Mindfulness and the Transformation Of Gun Violence

A teaching offered by lay Dharma Teacher Jack Lawlor (True Direction) in response to recent gun violence in the United States

There are no words to describe the horror and suffering caused by ascending levels of gun violence in the United States.

How do mindfulness practitioners respond?

I have been very concerned about the correlation between decreasing levels of civility in political and social discourse and the increase in gun manufacture and sales since 2008.  On the evening of Barack Obama’s election victory in November 2008, I was driving to Wisconsin and made a stop at an unfamiliar camping equipment store.  When I entered, I couldn’t believe the crowd and commotion along the entire rear wall of the building, which contained rows of rifles for sale.  Scores of people were waiting in line to make purchases.  Young families with babies and little children in modest clothing were pushing large shopping carts overflowing with boxes of ammunition toward the cashiers.

How do we understand the rise in gun ownership and use in the U.S.? And how to we stem the violence?

Our Root Teacher was at various times very much exposed to violence.  Thay lost many friends during frightening, violent years in Vietnam.

When I am perplexed by what is going on in our society, and try to seek ways to respond creatively, I have developed the habit of reflecting on how Thay responded to analogous situations.  Thay transformed suffering in himself, and in society, many times in his life.  He is a reliable example.  His teachings are authentic, derived from life and experience.

Let us first reflect on the recent role of guns in U.S. society.

Then, let us explore three things:  how to initially respond to suffering in general, how to look deeply into the sources of suffering, and how to join hands with others in transforming the suffering of society, including that related to guns.

THE RECENT ROLE OF GUNS IN U.S. SOCIETY

Reviewing recent data, the BBC concludes that “Firearm deaths are a feature of American life.”

BBC research,  published on May 25 of this year in an article entitled “American’s Gun Culture – In Seven Charts”, indicates that there were 1.5 million gun deaths in the U.S. between 1968 and 2017, more than all U.S. soldiers killed in U.S. conflicts between 1775 and 2017.

In 2020, there were over 45,000 deaths by homicide or suicide in the U.S.  This is a 25% increase over five years previous and a 43% increase since 2010.

Gun ownership in the U.S. is now 120.5 firearms per 100 residents; in short, we have more guns than people.

The rate of gun ownership has been increasing.  The BBC reports that the Annals of Internal Medicine has determined that 7.5 million adults – just under 3% of the U.S. population – became gun owners for the first time in their lives between July 2016 and April of 2021, exposing 11 million additional people to firearms within their homes as a result, including 5 million children.  This report states that 50% of these new gun owners are women, and 40% black or Hispanic.

In 2020, there were 43,676 deaths by gun in the U.S.  Of these, 24, 292 were suicides and 19,384 were homicides, a 34% increase since 2019 and a 75% increase over the previous years.  That’s 53 deaths by gun homicide each day.  Seventy-nine percent of all U.S. murders are by gun.

The New York Times reported on June 5 of this year that, had there been the political will to adopt four pending pieces of federal legislation regarding guns, the course of 35 mass shootings -- a third of U.S. episodes since the tragedy at Columbine High School in 1999 -- could have been changed, saving the lives of 446 people.

Below, we’ll discuss ways to support reform through joint efforts with others to reduce gun violence.

But first, let’s go deeper.  How do we calm ourselves and look deeply into the underlying causes and conditions leading to the manufacture and purchase of so much weaponry, and so much violence?

HOW TO RESPOND INITIALLY TO SUFFERING

It is understandable why we feel overwhelmed by what we are seeing on TV and social media.

The statistics cited above are more than just statistics.  Each gun death is an unimaginable tragedy that effects entire families, including their children, as well as friends and co-workers.

Should we try to isolate ourselves, perhaps finding a way to live in a fortress?

Students of Thay realize that the world is so fluid, and interrelated, that this is not possible.

On the other hand, do we immediately lash out in anger at those who disagree with us?  Do we stigmatize them and demonize them?

We might enjoy the initial rush of adrenaline, but once let loose, anger is like a missile that cannot be controlled or taken back.  It easily leads to the escalation of anger and mistrust, possibly contributing to more violence.

How did Thay respond to overwhelming suffering?

When Thay learned of the tragedy of 9/11, he first resorted to the miracle of mindfulness.

When we in Chicago first met Thay at a small retreat in 1989, he repeatedly invited us to master – yes, his word was “master” – three practices:  sitting meditation, walking meditation and the use of the little poems known as gathas, all based on the practice of conscious, attentive breathing.  Mindful breathing is not just thinking about breathing, but instead sensing and merging our attention in the experience of each inhalation, each exhalation.  Breath practice is a wide open source of refuge, available to us at all times.  I enjoy merging my attention in the slight movements of what the Japanese call the hara, the diaphragm muscle between the lungs and the stomach.  It expands slightly when we breathe in, and returns to its original position when we breathe out.  Think of it as belly breathing!  An amazing sense of centeredness and peace can be evoked by enjoying diaphragmatic, mindful breathing, even in the midst of confusion and doubt.

When Thay first learned of the tragedy of 9/11, it is not surprising that he invited the Sangha to practice outdoor walking meditation rooted in the practice of mindful breathing with each step.  Breathing in with the first mindful step, breathing out with the next mindful step, and so on.  Thay did not panic or express anger or outrage.

We can respond in mindfulness, rather than react with anger, in the same way.  In his many retreats throughout the United States in the mid-to-late 1990s, Thay would assure us that we each have the right to suffer.  It is natural for us to suffer when we learn about the loss of life.  We hurt for those directly affected and we feel violated and resentful as well.  This is all human, natural and understandable.  But Thay also startled us with his ensuing observation.  Yes, we have the right to suffer, he said.  But, he continued:  we do not have the right not to practice.

This advice is not harsh, judgmental, or simplistic.  It is an open invitation to transform suffering.

So, when startled by report after report of tragic news in an increasingly violent world, let’s be sure to take refuge in the many forms of the miracle of mindfulness practice based on merging our attention in the breath.  Doing so is a first step toward healing and knowing what to do and what not to do in response to what is happening.  I’ve developed a little gatha for this purpose.  The essence of gatha practice is to enjoy an inhalation with the first line of the poem, an exhalation with the next line, and so on.  My gatha for the purpose of lessening my reactivity to bad news or harsh speech is:

            Habit energies arising in me

            Stimulated by news

            Or by another’s speech.

            I take refuge in the breath

            Before judging and reacting.

One of Thay’s earliest examples of a breath gatha goes still deeper.

At our first Chicago retreat with Thay 33 years ago, Thay offered us a very simple gatha that serves as a kind of map when we are startled and perplexed by what has happened:

            Stop

            Be

            Look

            See

Only a Zen poet could express so much of the teachings in four words!

How do we work with this four word gatha in the face of startling news, disappointment, fear? Let’s explore each simple, evocative word in the gatha:

1.         STOPPING.  Enjoying an inhalation mindfully, we practice stopping.  We merge our attention in the hurt and embrace and accept, rather than reject, the pain.  Doing so, we can resist the temptation to flee, to escape, to find a distraction.  Instead, we recognize, embrace and accept the hurt, the surprise.  I visualize that I am slowly breathing in and out through the emotion with gentleness and care.  When we feel anger arising in us, taking refuge in the breath in this way can save us from reacting inappropriately fueled by the white sugar of anger.  We are no longer compelled to respond in rage and rash behavior as, perhaps, our father and grandfather may have done in this situation.  Yes, tragedy has occurred.  But by taking refuge in the miracle of mindfulness, immersing our attention in the experience of each inhalation and exhalation, we calm ourselves and become open to not only what’s wrong, but what’s right, what’s possible despite difficulties.  Mindful options begin to present themselves.  Socially engaged practitioners recognize how practicing in this way is a source of resilience even in the face of disappointment.

2.         BEING.  Enjoying inhalations  and exhalations, we just sit and be.  Centered in the breath, we have enough equanimity to notice what is still solid and healthy in us, and we dwell there.  There is a mountain in us, and we can be its solidity and peace.  We are solid as the mountain, fresh as the dew.  Practicing in this way rather than fret in dispersion, we preserve and renew our energy, finding ourselves more capable of helping others.  Our mind settles, lucid and free.

3.         LOOKING.  Engaging in breath-based mindfulness practice, we can resist the temptation to look away, and instead we learn to face what has happened.  We begin to have faith in our ability to look at what is difficult and find ways to untie the emotional knots that our father and grandfather might have had, which they likely inherited from their father and grandfather.  We can break the chain of habit energy and suffering by cultivating what’s solid and healthy that was transmitted to us by our ancestors as well.  We can feel the tug of habit energies we have inherited from our blood family and our society but we do not become emotionally hijacked by them.  We just sit and be in the present moment at the intersection of past and present.  Practicing in this way brings intergenerational healing.  The suffering of the past is no longer transmitted to the next generation.  We have let our reactive habit energies go, and as we continue our sitting and walking meditation we welcome taste of freedom, even in the midst of trying circumstances!  Taking refuge in the breath, we have faith that suffering can be transformed even in seemingly hopeless situations.  This is not “faith” in the sense of a projection of what is possible due to religion.  It is instead faith in the form of confidence based on our prior experience of success in transforming other forms of suffering, rather than be stuck in suffering.

4.         SEEING.  Taking refuge in the breath, breathing deeply but gently from the deft movements of the diaphragm muscle between our lungs and our stomachs, we now have the poise and confidence to see clearly into what is arising, abiding, and changing inside and around us.  Rooted in centeredness and peace, the view is clear, not impeded by compulsions and ideology Remaining centered in the breath not only during our sitting meditation but as we move mindfully throughout the day, we become more lucid, and capable of seeing more deeply.  We see how fluid everything is, like a dance.  We see how everything that manifests is interrelated.  We even begin to see not only how others affect us, but how our attitudes, words and actions effect other people.

Again, this is a complete mindfulness practice offered by Thay in just four words:  stop, be, look, see.

All of Thay’s teachings on taking refuge in mindfulness in response to suffering are consistent with the teachings of the Buddha.  The Buddha offered this same form of refuge to everyone he encountered throughout his entire teaching career.  Late in the Buddha’s life, there was a touching discussion between the Buddha and his lifelong childhood friend, King Pasenandi.  In discussing their old age together, the King confided his fear about what was to come since illness and death were no longer on the far horizon.  The Buddha responded by asking the king what he would do if messengers arrive at his royal court announcing that a huge mountain range was approaching from the north, crushing everything in its path.  Before the king could respond, the Buddha then asked his old friend what he would do if another messenger arrived announcing that another mountain range was approaching from the south, once again obliterating everything in its way.  The Buddha then described the arrival of similar messengers describing the same deadly advance of mountain ranges from the remaining directions, from the east and west.  The Buddha again asked what the king should do once these messengers arrived.  The Buddha’s old friend reflected on this for a while, and then confided, “Lord, I would dwell in mindfulness notwithstanding this news throughout my remaining days.”  The Buddha nodded, indicating that this was indeed the correct answer, and revealed to the king that the advancing mountains in his story are actually the advancing mountains we face in daily life:  the approach of old age, sickness and death.  We have the right to experience fear and suffering.  But again in Thay’s words, “We do not have the right not to practice.”

We need to be calm and free in order to, in the words of the Samantabadra verses in the Plum Village Chanting Book, have the energy to “bring joy to one person in the morning and ease the pain of one person in the afternoon, experiencing joy on the path of service.” 

LOOKING DEEPLY AT THE SOURCES OF SUFFERING

Do we accept the phenomenon of gun violence passively?

Do we hide in gated communities?

Or do we hasten to lash out and demonize anyone we disagree with?

Or do we look deeply at underlying causes and conditions in an effort to reduce suffering?

Before either attempting to isolate ourselves from suffering, or acting rashly toward others out of disappointment and anger, Thay taught us an intervening step.  From the calm and equanimity made possible by mindfulness, our concentration grows naturally without struggle, and we begin to see and understand things in a new way, based on our experience of the fluid impermanence and interdependence of all that manifests.

This is the practice of insight meditation.

Thanks to the Buddha’s Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing and the Discourse on the Four Foundation of Mindfulness, we train to be aware of what is arising, abiding, and changing in four manifestations:  our bodies, our feelings, our mind, and what the Sutras refer to as “mental formations”.  For me, it has been helpful to consider “mental formations” to be akin to the habit energies I have picked up from my blood family, my community, my education, my workplace and modern culture.

We practice insight meditation while continuing the practice of mindful breathing, remaining gently centered in our inhalations and exhalations, with the sensation of breathing now a bit in the background, rather than the forefront.

We observe what arises, abides for a while, and changes in the body.  Doing so, we begin to see and understand how the condition of the body effects our feelings, our way of thinking, and our habit energies. 

We observe what arises, abides for a while, and changes in our feelings.  It is also illuminating to see and understand how our feelings effect the condition of our body, what we are thinking, and our ingrained habit energies. 

We observe how our quicksilver thinking arises, abides for a while, and changes.  We learn firsthand how our way of thinking will determine whether our body gets a chance to nourish and heal, whether our feelings are understood or not, and whether we see and understand how our reactivity might be rooted in tendencies communicated to us by our blood family and society.

We observe how these habit energies arise, abide and affect us, and change.  Looking deeply at our internal habit energies, our tendencies, our mental formations reveals how this habitual way of living effects our body, our feelings and our thinking.

Looking deeply in this way reveals the fluid nature of all that is going on and the seamlessly interwoven, interdependent nature of all that manifests.  We now know directly that our body, feelings, thoughts and habit energies are highly fluid and highly interdependent.  As our lucidity grows, we even begin to see and understand not only how others affect us, but also how our conduct impacts those near us, our society and the world.

When we pause and practice mindfulness of the breath not only to calm ourselves, but also to look deeply into the causes and conditions giving rise to all that manifests, including suffering in ourselves and in society, we are continuations of the Buddha and Thay.

The Buddha’s Four Noble Truths, which I enjoy contemplating as the Buddha’s four noble observations, are clinical and scientific ways at looking deeply into the causes of suffering and in and of themselves comprise a kind of insight meditation.  First, the Buddha admits, suffering exists.  We can’t deny its existence, although from time to time we try.  (The First Noble Truth).  Second, the Buddha looked deeply to diagnose the sources of suffering, which he found repeatedly to be greed, anger, and delusion/misperception.  (The Second Noble Truth).  Third, the Buddha offered us the good news, sometimes overlooked by early European visitors to China and Japan, that there is a way of life that can transform and mitigate this suffering.  (The Third Noble Truth).  Finally, the Buddha described a concrete way of life imbued not only by mindfulness and the gentle concentration afforded by mindfulness, but also by looking deeply and understanding (The Fourth Noble Truth).

Thay has provided wonderful instruction on how to practice insight meditation based on the Buddha’s primary discourses on these subjects.  Practicing in this way is inherently socially engaged.  Thay has called the interaction of mindfulness, concentration and insight “the mechanics of compassion”.  Why?  Because practicing in this way helps us see and understand ourselves and others in relation to one another.  This understanding gives rise to compassion, and compassion gives rise to love.  Without much intellection, we know what to do and what not to do to mitigate suffering in ourselves and in society because we can better identify the causes of suffering in any given situation in a fluid, highly interdependent world.

As demonstrated by The New York Times, it is clear beyond doubt that legislative reform can reduce the type of killing we have been witnessing.  Various ways to join hands with others in seeking legislative relief is explored below.

But is it also clear, as indicated by Thay, that there are still deeper causes of violence rooted in greed, anger, delusion.  We need to care enough not only about gun violence, but also about each other, in order to pursue these curatives as well.  Regulating the manufacture, sale, and use of guns are necessary to reduce this suffering substantially.  But there are still deeper causes and conditions giving rise to gun violence that will need to be addressed.  Poverty, racism, economic injustice, family disfunction, a violent popular culture, and the difficulty of accessing high-quality affordable mental health care are significant contributory factors as well.  Can we find the resolve and persistence to address these causes and conditions as well?

Perhaps what is missing is love, care and respect for each other.  Our local Sangha frequently shares the Buddha’s Discourse on Love in public forums, such as peace vigils, Hiroshima Day commemorations, peace marches and teach-ins at colleges and universities.  If we loved each other, civil dialogue would be possible on how to reduce the availability of weapons and how to address the additional causes and conditions giving rise to so much violence in U.S. society.  For the essence of the Discourse on Love reminds us from 26 centuries ago:

May everyone be happy and safe, and may hearts be filled with joy.

May all beings live in security and peace – beings who are frail or strong, tall or short, big or small, invisible or visible, near or far away, already born, or yet to be born.

May all of them dwell in peace and perfect tranquility.  Let no one put the life of anyone in danger.  Let no one out of anger or ill will wish any one any harm.

Just as a mother loves and protects her only child at the risk of her own life, cultivate boundless love to offer to all living beings in the entire cosmos.

Let our boundless love pervade the whole universe, above, below and across.  Our love will know no obstacles.  Our heart will be absolutely free from enmity.  Whether standing or walking sitting or lying down, as long as we are awake, we should maintain mindfulness of love in our heart.

This is the noblest way of living.

JOINING HANDS WITH OTHERS IN TRANSFORMING THE SUFFERING CAUSED BY GUN VIOLENCE

Although love is at the heart of world religions, it is little mentioned today.

Thay’s “mechanics of compassion”, if weaved into our lives, enables us to develop understanding, which in turn makes love possible.  Thay has explained, “....without understanding, how can we love? Love is the intention and capacity to bring joy to others, and remove and transform the pain that is in them.”

Doing so is inherently socially engaged.  Our task is to disarm the culture wars that contribute to violence, to be exemplars of peace rather than division and demonization.

Many were originally attracted to Thay because of the pragmatic ways that he nourished the cause of non-violence and peace:  advocating for cease fires, creating opportunities for civil dialogue and understanding between warring parties, protecting the lives of refugees, and sowing seeds of understanding and love everywhere he went.

Thay has also sent us suggestions about how to practice in other circumstances.

Thay has urged us not to turn away from suffering.  In 1989, not so many years after the last military battle had been fought in Vietnam and after the flight of the “boat people” escaping their country, Thay introduced to Chicagoans at our little retreat an early version of The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings of the Order of Interbeing that had a crisp, Zen-like focus.  The Fourth Mindfulness Training of this version stated:

Do not avoid contact with suffering or close your eyes before suffering.  Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world.  Find ways to be with those who are suffering, including personal contact, visits, images and sounds.  By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world.

We were further advised to look deeply in this way free of ideology.  The first three of this early version of the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings of the Order of Interbeing advised us:

Do not be idolatrous about, or bound to, any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones.  Buddhist systems of thought are guiding means.  They are not absolute truth.

Do not think the knowledge you presently possess is changeless absolute truth.  Avoid being narrow-minded and bound to present views.  Learn and practice non-attachment to views in order to be open to others viewpoints.  Truth is found in life and not merely in conceptual knowledge.  Be ready to learn throughout your entire life and to observe reality in yourself and in the world at all times.

Do not force others, including children, by any means whatsoever, to adopt your views, whether by authority, threat, money or even education.  However, through compassionate dialogue, help others renounce fanaticism and narrowness.

For a long, long time, the U.S. Congress and the American people have been unable to have a civil, adult dialogue regarding guns in U.S. society.  Guns are said to be part of American culture, and guns are as a result part of the U.S. “culture wars”, a war based less on logic and reason than by differing family traditions, habit energies and self-identity.

Nonetheless, by practicing Thay’s “mechanics of compassion” in approaching others to find a resolution of gun-related issues in a manner free of ideology, it may be possible to open civilized dialogue on gun control with legislators and other citizens, rather than talking over each other and shouting.  Efforts to do just that are underway once again in the U.S. Senate.

My family has had a degree of success having a dialogue with citizens with differing backgrounds on a contentious issue.  For many years, we have lived part time near a pristine rural lake located in the middle of a huge marsh in a glacial outwash valley.  A glacial moraine ridge rose to a height of about 300 feet as the last glaciers receded, leaving a glacial kettle lake and a glacial outwash wetland valley below.  The undeveloped landscape today likely resembles how the area looked 11,000 years ago when mile-high glaciers known as the Wisconsin glaciation retreated north.  Newly identified threatened and endangered species are still being discovered in this ecosystem.  But twice in the past twenty years the health of this unique watershed has been severely threatened.  Unless someone acted, two separate but equally harmful developments would have severely degraded this unique “state natural area” and possibly damaged it irreversibly:  the first was a proposal to construct a large subdivision on 500 acres of nearby highlands that drain directly into the marsh with its associated lawn care nutrients and septic draining, and the second being an odd proposal to divert and pump “excess” water from a nearby, less healthy, eutrophic lake to this pristine lake and wetland ecosystem.  Our family twice decided to interrupt other plans over two summers to befriend the lake.

We avoided demonizing people over their different lifestyles, politics and priorities.  In each case, we wrote plainly worded, straightforward petitions describing calmly what was at stake.  We spoke with relevant government officials.  We spoke with allies among environmental groups.  We went door to door with our petition, describing what was at stake with our rural neighbors, who sometimes expressed dislike for environmentalists but who loved to hunt and fish in an ecologically healthy habitat.  What we found was that many people were very afraid to speak out, to “seem different”, in the context of their rural community to defend the ecosystem.  They did not want their names to appear on any emailed correspondence, even as “cc’s”.  But we persisted in befriending them, gently.  We did not use acronyms.  We did not mix issues.  We did not demonize anyone.  We stayed on point.  Then, a kind of tipping point away from fear took place when our rural neighbors realized that others loved and cared for this ecosystem as much as they did, privately.  There is strength in numbers, even if the numbers are small, and eventually people were willing to stand up together for the health of the valley.  Eventually, we had over eighty rural allies in each of these two cases willing to speak out in favor of this ancient ecosystem so that it might last 11,000 more years.  The local Township town hall had never had anything like eighty people attend local hearings.  The amount of density allowed by local township government for the proposed housing development was sufficiently reduced by the Township board to give the developer pause about the underlying economics of his project.  That gave The Nature Conservancy enough time to muster funds to purchase and preserve forever by means of recorded “no build” conservation easements binding the entire 500 acre upland tract.  We next succeeded in aligning so many local citizens, environmental organizations, and units of local government against the water diversion project that the proponent withdrew its water diversion application.  All this through calm, civil dialogue.

We should send love letters of support to those elected official who are indeed willing to engage in civil conversation not only about the environment but also about the emotionally charged subject of gun manufacture, acquisition, and regulation. 

The world’s religions historically stand for approaching one another with mutual respect so that there is no need to resort to violence, or to threats of violence.  In the spirit of the Discourse on Love, perhaps we can change the current political atmosphere by reaching out to leaders of faith in other non-Buddhist denominations, seeking their help in raising consciousness about the dignity of life as the common ground for having productive discussions about legislation that can help stop the killing.

We all are suffering from this violence.  But its roots go deep, perhaps beyond what any legislation or even packages of legislation can do by themselves.  Back in 1991, Thay was as upset as any of us about the beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles.  The acquittal of the police officers who beat Rodney King led to further tragedy:  days of rioting in Los Angeles.

In Thay’s April 15, 1991  article, “We are the Beaters, We are the Beaten”, Thay makes the following startling observation:

“....looking more deeply, I was able to see that the policemen who were beating Rodney King was also myself.”

Thay then asks:

“Why were they [the police] doing that?  Because they were full of hatred and violence.  Everything we do is like a bomb ready to explode, and we are part of that bomb...

From the Buddhist perspective, I have not practiced deeply enough to transform the situation with the policemen.

Putting the policemen in prison or firing the chief of police will not solve our fundamental problems.  We have all helped to create the situation with our own forgetfulness and our way of living.  Violence has become a substance of our life, and we are not very different than those who did the beating.

It is our affair.  We are not observers.  We are participants.”

This is a penetrating, insightful, and radical analysis.

In today’s context of gun violence, and our society’s inability to have civil discussions about how to transform this violence and suffering, I am forced to ask:

             -- Have I become totally isolated from those I disagree with politically?

             -- Do I ever consider their perspective?

             -- Do I tend to demonize those I disagree with about guns and related issues?

I have been asking myself these questions since 2008, when several dozen friends from Illinois crossed state lines into Wisconsin to join with friends from Madison to do door-to-door political canvassing in the weekend just before the Obama/McCain presidential election.  Our volunteers were instructed to assemble in the United Auto Workers union hall in Janesville, Wisconsin.  When we entered, we found ourselves in the midst of a Halloween party that the union was providing its children.  We found ourselves getting our thick packet of instructions and addresses in crowded hallways shared with tiny angels, goblins, cowgirls, miniature Luke Skywalkers, Yodas and so on.  None of these children likely knew that something had just happened that would change their lives:  that all their parents, each of them United Auto Workers union members, had just the day before lost their jobs because General Motors had just decided to close its Janesville plant, said by some to be GM’s oldest manufacturing plant, visible from the Union hall’s parking lot.

Still deeper insight into the roots of some of the deep political unease in this country came next.  As we fanned out to knock on doors in the modest nearby subdivisions, we were startled at what we saw.  We had read about the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis in the newspapers, but in Janesville its massive impact was clearly evident.  Approximately one out of every three of the homes we were supposed to visit were boarded up.  The boards were covered with legal foreclosure notices from sub-prime lenders.  Furniture and other personal belongings cluttered the curbsides, no doubt removed from the interior of the homes by the County Sheriff.  Backyards were filled with heaps of outdoor toys -- Big Wheel bikes, play kitchens, rocking horses -- as if ready to be set aflame like raked bunches of autumn leaves.  As we went door-to-door asking people how they intended to vote and if they needed a ride to get to polling places, we were informed time and time again that this suffering was caused by financial elites with no sense of civility, love or restraint taking advantage of working people.  The manifestation of their anger bloomed in the 2016 election not far ahead.

Mindfulness practitioners earnestly seek to learn ways to help in concrete ways. 

I have been suggesting that Sangha members continue to look deeply into how international and national issues touch their region and community.  What are the sources of suffering that attract your attention?

I then suggest that Sangha members reflect on their own talents, what they have been trained to do, what they like to do.

Lastly, I suggest that Sangha members look at the point of intersection of the needs of others, on the one hand, and their interests and their talents, on the other.  At that point of intersection, there are ways to begin contributing to the mitigation of suffering.  And as Thay has suggested, if you touch one source of suffering deeply, you touch others as well.

I’d like to offer an example, after providing some background.

The Chicago Chapter of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship has met monthly for approximately 23 years to find ways to work with others to advance peace and non-violence.  Most of the Chapter’s members are students of Thay.  But the Chicago BPF chapter is nonetheless legally separate from our local Sangha.  There is no pressure whatsoever placed on local Sangha members to join BPF or to participate in what it is doing.  It takes less time to make brief announcements about forthcoming BPF activities than it does to discuss who will bring next week’s snacks and tea to the Sangha.

Chicago BPF has collaborated with other peace groups on countless matters of concern:  examples include attempts to prevent the Bush administration from attacking Iraq, urging peaceful negotiations with Iran, protesting the Trump administration’s threat of war against Iran, hosting the annual Hiroshima Day commemoration and teach-in at the location on the University of Chicago campus where the first man-made nuclear reaction took place, hand-carrying a half-sized model of a military drone into the midst of one million aviation enthusiasts at North Avenue Beach at the Chicago air show in order to leaflet against the Obama administration’s policies of targeted drone assassinations in the Mideast, which frequently led to substantial civilian casualties.  We have also had countless programs at the University of Chicago, DePaul University, Loyola University and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago on the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings, engaged Buddhism, and non-violent causes.  Our allies in these efforts have been many including veterans groups, the Protest Chaplain movement, the Back From the Brink nuclear disarmament movement and other well respected anti-nuclear peace groups, college students, and elderly Hyde Park residents who in their youth knew University of Chicago faculty members who had worked on the Manhattan Project that resulted in the first nuclear weapon.

One quiet, sincere Chicago BPF member from our Sangha became concerned about the role of the Buddhist government in Myanmar and its military in violently displacing over 1,000,000 Islamic Rohingya refugees from their long-time established villages into an impoverished neighboring region in Bangladesh.  This dislocation of well over 1,000,000 people was so violent that is was accomplished in seven months.

Our friend and Sangha member then proceeded, by himself, to visit a Rohingya cultural center in the incredibly diverse Devon Avenue neighborhood in Chicago.  He befriended local Rohingya leadership, who were astonished that a Buddhist was concerned for their plight.  We found ourselves organizing a modest coat drive for the benefit of Rohingya refugees who were beginning to trickle into Chicago.  We next found ourselves joining the Rohingya in lively, welcoming teach-in activity on busy Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, joined by leading Asian academics and a prominent Chicago Congresswoman.  The Rohingya people are warm, family-orientated people who love to wear bright, cheery colors.  They practice a form of Islam in a predominantly Buddhist country.  We were next invited to participate in panel presentations on the refugee crisis at Roosevelt University in Chicago together with Rohingya leaders and leading academics.  Once again, Rohingya leaders expressed their appreciation of Western Buddhists to try to transform the suffering of their people. 

When a senior Rohingya leader described the suffering in the massive United Nations-sponsored refugee camps in Bangladesh, there were tears in his eyes.  He explained that it is the policy of the Government of Bangladesh to prohibit accredited education in the refugee camps to any of the 400,000 Rohingya children who are living in refugee camps above the fourth grade level.  Why?  Because the government of Bangladesh fears that Rohingya youth would somehow escape the enclosed refugee camps in large numbers and compete for jobs.  Rohingya leaders fear that the next generation of Rohingya may be uneducated and vulnerable to political radicalization.

Chicago BPF members then followed Thay’s example.  We learned more about what was happening.  Then, we wrote love letters by snail mail  to the leaders of Bangladesh, copied to U.S. leaders, asking to engage in a conversation about reversing this prohibition against providing Rohingya children with accredited education beyond fourth grade.  Weeks and weeks elapsed with no response.  Then, we wrote a plain spoken, loving but direct petition in support of the children that is circulating through Buddhist communities across North America.  We continue to collect signatures and do our best to remind the world of the plight of the Rohingya.

This is a classic example of how to approach the suffering of an others in mindful way in a manner similar to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s approach as well as Thay’s.  First, Dr. King would research social injustice thoroughly, gathering the facts.  Thay would look deeply at photos of refugee children before he would work on their individual refugee asylum applications.  Next, Dr. King would approach those whose actions created or perpetuated social injustice, seeking dialogue.  Thay, similarly, urges us to write love letters to those we disagree with, just as Chicago BPF wrote to the governments of Bangladesh and the United States before resorting to more public action.  If dialogue proved to be fruitless, Dr. King then would search his own motivations, to assure that his motivation was not to be what he called a “drum major” stealing the show and publicity, put instead a genuine motivation seeking to help others.  Thay, of course, would remain rooted in the Buddha’s teachings regarding the fluid impermanence and interdependent of all that manifests, and act consistently with the Five Mindfulness Trainings.  Then, the next step:  action.  But as Thay has suggested, if we practice the “mechanics of compassion” through meditation, understanding will grow, compassion will grow, and love will manifest.  When we are in love like that, we know what to do and what not to do without a lot of further intellection. 

Members of Thay’s community already practiced in this socially engaged way while Thay was alive.  A social concern would be identified, studied and acted upon not alone, but as a Sangha.

Concerns that have been addressed have included environmental degradation (through Earth Holders), racism (through ARISE), and the needs of youth (through Wake Up!).

Growing concerns about the manufacture, distribution and use of guns can be addressed together in this way as well.

For many years, mindfulness practitioners in the U.S. had the benefit of being centered on Thay, as if we were in a huge circle facing him standing in the middle of us as he offered such splendid teachings.  This provided boundless benefits.  It may be time, however, for members of Thay’s denomination to face more outward, toward the rest of society and engage with allies from other faiths and diverse communities about issues of mutual concern.

Why look outward in this way?

First, we have so much as a denomination to offer the larger society and other religious and non-profit groups.  Through Chicago BPF, I have attended many contentious late night meetings among peace groups and veterans groups about what to do about a NATO march in Chicago, how to arrange a march regarding the war in Iraq or the threat of war against Iran, and so on.  I have been so impressed how, despite the use of occasional demonization and harsh speech used by members of other religious and peace groups, students of Thay remained the calm people in the boat at such meetings, remaining fresh through the long meetings while others looked haggard, and always using loving speech.  We were listened to, perhaps because we remained peaceful and more quiet, and as a result it appeared to me that the meetings were more productive.

Second, we have much to learn from other religious denominations, peace groups and social activists on how to implement social change through their extensive knowledge of how things work.  We need to begin collaborating more in the outside world with like-minded allies.  I have learned immensely from working with talented organizers of the No War Iran coalition.  Forming coalitions to do anti-war and non-violence work is immensely effective.  One of our No War Iran weekday evening events attracted over 1,000 people to a Unitarian Church in Evanston in one of the worst Chicago area blizzards I have ever experienced.  We had similar well attended programs about the dangers of initiating a war with Iran at Loyola University and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  Working with the talented ministers from inner city Christian denominations through Protest Chaplains was also illuminating and effective.  These racially diverse ministers, all graduates of top divinity schools, truly knew the needs of the members of their communities and the local resources that were available to mitigate suffering.  They could organize their communities on short notice to support anti-war, anti-violence efforts.

In short, it could be very fruitful to begin forming diverse coalitions with other religious and social action groups to reduce the violence from the manufacture, distribution and use of guns.  Doing so will take time, commitment, and the use of everything we’ve ever learned from Thay about looking deeply, listening carefully, practicing loving speech, going forward in harmony as a community, and nourishing ourselves continuously going forward in order to sidestep the phenomenon of burn out.  But we can do it despite the challenges.  I’ve written the following little gatha to serve as a reminder!:

            Remembering to breathe and smile before speaking

            Becoming aware of who will be listening

            Growing attentive to the needs in their lives

            They will remember more how I am, how I present myself, than what I say

            No need to raise my voice, talk over, repeat myself

            Simply share quietly from the heart.

Jack Lawlor, True Direction, has been practicing meditation consistently in organized Buddhist communities since 1975.  The local Sangha in which Jack participates has been meeting for over three decades.  He has served as President of the Buddhist Council of the Midwest, the national board of directors of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, and the Care-Taking Council of the North America Dharma Teachers Sangha in the tradition of Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh.  Jack was ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh as a Dharma Teacher in a Transmission of the Lamp Ceremony in Plum Village in 1992.  Jack has been married for 48 years and has 2 adult children who are wonderful parents and 4 vibrant and happy grandchildren.