Peace on Earth, Goodwill to all men

The First Mindfulness Training or Precept - Reverence for Life.

"Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating compassion and learning ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life."

This first Mindfulness Training is about non-violence, however it is also about the celebration of the reverence of life.

Last week I wrote that to practice non-violence in our lives we have to first learn how to deal peacefully with ourselves. If we are able to create true harmony within ourselves then we will know how to deal with family, friends and associates. I also wrote that if we realise that we are all of the one creation, of the one divinity, of one universe, then we can see the nature of our oneness or our "inter-being" and stop our blaming. We can see that by refraining from doing "this", we prevent "that" from happening. Now let's look at the bigger picture, violence and killing in the world.

In developing correct insight, we will stop blaming, arguing, and killing and we will become friends with everyone. In the 1960s there were many young people who protested war. They assumed they were peaceful folk. However, in looking deeply, they would have observed the roots of war in the unmindful ways in which they were living.

When we have not sown enough seeds of peace and understanding in ourselves, we are co-responsible. "Because I have been like this, they are like that". However, if we have more reverence for all life, a more holistic way of being, of "interbeing", we would say, "This is like this, because that is like that." This is understanding and love.

With such an insight we can see clearly and can help our own governments see more clearly. Rather than condemning others, we could go to demonstrations and say, "This war is unjust, destructive and not worthy of our wonderful nation."

So to practice non-violence we must first look within ourselves. Even army generals can practice non-violence. They can use war strategies that avoid killing innocent persons. However, we cannot divide into two camps non-violent and violent. We cannot stand in one camp while attacking the other, for the world will never be at peace. First we must work on ourselves and also work with those we condemn if we want to have any real impact. It can never help to draw lines and dismiss others as our enemies, even those who act violently. We have to approach them with understanding in our hearts and do our best to help them look at the suffering in themselves and help them move in the direction of non-violence. Christ taught us to, "Love our neighbours, as ourselves." Working for peace out of anger will never work. Peace is never the end. It can never come about through non-peaceful means. Like life, it is the journey not the destination that matters.

The most important thing to become is non-violent. When an upsetting situation presents itself, we do not want to create more suffering. To practice non-violence we need to be gentle first towards ourselves. We need to practice loving kindness and compassion towards our bodies and feelings. With mindfulness - the practice of peaceful living - we can begin to transform the wars within our own bodies and feelings. One of the techniques for doing this is conscious breathing. Whenever we are angry or upset, we can stop what we are doing, not say anything, and breathe in and out several times, aware of each in-breath and each out-breath. If we continue to feel upset we can go for a mindful walking meditation, aware of each slow step and each breath we take.

By cultivating peace within ourselves we bring about peace in society. Peace depends on us. It is, however, a lifetime practice. Looking deeply into the practice of this training every day, when we buy or consume something we may be condoning some form of killing. While practising the protection of people, animals, plants and minerals we know that we are protecting ourselves. We then feel in loving touch with all species on Earth. Feeling loving kindness or compassion is not enough we must learn how to express it. Love must go together with understanding and insight to show us how to act. However, our greatest enemy is our forgetfulness - we forget to be mindful - more on that next week!

The Mindfulness Practice Community of Bermuda meets weekly in Hamilton to support peaceful living practices, call 236-4988 or email iamhomeibl.bm