Monday, June 16, we will meet in person.
Go to calendar for our schedule
Address for OHMC meditation space:
3812 Northampton St. NW, Washington DC 20015
Please arrive a few minutes early so we can invite the bell on time. You may also arrive 15 minutes early to practice working meditation by helping us set up cushions.
Dear friends,
This week, we will meet Monday evening, June 16, from 7-8:30PM EDT in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Wednesday morning, June 18, from 7-8AM EDT online; and Friday, June 20, from 12-1PM EDT in person/online (hybrid).
On Monday, our evening meditation will be facilitated by Annie. Annie shares:
We will listen to and watch a poem of Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay), A Prayer for Land, set to music by Sister Hiếu Đức and made into a music video by the Plum Village Band. The poem was written by Thay in 1977 when he was part of a team helping Vietnamese refugees reach Australia and Guam by boat. Many refugees were lost at sea, some pushed back out to sea to die by the Singapore government.
When Sister Chan Khong and Thay learned about the plight of these “boat people,” they knew they had to help. You can listen and read more about the ways that Thay and Sister Chan Khong helped the “boat people” get to safety here. It wasn’t easy work, and it required strong mindfulness, courage, and the willingness to break the law.
The song was published in 2024. It reflects the continual suffering of migrants around the world, and reminds me of the past, current, and future suffering of migrants in the United States. The lyrics of the poem/song are:
Lost in the tempest
On the open sea, our small boat drifts
We seek for land during endless nights and days
We are the foam
Floating on the vast ocean
We are the dust
Drifting in endless space
Our cries are lost
In the howling wind
Our children lie exhausted
Until they cry no more
We yearn for land
But are turned back from every shore
How many boats have perished?
How many families lie beneath the waves?
Lord Jesus, do you hear the prayer of our flesh
Avalokiteshvara, do you hear our voice?
O humans, do you hear our cries from the abyss of death
O solid shore, we long for you!
We pray for mankind to be present today
We pray for land to stretch its arms to us
We pray that hope be given us today
From this very land
Human migration is not new. Many of our ancestors may have also experienced suffering before and after they left their homelands to find refuge in other places. My ancestors left Southeastern Turkey, escaping a genocide against the Armenian people. They would have preferred to stay in their homes, a part of Turkey which had been Armenian land in ages past, and where their ancestors had lived for generations. Luckily, they were welcomed into the United States in the early part of the twentieth century and were able to make a home here.
Thay was also forced to leave his homeland by the government in Vietnam, who thought he was politically dangerous. He was welcomed into France, where he was able to settle and start his mindfulness community. One insight from his exile and migration led to his teaching of the gatha “I have arrived, I am home.” We practice repeating this phrase with each step we take, reminding us that each of us are at home in each step, wherever we are.
The intention of our mindfulness practice is the cultivation of boundless love and compassion. In the Discourse on Love (also known as the Metta Sutta), a sutra that is chanted regularly in Plum Village and many Buddhist temples, the Buddha encourages us to keep these intentions in mind at all times:
May everyone be happy and safe, and may all hearts be filled with joy.
May all beings live in security and in 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 perfect tranquility.
Let no one do harm to anyone. Let no one put the life of anyone in danger. Let no one, out of anger or ill will, wish anyone 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 hatred and enmity. Whether standing or walking, sitting or lying, as long as we are awake, we should maintain this mindfulness of love in our own heart. This is the noblest way of living.
How can our hearts remain open to the global migration challenges of our own time and how can we help those who are most vulnerable find safe harbor?
Sometimes we may feel afraid or too overwhelmed to get involved or to speak out against inhumane actionsI know I sometimes do. If we can bring our mindfulness to the anxiety, overwhelm, or fear we are feeling, and embrace it with loving kindness, we may be able to touch the seeds of solidity inside of ourselves. Right now I am okay. And, in this moment, can I do one small (or large) thing to help?
To do this, it may help to remember that the ones who are suffering–in real, concrete, and dangerous waysare being seen as enemies simply because they have come in search of a healthier life or because of their language or the color of their skin. They often experience terrible hardships in their workplaces and homes in their effort to find refuge. Even with these harsh conditions, they have a better life than they did in the country they left.
What is our responsibility to those who come to us to seek help? The first mindfulness training suggests that we learn ways to “protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals.”
After our meditation period, we will reflect on Thay’s poem/song, his life, his work with refugees, and our own perceptions and mental formations about migration, protecting life, or whatever is on you heart or mind this week.
With love,
Annie.
PS. Our Engaged Mindfulness group has created a chart of opportunities for anyone to help migrants and refugees, based on the work of the DC-based organization Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid. You can find that information here.