Image from David Farrier.
Monday, February 9, 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, February 9, from 7-8:30PM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Wednesday morning, February 11, from 7-8AM ET online; and Friday, February 13, 12-1PM ET online/in person (Hybrid).
Rachel H. will facilitate on Monday evening. Rachel shares:
One reason I am grateful to the monks from Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center and their walk for peace is that it creates images of peace that people can see, absorb, and share. Walking mindfully, along highways lined with people, day after day, with love in their faces, these monks make being at peace visible in a very powerful and needed way. The gift of seeing this 100+ day act of peace is profound and moving.
That idea has been on my mind since the walk started, so I’ve had this question in the back of my mind: What does peace look like? I often think of peace as the feeling that comes when things are settled and tranquil. There are lovely, mundane examples: birds at a bird feeder, smiling at a stranger in a very nice hat on the Metro, lying down at the end of a long day, a hug, and so on. I’ve been looking.
When ICE showed up in Minneapolis, I noticed how the people of Minneapolis are showing us a very different kind of peace. This peace is the peace of care, communication, protest, support, witness, and protection. It is interbeing in action. It is loud. It is confrontational. To my eyes, it looks like peace too, although it is not settled or tranquil.
In Touching Peace, Thich Nhat Hanh writes:
When we get in touch with our eyes, our heart, our liver, our breathing, and our non-toothache and really enjoy them, we see that the conditions for peace and happiness are already present. When we walk mindfully and touch the Earth with our feet, when we drink tea with friends and touch the tea and our friendship, we get healed and we can bring this healing to society.… When we touch peace, everything becomes real. We become ourselves, fully alive in the present moment, and the tree, our child, and everything else reveal themselves to us and their full splendor.
So how do I cultivate this ability in myself? I’m at a bit of a crossroads with my job as a teacher these days, in part because it is harder and harder to be real and truly alive in the present moment. What if the test scores go down? What if I get behind the pacing guide? Those are the questions I’m considering, when what I really want to work on is much more meaningful: whether a group of kids can play a game and end with everyone feeling okay, or whether someone feels proud of their thinking, or whether everyone is getting enough sleep.
If peace is becoming real, truly alive in the reality of the present moment and revealing the world and ourselves its true splendor, I can see the how the monks are touching peace on their walk and the legions of Minnesotans are touching peace as they care for each other by blowing whistles, sharing food, kneeling in protest, and documenting. I am searching for ways to touch peace in my classroom.
Where do you touch peace?
What does peace look like to you?
Where is peace visible in your world?
I look forward to hearing your thoughts about these questions, and anything else on your hearts on Monday evening.
Warmly,
Rachel H.