This isn’t an ideological demonstration. They’re not pushing a platform or trying to convert the world to Buddhism. They’re raising awareness: peace is possible. Peace is both a solo and community project, and we each work with it in our own way. But the point is to work with it, to not forget it and get distracted from it.
By Johnathon Lee
I was drowning for five years.
Before that, I put myself through a kind of personal Buddhist university program for 10 years. I tried, practiced and learned all that I could. Then it all sort of fell apart before my eyes. Buddhism stopped making sense when I saw it as an indivisible whole.
Also, I grew weary of other Buddhists. Each tradition started feeling more and more like a cult where independent thought is discouraged. There are clear hierarchies, and doctrines that cannot be challenged without backlash or alienation.
So, I said fuck it: I’m just going to be me.
It turned out that being me meant being a mess. Openness and sorrow, joy and fear, love and loathing, impatience and patience all mixed together into one mass of utter confusion. The stressors and narratives of clinging and craving started breaking me down bit by bit until exhaustion made it difficult to feel anything at all.
At that point, pain becomes a form of relief. The darkness, the anxiety and loneliness, breathe something lifelike into the nothingness—creating enemies to face and providing me the opportunity to still be the hero. The survivor.
The political madness also slowly crept into me.
My already frustrated, defeated, tired mind served as a ripe ground for those seeds to sprout. I resisted at first. I knew all about polarized thinking, cognitive bias, appeals to emotion and the Dunning-Krueger Effect. I knew that media is profit -driven and catering to specific audiences, manufacturing fear and rage in order to keep my attention. I knew that there were bots on social media spreading false information and divisive rhetoric.
That didn’t keep me grounded. I got swept up anyway. Despite how horrible it felt, it also felt meaningful. It felt important. Primal… simple.
“It’s us versus them. Our tribe is in the right, and all others must submit.”
No one says that outright, but it’s a subtle belief held by combatants on all sides. Left, Right and Center are all trying to be the heroes fighting for truth, justice and freedom. Yet they all have different visions of what those terms mean. This is cognitive dissonance on a national (even global) scale. If the US was a person, they’d be in a mental health clinic right now.
Then I saw a small group of monks walking across the country in the name of peace. You know things have gotten bad when monks take to the streets.
These are people who left society behind because they realized civilization doesn’t offer them the necessary means to enlightenment. To realize that, leave it, and then return to it; to walk along its roads, coursing through its infrastructure toward the nation’s administrative hub… that’s a sign. The millions of people who’ve gathered to greet them are aware that it’s a sign.
Monks also demonstrated during the Vietnam War. The message was the same:
Peace.
Or, in my vernacular: chill the fuck out. Find a better way to work with suffering. If what you’re doing is only causing more suffering, then maybe it isn’t the best approach. Maybe you’re clinging too tightly. Maybe you’re craving too much. Maybe you’re not seeing things clearly. I know I’m not.
No matter what path we choose in life, it isn’t the only path we can choose. No matter what path we choose, we will find a boulder to push up the mountain. No matter how hard the path, or big the boulder, it will roll back down.
These monks know that. It’s why they left. Yet they also know that we’re all in this together, which is why they came back.
This isn’t an ideological demonstration. They’re not pushing a platform or trying to convert the world to Buddhism. They’re raising awareness: peace is possible. Peace is both a solo and community project, and we each work with it in our own way. But the point is to work with it, to not forget it and get distracted from it.
Is it wise for me to spend my handful of years on greed, hatred and ignorance when I could be selfless, loving and understanding instead? If I could choose peace, why would I waste these years on inner and outer conflict?
I would never recommend that someone be idle or passive. Only that there are more ways to engage than in a frenzy. Anxiety and frustration help no one. Breathe first, think second, act third.
Act from peace.
Seeing the monks walking through all sorts of weather, putting their lives and limbs at risk along busy roads… it was like a slap to me. Onlookers like me can’t resist sensationalizing it a bit and turning it into a story, but what struck me was the fact that it isn’t a story to the monks. It isn’t sensational. It’s just this moment. One step at a time.
And even if we all arrive at our destinations, then we’ll start the trip back to where we began. That’s the lesson. That’s the reason for setting down our inner conflicts, finding a mutual resolution in silence. Then, from this silence, bring a gentle heart into the world.
Think peace.
Speak peace.
Do peace.
Much Metta to you all.
Follow the Monk’s Walk for Peace Here
Photo: Flickr/David Lawrence
Editor: Dana Gornall
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