THINKING ABOUT WAR FROM THIS PLACE OF PEACE

The other day, I thought I’d try to win the Nobel Peace Prize. I thought that I’d open a discussion which attempted to engage people in trying to find the root causes of war. I thought, I’d offer my blog space up as a forum. And I know, from the statistics, there are a fair number of visitors to the blog. Hundreds at least, on any given day.

But not much of a response. Yesterday, however, a thoughtful email appeared in my mailbox. From butuki. (He has a beautiful, thoughtful site at butuki.com)

"Over the last few days I kept coming back to your site to read and re-read your
posts about war, and my thoughts were so muddled and out of reach that I just didn't know how to start to say anything in comment. Part of it, I guess, is exhaustion with the insanity that Bush and his likes are pushing on everyone, as if we can all keep being force fed and not get fed up. I think even the staunchest supporter of Bush cannot go along with this nonsense forever... it is anti-life, anti-sense.

Maybe the question should not be why does war start... I think we all know why (and all your suggestions over the last few days perhaps stated the obvious). Maybe the question that should be asked, what can we do to encourage peace and maintain it?

I am not furious with Bush for his stupidity or foolishness, but for his hubris. And for his damn pushing of unending war. War is not what people anywhere in the world need to get on with their lives, calmness in the face of great troubles, cooperation, and carefully thought out understanding are."

Thank you butuki for sending me the medicine for my recent headaches. I was looking at the causes of war when I should’ve been thinking of creating peace!

Could it be that people are just plain tired of talking about war? After all, as I was just reminded, peace is free for the taking. So maybe that is what I should concentrate on.

Yesterday I began by sitting in on a session where the monks were chanting the names of Buddha at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. I should be doing more of that sort of thing.