108 Bows Ceremony

November 4th

Join us in the 108 Bows ceremony the first Sunday of each month. This Sunday it will be led by Br. Suynya Karuna. The ceremony is in honor of the 88 Buddhas and is a service of contrition and realignment. It begins at 10 am and is a good prelude to our Sunday service.

Terrorist Activities

This past month has been very unsettling following the terrorists acts that have been perpetrated on American soil. This morning as I am preparing the November Guide, the major news on all the television channels is the U.S. airstrikes in Afghanistan, which started yesterday.

We are all sad and fearful, both at our government’s reactions and the future terrorist acts which will occur here again. We wonder why this world has gone so crazy, perpetrating untold misery upon millions of people. Because of this, we have decided to double the size of the Guide, printing articles about terrorism from a Buddhist point of view. We hope that you will read and think seriously about them.

In the meantime, life continues, and so does the Meditation Center, offering its activities for you. We hope that you will join us for a number of them.

IBMC Fighting City Hall

IBMC is currently locked in battle with the Department of Building and Safety over the status of the Center. We have been at the location where we are for 31 years. We are registered as a monastery. Now the department is telling us that we cannot use the Zendo for religious services or educational purposes because we are a monastery. Our reply is that all the Catholic monasteries have services open to the public on a daily basis. Our Catholic friends all stand behind us on this issue. We are sure that we will win the battle in the end, so do not be too worried about us. However, if it comes to a hearing, we will let you know.

The Center is well known for its past activities: housing 80 Vietnamese refugees, providing all the refugee camps in the U.S. with Buddhist chaplains, and hosting the Dalai Lama and other important religious figures. We have provided big Halloween parties for abused and homeless children, among other important activities. We have enjoyed in the past the support of both Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn and Mayor Tom Bradley, who attended all of our major activities. Although both of these men are now gone, we believe that we will win this minor skirmish. So, read the Guides for updated information.

By the way, the school district has not yet decided if it will take Thien-An House along with the rest of the block for an elementary school. We will not know until the end of this year if that is going to
Ohappen. If the school district secures the Ambassador Hotel site, we are safe. If they cannot secure that site, then they will take the block from New Hampshire to Berendo Street, between San Marino and James M Wood Blvd (9th ßtreet).


Seminar/Retreat on the Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch

November 10

Ven. Dr. Karuna Dharma is giving a seminar/retreat on the Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (Hui Neng’s Platform Sutra) on Saturday, Nov-ember 10, from 9:30 to 4:30. We will study the sutra and intersperse it with periods of sitting meditation to help in its comprehension.

The fee for the seminar is $25 and includes a delicious, nutritious vegetarian lunch. If you are interested in attending, mail your fee to IBMC by November 1, or call Ven. Karuna directly at 213 382-9972.

Patriarch’s Luncheon Day

On Sunday November 18, we will remember the passing of Ven. Dr. Thich Thien-An on November 23, 1980, at a special luncheon in the Zendo garden following service. So, please bring a vegetarian dish or drinks to share on that day.

Metta Meditation
This is a good meditation to use during these trying times.

Close your eyes lightly and imagine your mother sitting on your right side, your father on your left, Then imagine all your friends and relatives sitting in meditation behind you. Behind them are all your enemies. Seated in front of you also in meditation are all the strangers in the world. Some you have seen but do not know including the siupermarket checker and countless strangers you have not yet met. Behind them are all the saints and sages, the Bodhisattvas and Buddhas.

In this meditation, you begin by visualizing your mother getting up from her seat, coming to stand in front of you. You look into each other’s eyes and bow to each other. And you both say, “May you be well and happy, peaceful, free from suffering. May no harm come to you. May no difficulties come to you. May no problems come to you. May you always find fulfillment. May you also have patience, courage and understanding to meet the inevitable difficulties, problems and failures in life.” You again look deeply into each others eyes, you bow to each other, and as a sign of farewell, she touches you on the shoulder, turns and returns to her seat.

Next your father stands, comes around and stands in front of you. You repeat what you said to your mother. He is followed in turn by a friend, an enemy,(perhaps it is Osama Bin Laden or a terrorist, perhaps Pres. Bush) and finally, an unknown person. Each time you repeat what you did for your mother.

Now, lastly from the group of saints and sages, Kwan Yin Bodhisattva arises from her seat, and comes to stand in front of you. You look directly into each other’s eyes, bow to each other and say, ”May you be well and happy. May no harm come to you. May no difficulties come to you. May no problems come to you. May you always find fulfillment. May you also have patience, courage and understanding to meet the inevitable difficulties, problems and failures in life.” . She continues to walk forward until the two of you merge and you realize that you and she are the same, inseparable. Then, slowly she separates from you and again stands before you. You again look deeply into each other’s eyes, you bow to each other, and as a sign of farewell, you lightly touch hands. She turns and returns to her seat.

Then you all sit in silent meditation a few moments. Then you wish that all beings in the universe also are well and happy. End with wishing the same for your self.

November Events

Sunday Talks

11/4 Is Zen Mysticism?
11am Rev. Vajra Karuna

11/11 Dealing With Fear
11am Rev. Kusala Karuna

10/18 The Three Marks of Existence
11am Ven. Havanpola Shanti

11/25 Memories of Thanksgiving
11am Ven. Dr. Karuna Dharma

Classes at IBMC

Mon Certificate in Buddhist Studies
6:30 Dr. Wanisuriya

Wed Basic Tenets of Buddhism
6:30 Dr. Warnisuriya

Wed Applied Buddhism
7:00 Rev. Kusala

Thurs History of Zen
6:30 Rev. Vajra Karuna

Fri Elementary Sanskrit
6:30 Dr. Warnisuriya

tba Elemenrary Pali
Dr. Wanisuriya

Special Events

11/4 108 Bows Ceremony, 10 am,
led b Br. Sunyaya Karuna

11/10 One Day Retreat
led by Ven. Dr. Karuna Dharma

11/18 Luncheon in Honor of Ven. Dr. Thich Thien-An

Meditation times

Mon, Sun evenings from 5:00-7:00 pm, led by Rev. Sakya Bodhi

Wed evening: 7-9 pm, led by Rev. Kusala
Fri evening: 7:30-9 pm, led by Rev. Kusala


IBMC web page is found at: InternationalBuddhistMeditationCtr.org
You can email us at: IBMC@InternationalBuddhistMeditationCtr.og
Rev. Karuna’s email: Karunadh@Earthlink.net
Karuna’s web page: www.Karunadharma.org
Rev. Kusala’s email: Kusala@kusala.org
Rev. Kusala’s web page: www.RevKusala.org
Rev. Shanti’s email:Hshanti@earthlink.net
Rev. Prabuddhi’s: Prabuddhi@yahoo.com
Rev. Vajra’s email: Madmonk88@aol.com
Bro. Sunya’s email: Sunya2@Earthlink.net
Bro. Ksanti and Bro. Sraddha’s email: VictorTom@aol.com
Rev. Chitta’s email: kchitta@yahoo.com



Ven. Karuna now has a domain name for her web page. You can now find her web page at
www. KarunaDharma.org

If There Is to Be a Memorial
by Roger Ebert, Film Critic

If there is to be a memorial, let it not be of stone and steel. Fly no
flag above it, for it is not the possession of a nation but a sorrow shared
with the world.

Let it be a green field, with trees and flowers. Let there be paths that wind through the shade. Put out park benches where old people can sun in yhe summertime, and a pond where children can skate in the winter.

Beneath this field will lie entombed forever some of the victims of
September 11. It is not where they thought to end their lives. Like the sailors of the battleship Arizona, they rest where they fell.

Let this field stretch from one end of the destruction to the other. Let this open space among the towers mark the emptiness in our hearts. But do not make it a sad place. Give it no name. Let people think of it as the green field. Every living thing that is planted there will show faith in the future.

Let students take a corner of the field and plant a crop there. Perhaps corn, our native grain. Let the harvest be shared all over the world, with friends and enemies, because that is the teaching of our religions, and we must show that we practice them. Let the harvest show that life prevails over death, and let the gifts show that we love our neighbors.

Do not build again on this place. No building can stand there. No building, no statue, no column, no arch, no symbol, no name, no date, no statement. Just the comfort of the earth we share, to remind us that we share it.

Buddhist Responses
......to the Acts of Terrorism......

A Letter to the President
By the Dalai Lama  

I am deeply shocked by the terrorist attacks that took place involving four apparently hijacked aircrafts and the immense devastation these caused. It is a terrible tragedy that so many innocent lives have been lost and it seems unbelievable that anyone would choose to target the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. We are deeply saddened. On behalf of the Tibetan people I would like to convey our deepest condolence and solidarity with the American people during this painful time. Our prayers go out to the many who have lost their lives, those who have been injured and the many more who have been traumatized by this senseless act of violence. I am attending a special prayer for the United States and its people at our main temple today.

I am confident that the United States as a great and powerful nation will be able to overcome this present tragedy. The American people have shown their resilience, courage and determination when faced with such difficult and sad situations.

It may seem presumptuous on my part, but I personally believe we need to think seriously whether a violent reaction is the right thing to do and in the greater interest of the nation and the people in the long run. I believe violence will only increase the cycle of violence. But how do we deal with hatred and anger which are often the root causes of such senseless violence? This is a very difficult question, especially when it concerns a nation and we have certain fixed conceptions of how to deal with such attacks. I am sure you will make the right decision. 

A New Holy War Against Evil? A Buddhist Response
by David R. Loy, an American professor at a Buddhist University in Japan.

Like most other Americans, I have been struggling to digest the eventsof the last week. It has taken a while to realize how psychically numbed many of us are. In the space of a few hours, our world changed. We do notyet know what those changes will mean, but the most important long-term ones may well be psychological.

Americans have always understood the United States to be a special and uniquely privileged place. The Puritans viewed New England as the Promised Land. According to Melville, We Americans are the peculiar, chosen people.

In many parts of the globe the twentieth century has been particularly horrible, but the continental United States has been so insulated from these tragedies that we have come to think of ourselves as immune to them although we have often contributed to them.

That confidence has been abruptly shattered. We have dis-covered that the borderless world of globalization allows us no refuge from the hatred and violence that predominate in many parts of the world.

Every death reminds us of our own, and sudden, unexpected death on such a large scale makes it harder to repress awareness of our own mortality. Our obsessions with such things as money, consumerism, and professional sports have been revealed for what they are: unworthy of all the attention we devote to them. There is something valuable to learn here, but this reality nonetheless makes us quite uncomfortable. We do not like to think about death. We usually prefer to be distracted.

Talk of vengeance and bomb them back to the stone age makes many of us uneasy, but naturally we want to strike back. On Friday President Bush declared that the United States has been called to a new worldwide mission to rid the world of evil, and on Sunday he said that the government is determined to rid the world of evil-doers. Our land of freedom now has a responsibility to extirpate the world of its evil. We may no longer have an evil empire to defeat, but we have found a more sinister evil that will require a long-term, all-out war to destroy.

If anything is evil, those terrorist attacks were evil. I share that sentiment, but I think we need to take a close look at the vocabulary. When Bush says he wants to rid the world of evil, alarm bells go off in my mind, because that is what Hitler and Stalin also wanted to do.

I'm not defending either of those evil-doers, just explaining what they were trying to do. What was the problem with Jews that required a final solution? The earth could be made pure for the Aryan race only by exterminating the Jews, the impure vermin who contaminate it. Stalin needed to exterminate well-to-do Russian peasants to establish his ideal society of collective farmers. Both were trying to perfect this world by eliminating its impurities. The world can be made good only by destroying its evil elements.

Paradoxically, then, one of the main causes of evil in this world has been human attempts to eradicate evil.

Friday's Washington Post quoted Joshua Teitelbaum, a scholar who has studied a more contemporary evil-doer: Osama bin Laden looks at the world in very stark, black-and-white terms. For him, the U.S. represents the forces of evil that are bringing corruption and domination into the Islamic world. What is the difference between bin Laden's view and Bush's? They are mirror opposites. What bin Laden sees as good an Islamic jihad against an impious and materialistic imperialism, Bush sees as evil. What Bush sees as good America, the defender of freedom, bin Laden sees as evil. They are two different versions of the same holy-war-between-good-and-evil.

Do not misunderstand me here. I am not equating them morally, nor in any way trying to excuse the horrific events of last Tuesday. From a Buddhist perspective, however, there is something dangerously delusive about the mirror-image views of both sides. We must understand how this black-and-white way of thinking deludes not only Islamic terrorists but also us, and therefore brings more suffering into the world.

This dualism of good-versus-evil is attractive because it is a simple way of looking at the world. And most of us are quite familiar with it. Although it is not unique to the Abrahamic religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, it is especially important for them. It is one of the reasons why the conflicts among them have been so difficult to resolve peacefully: adherents tend to identify their own religion as good and demonize the other as evil.

Historically, the dualism seems to have originated with the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism, which saw this world as the battle-ground of a cosmic war between good and evil, and anticipated an apocalyptic victory for the forces of good at the end of time. The Jews probably absorbed this idea during their Babylonian captivity, and both Christianity and Islam got this dualism from them. It is difficult to turn the other cheek when we view the world through these spectacles, because this rationalizes the opposite principle: an eye for an eye. If the world is a battleground of good and evil forces, the evil that is in the world must be fought by any means necessary.

The secularization of the modern West did not eliminate this tendency. In some ways it has intensified it, because we can no longer rely on a supernatural resolution. We have to depend upon ourselves to bring about the final victory of good over evil as Hitler and Stalin tried to do. It is unclear how much help bin Laden and Bush expect from God.

Why do I emphasize this dualism? The basic problem with this way of understanding conflict is that it tends to preclude thought, because it is so simplistic. It keeps us from looking deeper, from trying to discover causes.

Once something has been identified as evil, there is no more need to explain it; it is time to focus on fighting against it. This is where Buddhism has something important to contribute. Buddhism emphasizes the three roots of evil, also known as the three poisons: greed, ill will and delusion. The Abrahamic religions emphasize the struggle between good and evil because for them the basic issue depends on our will: which side are we on? In contrast, Buddhism emphasizes ignorance and enlightenment because the basic issue depends on our self-knowledge: do we really understand what motivates us?

According to Buddhism, every effect has its web of causes and conditions. This is the law of karma. One way to summarize the essential Buddhist teaching is that we suffer, and cause others to suffer, because of greed, ill will and delusion. Karma implies that when our actions are motivated by these roots of evil, their negative consequences tend to rebound back upon us. The Buddhist solution to suffering involves transforming our greed into generosity, our ill will into loving-kindness, and our delusions into wisdom.

What do these Buddhist teachings imply about the situation we now find ourselves in? The following is from today's statement by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship: “Nations deny causality by ascribing blame to others: terrorists, rogue nations, and so on. Singling out an enemy, we short-circuit the iintrospection necessary to see our own karmic responsibility for the errible acts that have befallen us. . . . Until we own causes we bear responsibility for, in this case in the Middle East, last week's violence will make no more sense than an earthquake or cyclone, except that in its human origin it turns us toward rage and revenge.

We cannot focus only on the second root of evil, the hatred and violence that have just been directed against the United States. The three roots are intertwined. Ill will cannot be separated from greed and delusion. This requires us to ask: why do so many people in the Middle East, in particular, hate us so much? What have we done to encourage that hatred? Americans think of America as defending freedom and justice, but obviously that is not the way they perceive us. Are they just misinformed, then, or is it we who are misinformed?

"Does anybody think that we can send the USS New Jersey to lob Volkswagen-sized shells into Lebanese villages -- Reagan, 1983, or loose smart bombs on civilians seeking shelter in a Baghdad bunker -- Bush, 1991 -- or fire cruise missiles on a Sudanese pharmaceutical factory -- Clinton, 1999 -- and not receive, someday, our share in kind?" (Micah Sifry)

In particular, how much of our foreign policy in the Middle East has been motivated by our love of freedom and democracy, and how much has been motivated by our need, our greed, for its oil? If our main priority has been securing oil supplies, does it mean that our petroleum-based economy is one of the causes of last week's attack?

Finally, Buddhist teachings suggest that we look at the role of delusion increating this situation. Delusion has a special meaning in Buddhism. The fundamental delusion is our sense of separation from the world we are in, including other people. Insofar as we feel separate from others, we are more inclined to manipulate them to get what we want. This naturally breeds
resentment both from others, who do not like to be used, and within ourselves, when we do not get what we want. . . . Is this also true collectively?

Delusion becomes wisdom when we realize that no one is an island. We are interdependent because we are all part of each other, different facets of the same jewel we call the earth. This world is not a collection of objects but a community of subjects. That interdependence means we cannot avoid responsibility for each other. This is true not only for the residents of lower Manhattan, now uniting in response to this catastrophe, but for all the people in the world, however deluded they may be. Yes, including the terrorists who did these heinous acts and those who support them.

Do not misunderstand me here. Those responsible for the attacks must be caught and brought to justice. That is our responsibility to all those who have suffered, and that is also our responsibility to the deluded and hate-full terrorists, who must be stopped. If, however, we want to stop this cycle of hatred and violence, we must realize that our responsibility is much broader than that.

Realizing our interdependence and mutual responsibility for each other implies something more. When we try to live this interdependence, it is called love. Love is more than a feeling, it is a mode of being in the world. In Buddhism we talk mostly about compassion, generosity, and loving-kindness, but they all reflect this mode of being. Such love is sometimes mocked as weak and ineffectual, yet it can be very powerful, as Gandhi showed. And it embodies a deep wisdom about how the cycle of hatred and violence works and about how that cycle can be ended. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, but there is an alternative.

Twenty-five hundred years ago, the Buddha said: "'He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me' -- for those who harbour such thoughts hatred will never cease. 'He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me'-- for those who do not harbour such thoughts hatred will cease."

In this world hatred is never appeased by hatred; hatred is always appeased by love. This is an ancient law. (Dhammapada, 3-5)

Of course, this transformative insight is not unique to Buddhism. After all, it was not the Buddha who gave us the image of turning the other cheek. In all the Abrahamic religions the tradition of a holy war between good and evil coexists with this ancient law about the power of love. That does not mean all the world's religions have emphasized this law to the same extent. In fact, I wonder if this is one way to measure the maturity of a religion, or at least its continuing relevance for us today: how much the liberative truth of this law is acknowledged and encouraged. I do not know enough about Islam to compare, but in the cases of Buddhism and Christianity, for example, it is the times when this truth has not been emphasized that these two religions have been most subverted by secular rulers and nationalistic fervor.

So where does that leave us today? We find ourselves at a turning point. A lust for vengeance and violent retaliation is rising, fanned by a leader caught up in his own rhetoric of a holy war to purify the world of evil. Please consider: does the previous sentence describe bin Laden, or President Bush? If we pursue the path of large-scale violence, bin Laden's holy war and Bush's holy war will become two sides of the same war.

No one can foresee all the consequences of such a war. They are likely to spin out of control and take on a life of their own. However, one sobering effect is clearly implied by the ancient law: massive retaliation by the United States in the Middle East will spawn a new generation of suicidal terrorists, eager to do their part in this holy war.

But widespread violence is not the only possibility. If this time of crisis encourages us to see through the rhetoric of a war to exter-minate evil, and if we begin to understand the intertwined roots of this evil, including our own responsibility, then perhaps something good may yet come out of this catastrophic tragedy.

David R. Loy loy@shonan.bunkyo.ac.jp 18 September 2001


What I Would Say to Osama bin Laden
Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh talks about how listening is the first step towards peace.
Interview by Anne A. Simpkinson  

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese monk in the Zen tradition, who worked tirelessly for peace during the Vietnam War, rebuilding villages destroyed by the hostilities. Following an anti-war lecture tour in the United States, he was not allowed back in his country and settled in France. In 1967, he was nominated by the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., for the Nobel Peace Prize. He is now internationally known for his teaching and writing on mindfulness, and for his work related to "socially engaged Buddhism," a call to social action based on Buddhist principles. Thay, as he is affectionately called by his followers, shared his thoughts on how America should respond to the terrorist attacks. This interview will appear in a forthcoming book entitled Out of the Ashes: A Spiritual Response to America's Tragedy, to be published jointly by Beliefnet and Rodale Press.

If you could speak to Osama bin Laden, what would you say to him? Likewise, if you were to speak to the American people, what would you suggest we do at this point, individually and as a nation?

If I were given the opportunity to be face to face with Osama bin Laden, the first thing I would do is listen. I would try to understand why he had acted in that cruel way. I would try to understand all of the suffering that had led him to violence. It might not be easy to listen in that way, so I would have to remain calm and lucid. I would need several friends with me, who are strong in the practice of deep listening, listening without reacting, without judging and blaming. In this way, an atmosphere of support would be created for this person and those connected so that they could share completely, trust that they are really being heard.

After listening for some time, we might need to take a break to allow what has been said to enter into our consciousness. Only when we felt calm and lucid would we respond. We would respond point by point to what had been said. We would respond gently but firmly in such a way to help them to discover their own misunderstandings so that they will stop violent acts from their own will.

For the American people, I would suggest that we do everything we can to restore our calm and our lucidity before responding to the situation. To respond too quickly before we have much understanding of the situation may be very dangerous. The first thing we can do is to cool the flames of anger and hatred that are so strong in us. As mentioned before, it is crucial to look at the way we feed the hatred and violence within us and to take immediate steps to cut off the nourishment for our hatred and violence.

When we react out of fear and hatred, we do not yet have a deep understanding of the situation. Our action will only be a very quick and superficial way of responding to the situation and not much true benefit and healing will occur. Yet if we wait and follow the process of calming our anger, looking deeply into the situation, and listening with great will to understand the roots of suffering that are the cause of the violent actions, only then will we have sufficient insight to respond in such a way that healing and reconciliation can be realized for everyone involved.

In South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has made attempts to realize this. All the parties involved in vio-lence and injustice agreed to listen to each other in a calm and supportive environment, to look together deeply at the roots of violent acts and to find agreeable arrangements to respond to the situations. The presence of strong spiritual leaders is very helpful to support and maintain such an environment. We can look at this model for resolving conflicts that are arising right in the present moment; we do not have to wait many years to realize this.

You personally experienced the devastation caused by the war fought in Vietnam and worked to end the hostilities there. What do you say to people who are grief-stricken and enraged be-cause they have lost loved ones in the terrorist attack?

I did lose my spiritual sons and daughters during the war when they were entering the fighting zone trying to save those under the bombs. Some were killed by war and some by murder due to the misunderstanding that they were supporting the other side. When I looked at the four slain corpses of my spiritual sons murdered in such a violent way, I suffered deeply.

I understand the suffering of those who have lost beloved ones in this tragedy. In situations of great loss and grief, I had to find my calm in order to restore my lucidity and my heart of understanding and compassion. With the practice of deep looking, I realized that if we respond to cruelty with cruelty, injustice and suffering will only increase.

When we learned of the bombing of the Bentra village in Vietnam, where 300,000 homes were destroyed, and the pilots told journalists that they had destroyed the village in order to save it, I was shocked, and [racked] with anger and grief. We practiced walking calmly and gently on the earth to bring back our calm mind and peaceful heart. Although it is very challenging to maintain our openness in that moment, it is crucial that we not respond in any way until we have calmness and clarity with which to see the reality of the situation. We knew that to respond with violence and hatred would only damage ourselves and those around us. We practiced [so that we might] look deeply into the suffering of the people inflicting violence on us, to understand them more deeply and to understand ourselves more deeply. With this understanding we were able to produce compassion and to relieve our own suffering and that of the other side.

What is the “right action” to take with regard to responding to terrorist attacks? Should we seek justice through military action? Through judicial processes? Is military action and/or retaliation justified if it can prevent future innocents from being killed?

All violence is injustice. The fire of hatred and violence cannot be extinguished by adding more hatred and violence to the fire. The only antidote to violence is compassion. And what is compassion made of? It is made of understanding. When there is no understanding, how can we feel compassion, how can we begin to relieve the great suffering that is there? So understanding is the very real foundation upon which we build our compassion.

How do we gain the understanding and insight to guide us through such incredibly challenging moments that we are now facing in America?

To understand, we must find paths of communication so that we can listen to those who desperately are calling out for our understanding -- because such an act of violence is a desperate call for attention and for help. How can we listen in a calm and clear way so that we don’t immediately kill the chance for understanding to develop? As a nation we need to look into this: how to create the situations for deep listening to occur so that our response to the situation may arise out of our calm and clear mind. Clarity is a great offering that we can make at this time.

There are people who want one thing only: revenge. In the Buddhist scriptures, the Buddha said that by using hatred to answer hatred, there will only be an escalation of hatred. But if we use compassion to embrace those who have harmed us, it will greatly diffuse the bomb in our hearts and in theirs.

So how can we bring about a drop of compassion that can put out the fire of hatred? You know, they do not sell compassion in the supermarket. If they sold compassion, we would only need to bring it home and we could solve the problem of hatred and violence in the world very easily. But compassion can only be produced in our own heart by our own practice.

America is burning with hatred. That is why we have to tell our Christian friends, "You are children of Christ." You have to return to yourselves and look deeply and find out why this violence happened. Why is there so much hatred? What lies under all this violence? Why do they hate so much that they would sacrifice their own lives and bring about so much suffering to other people? Why would these young people, full of vitality and strength, have chosen to lose their lives, to commit such violence? That is what we have to understand.

We have to find a way to stop violence, of course. If need be, we have to put the men responsible in prison. But the important thing is to look deeply and ask, "Why did that happen? What responsibility do we have in that happening? " Maybe they misunderstood us. But what has made them misunderstand us so much to make them hate so much?

The method of the Buddha is to look deeply to see the source of suffering; the source of the violence. If we have violence within ourselves, any action can make that violence explode. This energy of hatred and violence can be very great and when we see that in the other person then we feel sorry for them. When we feel sorry for them, the drop of compassion is born in our hearts and we feel so much happier and so much more at peace in ourselves. That [empathy] produces the nectar of compassion within ourselves. If you come to the monastery, it is in order to learn to do that, so that whenever you suffer and feel angry, you know how to look deeply, so that the drop of compassion in your heart can come out of your heart and can put out the fever of anger. Only the drop of compassion that can put out the flames of hatred. We must look deeply and honestly at our present situation. If we are able to see the sources for the suffering within ourselves and within the other person, we can begin to unravel the cycle of hatred and violence. When our house is on fire, we must first put out the fire before investigating its cause. Likewise, if we first extin-guish the anger and hatred in our own heart, we will have a chance to deeply investigate the situation with clarity and insight in order to determine all the causes and conditions that have contributed to the hatred and violence we are experienc-ing within ourselves and within our world. The “right action” is the action that results in the fires of hatred and violence being extinguished.

Do you believe that evil exists? And, if so, would you consider terrorists as evil persons?

Evil exists. God exists also. Evil and God are two sides of our-selves. God is that great understanding, that great love within us. That is what we call Buddha also, the enlightened mind that is able to see through all ignorance.

What is evil? It is when the face of God, the face of the Buddha within us has become hidden. It is up to us to choose whether the evil side becomes more important, or whether the side of God and the Buddha shines out. Although the side of great ignorance, of evil, may be manifesting so strongly at one time that does not mean that God is not there. It is said clearly in the Bible, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.” This means that an act of evil is an act of great ignorance and misunderstanding. Perhaps many wrong perceptions are behind an act of evil; we have to see that ignorance and misunderstanding is the root of the evil. Every human being contains within him or herself all the elements of great understanding, great compassion, and also ignorance, hatred, and violence.

In your new book Anger, you give an example of “compassionate listening” as a tool to heal families. Can that tool be used at a national level, and if so, how would that work?

This past summer a group of Palestinians and Israelis came to Plum Village, the practice center where I live in southern France, to learn and practice the arts of deep listening and loving speech. (Around 1,600 people come to Plum Village each summer from over a dozen countries to listen and to learn how to bring peace and understanding to their daily lives.) The group of Palestinians and Israelis participated in the daily schedule of walking meditation, sitting meditation, and silent meals, and they also received training on how to listen and speak to each other in such a way that more understanding and peace could be possible between them as individuals and as nations.

With the guidance and support of the monks and nuns, they sat down and listened to each other. When one person spoke no one interrupted him or her. Everyone practiced mindfulness of their breathing and listening in such a way that the other person felt heard and understood. When a person spoke, they refrained from using words of blame, hatred, and condemnation. They spoke in an atmo-sphere of trust and respect. Out of these dialogues the participating Palestinians and Israelis were very moved to realize that both sides suffer from fear. They appreciated the practice of deep listening and made arrangements to share what they had learned with others upon returning to their home countries.

We recommended that the Palestinians and Israelis talk about their suffering, fears, and despair in a public forum that all the world could hear. We could all listen without judging, without condemning in order to understand the experience of both sides. This would prepare the ground of understanding for peace talks to occur. The same situation now exists between the American people and people of Islamic and Arabic nations. There is much misunderstanding and lack of the kind of communication that hinders our ability to resolve our difficulties peacefully.

Compassion is a very large part of Buddhism and Buddhist practice. But at this point in time, compassion towards terrorists seems impossible to muster. Is it realistic to think people can feel true compassion now? Without understanding, compassion is impossible. When you understand the suffering of others, you do not have to force yourself to feel compassion, the door of your heart will just naturally open. All of the hijackers were so young and yet they sacrificed their lives for what? Why did they do that? What kind of deep suffering is there? It will require deep listening and deep looking to understand that. To have compassion in this situation is to perform a great act of forgiveness. We can first embrace the suffer-ing, both outside of America and within America. We need to look after the victims here within our country and also to have compassion for the hijackers and their families because they are also victims of ignorance and hatred. In this way we can truly practice non-discrimination. We do not need to wait many years or decades to realize reconciliation and forgiveness. We need a wake up call now in order not to allow hatred to overwhelm our hearts.

Do you believe things happen for a reason? If so, what was the reason for the attacks on the U.S.A.?

The deep reason for our current situation is our patterns of consumption. U.S.A. citizens consume 60% of the world’s energy resources yet they account for only 6% of the total world’s population. Children in America have witnessed 100,000 acts of violence on television by the time they finish elementary school. Another reason for our cur-rent situation is our foreign policy and the lack of deep listening within our relationships. We do not use deep listening to understand the suffering and the real needs of people in other nations.

What do you think would be the most effective spiritual response to this tragedy?

We can begin right now to practice calming our anger, looking deeply at the roots of the hatred and violence in our society and in our world, and listening with compassion in order to hear and understand what we have not yet had the capacity to hear and to understand. When the drop of compassion begins to form in our hearts and minds, we begin to develop concrete responses to our situation. When we have listened and looked deeply, we may begin to develop the energy of brotherhood and sisterhood between all nations, which is the deepest spiritual heritage of all religious and cultural traditions. In this way the peace and understanding within the whole world is increased day by day.

To develop the drop of compassion in our own heart is the only effective spiritual response to hatred and violence. That drop of compassion will be the result of calming our anger, looking deeply at the roots of our violence, deep listening, and understanding the suffering of everyone involved in the acts of hatred and violence.


Compassion and Service
by Sraddha Prajña Karuna (Victor Bumbalo)

Before I begin, I know we are all thinking about the terrorist attacks on our country. I, like many of us, am filled with sorrow, worry, and rage at some of man's inhumanity to man. Also worried about how we will officially, and unofficially, respond. I would like to read a poem by Thich Nhat Hanh, the great Vietnamese monk and pacifist. He wrote this poem after the bombing in Ben Tre where he heard this comment made by an American military man... “We had to destroy the town in order to save it."

I hold my face in my two hands.
No, I am not crying.
I hold my face in my two hands
to keep the loneliness warm--
two hands protecting,
two hands nourishing,
two hands preventing
my soul from leaving me
in anger.

Throughout this last summer, I have grown very fond of the 108 bows ceremony. The Veneration of the 88 Buddhas.I don't know who the Well-Intentioned Buddha is or the Radiance of Jewelled Flowers in Space Buddha, or the King of Mountain-ous Oceanic Wisdom and Comfortable Penetrations Buddha is, but I no longer care. To me it is the celebration of all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, past, present, and future in our lives. Also, for me it is a cleansing ceremony, with a reaf-firmation of our Buddhist vows. Within it we also say..."If in this life or other lives, I have already practiced giving or guarded the pure precepts or even given as little as a morsel of food to an animal..." Here we are asking for merit...some help from all the Buddhas on our path to enlightenment. But do we do good works only to gain merit? I honestly doubt it.

In Buddhism there are two concepts...two profound ideas that have always resonated with me: The Buddhist concept of compassion and the Buddhist concept of the Bodhisattva. Compassion, for us, has nothing to do with pity. There is no condescension in it. No superiority. The Buddhist concept has more to do with identification, with a oneness. Our Buddha natures are connected, and we identify with the object of our compassion. One Buddhist teacher said, "Always think bigger, think greater. We can afford to open ourselves and join the rest of the world with a sense of tremendous generosity, tremendous goodness, and tremendous richness."

Then there is the awesome concept of the Bodhisattva. Bodhisattva literally means---One Who is Awake. These are enlightened beings who stay among us to teach and relieve our suffering. They vow not to enter nirvana until all sentient beings can. What a generous, beautiful concept. The determining factor for this action is compassion. The Sham-bhala Dictionary says, "Early Bodhisatttvas are persons who are distinguished from others by their compassion and altruism as well as their striving toward the attainment of enlightenment. They appear in the most various forms in order to lead beings on the path to liberation." From them, at this moment in time, and as always, we must take our clue.

Compassion comes from an open, unprejudiced heart. And the heart is a muscle. Believe me, I now really realize that. And like any muscle, the heart must be exercised. Some come to their compassionate nature easily. Others have to work at it. In either case, the result is the same. An incredible feeling of Oneness. But with this feeling of Oneness, comes an obligation. As we become more relaxed with our own compassionate nature, our compassionate nature grows, and we help release others and ourselves from life's torments. The Bodhisattvas among us don't just sit around. They do things to eliminate suffering. As we must. I believe that feelings of compassion are activated by service. By kindness. By com-munication. And in order to communicate, we must rid ourselves of communication's major obstacle...prejudice.

During the years 1983 through 1990, I lived among a group who were in touch with their Buddha nature. They didn't realize that, and they would never think of themselves as special. But they were Bodhisattvas in the making. I am talking about Team Ten. I was a proud member of this group and eventually I became its co-leader. It was a branch of the Gay Men's Heath Crisis. A group of volunteers who helped people with AIDS. This was early in the epidemic when fear and ignorance were rampant. When our government turned its backs on us, because it was thought to be a "gay plague." When Ronald Reagan never mentioned the word, AIDS. As of December 2000...448,060 deaths reported in the US alone. 21 million worldwide. Today, an estimated 36 million people are infected with HIV. Now, add to these numbers the families and friends that are affected and the enormity of this plague overwhelms you.

In the early 80's, nurses wouldn't enter the rooms of patients with AIDS. Some doctors wouldn't treat them. Young men were dying in their own feces unattended in some of our major hospitals. Women were dying too. But many of them, at that time, were misdiagnosed.It was a time of heightened despair. A state that is familiar to all of us today. A state that is always existing somewhere in the world.

But New York City is a very special place. It's a cliché. As cliché as the idea of the experienced hooker with the heart of gold is. But that's what New York really is. It's like that idea of the hooker. It's loud, bossy, rude, theatrical, overdone, but it does have an enormous heart. All kinds of people in that city live next to each other, on top of each other, and are forced to deal with each other. They can't do what we can easily do here...segregate ourselves from each other.

So a group of gay men came together (as people are doing now in New York) and formed GMHC...The Gay Men's Health Crisis. We were joined by many Lesbians and straight women. A handful of volunteers grew into hundreds and then thousands. An interesting sidebar...it was quite a long while, before a straight man volunteered.
Each volunteer would be assigned a client...someone with AIDS (we didn't call it HIV then). What we did...we counselled people...tried educating ourselves and others...kept people company...shopped for them ...cooked...walked their dogs... cleaned their houses...cleaned their hospital rooms...emptied bed pans...worked as their advocates (in hospitals, with their landlords, with their families). We tried to get the city to be more responsive to the problems that people with AIDS were having. A common one was, at that time, many lovers being locked out of their own apartments. In New York, they usually would allow only one name on the lease. So if your lover (partner) died and his name was on the lease, you were locked out of the apartment by the police until the cause of death was determined. It was tragic seeing a man, following the body of his lover, being escorted out of his home by the police. We lived with a lot of phones ringing in the middle of many nights.

We also lived in crowded emergency rooms. St. Vincent's Hospital, in the Greenwich Village, quickly ran out of hospital beds. Often a patient, often very, very ill, would have his or her bed in the emergency room for over a week. The hospital, under-staffed, would ask family members, friends, or volunteers to stay with the patient during this time.

My team was my work and my savior at this time. I remember the day I joined GMHC. Tom and I had lost a close friend, soon we would know hundreds of people that would die and most of our close friends. I was interviewed by a very aggressive, bossy lesbian. Sandy. I told her I wanted to stuff envelopes. I was embarrassed to admit that I was too overwhelmed to work directly with people with AIDS. I was frightened for myself, for Tom, for all my friends. Then I began to cry. She said it would be best all around if I worked with people with AIDS. That's where I was needed. That's what I needed. I thought, “This lady is nuts.” I told her I was a basket case. That I would cry in front of the patients.That I identified too much with them. That's why, she said, I could really help. "But I'm crying way too much these days," I told her. She said, "Sometimes people need other people to cry for them."

I went through the training, which was rather intense, and then I joined Team 10. Our team leaders were two very smart, sensitive people. I was given my first client...Stephen...and it was a baptism of

fire. Stephen's family wanted little to do with him. He had no money, and he was getting sicker by the day. Stephen was wonderful, but sometimes it was difficult to be with him. He was in a rage at the illness and a rage at how people were treating him. When he entered the hospital, the true nightmare began. Nurses left his food outside his room. They didn’t clean him or his room. He died in a couple of weeks in his own feces.

I was in a state of rage and anger. As a gay theatre boy, I had no idea what to do. But theatre trains one to think a certain way. Pay little attention to what people say. Pay a lot of attention to what they do. I took action. I called city officials. I called city counsel people. I tried even to get the Mayor. I was accused of being a hysteric. My team supported and helped me. Finally, I got somebody, rather high up, at the Board of health. She actually called me to tell me to stop bothering people. Her take was...we were in a crisis, people were scared, and I was over reacting. I asked her to meet me at the hospital that evening. She said she was too busy. I lost it. Suddenly I was really sounding crazy. She didn't hang up on me...held in there...then said okay. We met. She was stunned. Actually, got sick, right there in the hospital. That night she called me drunk saying she had never seen anything that appalling. With her help, my team, my team leaders, GMHC...we sued Roosevelt Hospital... and won.

Slowly things changed in New York. People got educated and a lot of good people took over. When times are evil, a friend of mine recently said...we must weigh in on the side of good. And good people began to show up. Nurses, who chose to work on AIDS' floors, did things beyond the call of duty.

I eventually became the team leader and worked with a group of people who I worshipped. Truly compassionate people. There was Doctor Fred, who was an emergency medical doctor who, although I was his supervisor, became my spiritual teacher. He was, still is, so wise and caring. There were gay men just out of college spending their free time, not in bars and discos or having fun, as was their right, but in hospital rooms. There was Bonnie, a straight woman, who had recently lost her brother. And then there was Nancy. Twenty-three. From the Midwest. Never knew any gay people. She was about to get married, and her entire focus was her wedding plans. When she was assigned to my team, I thought, "What the hell can I do with her?" She was blond, pretty, and way too perky for the likes of me. How prejudiced I was. How I misjudged her. Her instincts with people were always correct. Her heart was enormous. She knew how to listen. She just loved. Truly, simply. She made a such a close friend of a lonely, young boy, for over a year, who she helped die with dignity.

Then, as now, it's time for us to keep our hearts open. And Buddhism gives us the tools. The Buddha taught us we are all one. The Buddha preached compassion. The Buddha knew what he was talking about.

We might not be able to work next to the firemen at the World Trade Center...we might not have the time to give our lives over to volunteerism. But we all can do something. If we all pay more attention to our practice, we will be doing a lot. Yesterday, when I spoke to the Rev. Sakya Bodhi, he reminded me that compassion starts with compassion for our ownselves. Well, if we are compassionate for our ownselves, then I think, we will listen to others more. Not pass the homeless on the street, like they don't exist. Be kinder to ourselves, our friends, parents, and relatives. And curb the hate we have for our enemies. Now, as always, is time for us to turn to the teachings of the Buddha.

May we all be well and happy, peaceful and free from suffering. May no harm come to us. May no difficulties come to us. May no problems come to us. May we always find fulfillment. May we also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination, to meet and overcome the inevitable difficulties, problems, and failures in life.

I thank you for listening.


A Brave and Startling Truth
by Maya Angelou, written and delivered in honor of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations.

We, this people, on a small and lonely planet
Traveling through casual space
Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns
To a destination where all signs tell us
It is possible and imperative that we learn
A brave and startling truth

And when we come to it
To the day of peacemaking
When we release our fingers
>From fists of hostility
And allow the pure air to cool our palms

When we come to it
When the curtain falls on the minstrel show of hate
And faces sooted with scorn and scrubbed clean
When battlefields and coliseum
No longer rake our unique and particular sons and daughters
Up with the bruised and bloody grass
To lie in identical plots in foreign soil

When the rapacious storming of the churches
The screaming racket in the temples have ceased
When the pennants are waving gaily
When the banners of the world tremble
Stoutly in the good, clean breeze

When we come to it
When we let the rifles fall from our shoulders
And children dress their dolls in flags of truce
When land mines of death have been removed
And the aged can walk into evenings of peace
When religious ritual is not perfumed
By the incense of burning flesh
And childhood dreams are not kicked awake
By nightmares of abuse

When we come to it
Then we will confess that not the Pyramids
With their stones set in mysterious perfection
Nor the Gardens of Babylon
Hanging as eternal beauty
In our collective memory
Not the Grand Canyon
Kindled into delicious color
By Western sunsets
Nor the Danube, flowing its blue soul into Europe
Not the sacred peak of Mount Fuji
Stretching to the Rising Sun
Neither Father Amazon nor Mother Mississippi who, without favor,
Nurture all creatures in the depths and on the shores
These are not the only wonders of the world

When we come to it
We, this people, on this minuscule and kithless globe
Who reach daily for the bomb, the blade and the dagger
Yet who petition in the dark for tokens of peace
We, this people on this mote of matter
In whose mouths abide cankerous words
Which challenge our very existence
Yet out of those same mouths
Come songs of such exquisite sweetness
That the heart falters in its labor
And the body is quieted into awe

We, this people, on this small and drifting planet
Whose hands can strike with such abandon
That in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living
Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness
That the haughty neck is happy to bow
And the proud back is glad to bend
Out of such chaos, of such contradiction
We learn that we are neither devils nor divines

When we come to it
We, this people, on this wayward, floating body
Created on this earth, of this earth
Have the power to fashion for this earth
A climate where every man and every woman
Can live freely without sanctimonious piety
Without crippling fear

When we come to it
We must confess that we are the possible
We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world
That is when, and only when
We come to it.