage.org, to practice with us.
All of them have big pain and suffering within.
Most of them did not know how to breathe, recognize
and embrace the fear, the anger, the frustration,
the despair in them.
They
could not look at each other. They could not talk
to each other, because their fear is huge, their
anger is so huge. With Buddha Sanga supporting,
they are able to breathe in and out, generating the
energy of mindfulness and embrace tenderly their
anger, their fear, their frustration.
They
learned to breath with us. They learned to walk
with us. They learned to sit down finally with us.
They learned to eat mindfully, wash the dishes
mindfully with us, and finally we helped them to
practice, the practice of deep compassionate
listening to the other group of people. And we
helped the other group of people to practice gentle
speech, loving speech, so that they can empty their
heart. They can to express everything that is in
their heart, their fear, their suffering, their
anger and so on.
The
practice is having an opportunity to speak out
everything in your heart because you can get a
relieve when you do so. But you should be trained
to speak in such a way the other group of people
can listen and understand. Therefore calm, gentle
speech must be learned.
It
is very moving to be there and to listen to them,
listening to each other and speaking to each
other.
And
after several session of deep compassionate
listening, transformation took place. This group
realized that the other group is made also of human
beings and they have also suffered very deeply.
They tell us how they suffer, how their children
suffer, how they are victims of discrimination and
fear and injustice.
The
practice of gentle speaking, loving speech and deep
listening have brought about wonderful
results.
These
Palestinians and Israeli's have become brothers and
sisters to each other in the practice. And for the
first time they said, for the first time, they
believed peace in the middle east is
possible.
PEACE
IN THE MIDDLE EAST IS POSSIBLE
You
can not love, you can not love unless you
understand. You can not be compassionate and accept
the other person unless you understand him, her or
them.
But
understanding what? Understanding their suffering,
their difficulties, their obstacles, their despair.
Once you have understand, your heart opens. The
nectar of compassion springs up. And you don't
suffer any more because compassion has been born in
your heart.
And
when you have compassion in your heart you can help
the other person to suffer less. You are able to
use gentle speech, loving speech. You are able to
help him or her to remove the wrong perceptions.
Because these wrong perceptions have led to anger,
hatred and fear and a willingness to
punish.
The
purpose of mindfulness and concentration leads to
insight. The practice of deep listing and loving
speech helps to remove wrong understands, wrong
perceptions. Because wrong perceptions are the very
ground of violence and terrorism.
You
don't want to destroy them. You don't want to
annihilate them as a people, as a nation, as a
culture, as a religion, but they believe that you
want to destroy them. And that is why they want to
punish you, they want to destroy you, so you won't
destroy them.
I
was there when the event of September 11,
happened.
On
the 13th of September I gave a dharma talk in
Berkerly for 4,000 people. I only said that
violence can not respond to violence, hatred can
not respond to hatred, only compassion can respond
to hatred and violence.
It
is my conviction that America is capable of being
compassionate and understanding.
On
the 25th of September again I spoke, in New York
City. And I repeated, I brought the same kind of
message. And I made a very concrete proposal for
America so that American can overcome her
suffering. And if America can overcome her
suffering she can help others to overcome their
suffering also.
AMERICA
HAS TO LISTEN TO HER OWN SUFFERING
And
this is what I proposed. First American has to
listen to her own suffering, because there is
suffering in America. There are sections of the
population who believe, who feel that they are
victims of discrimination and injustice. There are
sections of the population who feel that they have
never been listened to, they have never been
understood.
It
is my conviction that in America there are those of
you who are very capable of listening deeply and
with compassion. We have to identify them. We have
invite them to come and form a kind of council,
kind of parliament for compassionate deep
listening.
There
is a vast resource of peace in America. We have to
identify these resources. Especially the people who
know. Who are capable of understanding with
compassion. Who are capable of listening deeply
with compassion. And after we have formed that
council of sages we will invite the sections of the
population who have felt they have been
discriminated against.
We
can invite them to come and will assure them they
are safe. If they want to speak out they are safe,
provided that they learn how to speak with gentle
speech. That those of us who can come and help them
to breath, to walk, to embrace their suffering so
that they can express themselves peacefully, the
suffering in their heart.
The
way we do in Plum Village for our friends from the
Middle East. We help them to breathe, to calm, to
embrace their suffering and their fear and their
anger. Sessions of deep compassionate listening
like that can be televised to the whole population
of America.
SESSIONS
OF DEEP COMPASSIONATE LISTENING CAN BE
TELEVISED
Politicians
of this country can profit greatly from these
sessions of practice of deep listening and gentle
expression. And the practice will inspire a lot of
confidence on the part of other nations in the
world. They will say look America is now capable of
listening to their own suffering. How
wonderful.
If
they can understand themselves they will be able to
understand us, as well.
We
have never asked Mr. Osama bin Laden about his
suffering. We have never asked Mr. Saddam Hussain
about his suffering and frustration. We can not say
that we have understood completely these people.
They must have suffered a lot. They must have a lot
of wrong perceptions on themselves and on us, on
America.
Imagine
President Bush and others speaking like
this:
Dear
people out there, we know that you must have
suffered a great deal in order to have done such a
thing to us in New York. We know that you must have
hated us so much that you have done such a thing to
us in New York.
You
may have thought that we want to destroy you as a
people, as a nation, as a culture, as a religion.
But really we don't have that intention. We may
have done something or said something that has
given you that impression, that has created so much
hatred and fear and violence in you so you could
have done such a thing to us.
We
want to listen to you. Please tell us what is in
your heart.
USING
THE BOMBS IS NOT THE MOST COURAGEOUS
THING
Using
the bomb is not the most courageous thing. Using
the bombs may show that we are afraid.
Using
our intuitions, our understanding, and our
compassion show that we are great, we are brave, we
are courageous. And I hope that our politicians can
use that kind of language.
We
want to understand you. We want to understand about
your suffering, your difficulties.
In
fact, we want you to have safety, to live in
safety, in peace, with a capacity to grow as a
nation. Because we know that if you don't have
safety, we won't have safety either. Because we
inter-are.
We
are connected to each other. If you suffer deeply
there is no way we over here can be truly happy.
That is the language of truth, the language of
insight, the language of inter-being.
The
north and the south are connected. The suffering of
the south can make the north suffer, the suffering
of the north can make the south suffer.
We
all inter-are. That is why, when we take care of
other people, if we can offer them more safety,
more conditions for development and then they have
more safety and they have more peace
also.
TERRORISM
HAS ITS ROOTS IN WRONG PERCEPTIONS
Terrorism
has its roots in wrong perceptions. Of course they
have wrong perception on us, and also our wrong
perceptions on us and on them.
When
we live together as a couple, if we don't
understand each other, we make each other suffer.
Love is not possible without
understanding.
Can't
you make her happy if you don't understand her. No.
That is why you have got to have the time to be
mindful and to understand her difficulties, her
suffering her despair, her hope.
DIRECT
ACTION FOR PEACE
And
a direct action for peace is to remove these wrong
perceptions. All of have to become strategists. We
have to look deeply on the possibility of helping
to remove these wrong perceptions and we can't do
that with the bombs.
The
instruments proposed by the Buddha: breathing,
calming, understanding, listen deeply with
compassion. These are instruments that our
politicians should know how to use. Our politicians
have not been trained in acting like that and we
should help them. We should support
them.
There
are people that are capable of doing so in our
population in our nation. And we have to call on
them to help in difficult moments like this
one.
Ten
days ago we had a mindfulness retreat in the Boston
area. 900 people have come together to practice
together six days, the practice of calming,
embracing, and looking deeply. 900 Americans
practicing together mindfulness of looking deeply
of our situation. We organized that retreat in
Stone Hill College in eastern
Massachusetts.
All
of us had practice, sitting quietly, breathing in
and out deeply and looking deeply into our
situation. The situation of our nation and of the
world.
And
in dharma discussions many groups have come up with
the intention in order to do something in order to
prevent a new war from taking place.
For
initiating real processes of peace in order to
remove the wrong perceptions on our part, on their
part, on ourselves, on themselves and on each
other.
They
have the proposed text that may be used as an
instrument to meditate and to generate the kind of
insight and action that is needed to bring peace to
our situation.
I
will ask a nun, to come up and read that text for
you.
A PROPOSAL TO LISTEN FOR PEACE
A
Proposal to listen for peace. A petition for a
future to be possible
In
light of the intensifying conflicts around the
planet and before another war is declared. We call
upon the United States and the world community to
pause. As one humanity we cannot survive the
continuing cycle of violence in response to
violence.
There
are alternative responses.
To
avoid further violence and division, we propose a
process of listening, healing and reconciliation on
both a national and international level.
Peace
begins with each one of us.
In
order for the United States to truly support the
harmony and safety of other nations in the world.
We must first nourish harmony and safety in our own
country. We have a need to listen to the suffering
of our own people, caused by discrimination and
violence. Listening with compassion to the
suffering would increase national understanding and
trust and show us paths out of division and
despair. Recognizing the deep strength and good
will of our nation.
We
know we have the capacity to do this.
On
the national level we call upon the United States
and the mass media to explore the vast resources of
wisdom and experience of many United States
citizens who have been trained in and who have
practiced the art of mediation and
reconciliation.
These
community and spiritual leaders would come together
to form local and national forums for compassionate
listening, to representatives of communities that
suffer in the United States. When possible the
forums would be televised.
Emerging
from these forums creative new solutions and
legislation should be enacted to improve the lives
of those who suffer in the United
States.
This
would alleviate the despair in this land that could
otherwise explode into future acts of violence and
terrorism.
We
recognize that the peace, well being, and safety of
the people within the United States and the peace,
well being and safety of rest of the world are
inextricably interwoven.
If
the United States were to embody strong
compassionate leadership through such self
examination and reform we could give hope to other
nations to begin similar processes.
On
the international level we propose that a
parliament of peace be created to listen to the
people suffering of people throughout the world.
And to offer courageous alternatives to
war.
One
of it's immediate concerns would be conflict in the
middle east, particularly the possibility of war
between the United States and Iraq.
This
international process would not duplicate the vital
role of the United Nations. It's initial focus
would not be dialogue between political
representatives of nation states.
Instead
it would create a safe space for representatives of
other sections of the population who have endured
great suffering to share and listen to each others
stories and their visions for a peaceful
world.
This
sharing should be taken seriously by political
leadership.
All
of our steps must be taken with careful
intention.
We
call upon all nations and the United States in
particular to answer this immediate need. Not by
hastening toward increased tragedy.
But
by moving calmly toward peace.
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