Day 77: Being Peace
Tomorrow’s Spirituality and Hurts More, Bothers You Less by Ken Wilber; Ram Dass; M.K. Gandhi; Peace Pilgrim; Walt Whitman; MLK; Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh; Alex Grey; Peacemaking in Modern Times
“Swiftly arose and spread around me the place, the peace and joy and knowledge that passes all the art and argument of the earth, and I know that the hand of God is the elder hand of my own, and I know that the Spirit is the eldest brother of my own, and that all men ever born are also my brothers and the women my sisters and lovers, and that a kelson of creation is love.” - WALT WHITMAN
Welcome to Day 77!
by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
Most likely, you are here for Peace. You got into health and Juice Feasting and this whole community of wellness advocates, because you want Peace: personal, societal, global, for all beings.
You have seen - and more personally - experienced the sufferings of our modern era: personal, health, economic, political, religious, ecological, ideological, global…
What’s the hardest thing about waking up and healing? It’s not the Green Vegetable Juice, or giving up the favorite food, or the myriad of (incredible) ways we take personal responsibility for the betterment of our own lives.
Those things are easy by comparison to the witnessing of the vast amount of unnecessary suffering you see out there every day. It breaks your heart. But to be heartbroken by the lack of Peace is not enough… we must be engaged.
So today we investigate further: How can we cultivate peace? What are the causes and conditions of personal, social, and global peace? Who are the inspiring figures and archetypes for Peace that we can learn from, integrate, and emulate?
Here we offer you some of the best resources we have ever encountered on Peacemaking in our time, or any time.
But first, a few pointing-out instructions on the content on Today’s page. Definitely look into these:
1. Ken Wilber. After years of reading thousands of great books - I (David Rainoshek) can share with you that Ken is the most profound thinker and writer I have ever encountered. He is certainly one of the most interesting, insightful, compassionate, and worthwhile people to read and profit from for one’s own personal evolution in service to a greater Peace.
Two videos of Ken’s are on this page: “Tomorrow’s Spirituality” and “Hurts More, Bothers You Less.” Enjoy watching these two, and if you like Ken’s stuff, consider reading A Theory of Everything and viewing more of his interviews on YouTube.
2. Peace Pilgrim. A self-awakened American sage who walked 25,000 miles for Peace, owning nothing but the clothes on her back. She was the first woman to walk the ENTIRE Appalachian Trail. An incredible example of clarity of vision and life practices for Peace. Her documentary, Peace Pilgrim: An American Sage Who Walked Her Talk, is below in the Documentaries section in full. Enjoy and be amazed.
3. David Rainoshek. Yes, my video on Subtle Activism is good perspective on eating for Peace, and on how anyone and everyone can be a force for good and peace in their normal, daily life.
4. Thich Nhat Hanh. I spent a year with TNH in Plum Village, France in 1998-99. His books Peace is Every Step, Being Peace, and Living Buddha Living Christ were profoundly important in waking me up to an ecumenical vision of peace among religions for peace in the world. He is one of our best voices for Peace, by virtue of his practice, his heart, his poetic voice, and his unique vision. Don’t miss his videos and books we have for you on today’s page. During the Vietnam war, Nhat Hanh was championed by Martin Luther King…
5. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. These two were contemporaries in the cause for racial justice and peace in the 1960s. Both were powerful visionaries, leaders, speakers, thinkers, and writers. The book The Autobiography of Malcolm X and the film Malcolm X changed my (David Rainoshek) life to one of great purpose, drive, and vision.
6. Ram Dass. Formerly Harvard Professor Richard Alpert, Ram Dass became an East/West spiritual teacher par excellence for millions of people worldwide starting in the 1960s and 70s. You’ve probably heard of his book Be Here Now, which has been printed 10s of millions of times. I highly recommend his book The Only Dance There Is. As part of your enlightainment with today’s page, do not miss the documentary Fierce Grace. It’s in the Media, Films & Documentaries section below. I also placed An Evening with Ram Dass in that section, which is a phenomenal talk on spiritual practice and development.
7. M.K. Gandhi. If you have not watched Richard Attenborough’s 1981 masterpiece, Gandhi, you are in for a significant treat. We have posted the ENTIRE FILM for you in the Media, Films & Documentaries section below. The film is a phenomenal training in the pursuit of Peace by a master of nonviolent action. If you like it, consider reading a paper copy The Story of My Experiments with Truth, which is Gandhi’s Autobiography.
8. Doing Time, Doing Vipassana. This is a striking documentary. If you have been waffling on your meditation practice, or looking for the best-ever documentary on the massive benefits of meditation, this documentary is for you. We have posted it in its entirety in the Documentaries section below. Choose a quiet evening, and watch it from end to end. You’ll be in happy tears at the revelations depicted in the film.
Final Words
Looking over these incredible examples, a few notable similarities of practice, worldview, character, and action stand out.
+ Being able to take the perspective of the “other.”
+ Introspection to see that the other is you, you are the other.
+ Forgiveness and Compassion
+ Non-Violence to Conquer Violence
+ Contemplative Practices (Prayer and Meditation)
+ Art as an Essential Practice and Tool for Peace
+ Laughter and Joy
+ Engaged Peacemaking
And to reiterate… Forgiveness and Compassion. In the age of information, the age of perspectives and Being “Woke,” it is tempting to be unkind to our current or former selves, or to others who have not yet learned what we have learned to make Peace. Because comedians often put it best, we will leave you with this piece from Bill Maher:
Peace and Love to You. See you in The Green Room!
Integral Life was enormously blessed to host a dialogue with Fr. Thomas Keating and Ken Wilber in April of 2006. In this video, Ken presents some of the foundational concepts of Integral spirituality.
Oprah Winfrey talks with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
Ken Wilber | Hurts More, Bothers You Less.
Please watch this important video by Ken Wilber. He takes about 4-5 minutes to get going, but then the point shines right through. Many people go their whole lives and do not get this point that he is making, and it is critical, particularly for those of us who are doing any kind of servicework or peacework in any capacity.
Theme Music: Get Up, Stand Up · Bob Marley & The Wailers.
Theme Music: John Lennon performs “Imagine” LIVE in New York City
Gandhi: Film Trailer. Mohandas Gandhi (Ben Kingsley), the beloved Indian leader who stood against British rule over his country. Dedicated to the concept of nonviolent resistance. FULL Film in Media & Documentaries below!!!
Alex Grey : How to Save the World
Today’s Downloads
Leaves of Grass
by Walt Whitman
“I am large, I contain Multitudes.” - Walt Whitman
“If you are looking for a romantic, all-embracing, earthy, gritty, real love of everyone and everything as-it-is, you will find no finer American voice than that of Walt Whitman in Leaves of Grass. This book changed my life, it made me a better, more loving, more embracing person of the entirety of humanity. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone I meet at every opportunity.” - David Rainoshek, M.A.
Peace is Every Step
by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
This is basically required reading for this program, and for a life of mindful living. We are pleased to offer you excerpts from this beautiful book by Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, nominated by the Nobel Peace Prize in the 1960s by Martin Luther King, Jr. “Peace is Every Step” is accessible to all, and is a wonderful gift you give yourself.
Please go out and purchase this book, read it in its entirety, and call upon it on demand to water all the best qualities in yourself and those around you.
With peaceful steps, David and Katrina Rainoshek
Living Buddha, Living Christ
by Thich Nhat Hanh
Buddha and Christ, perhaps the two most pivotal figures in the history of humankind, each left behind a legacy of teachings and practices that have shaped the lives of billions of people over two millennia.
If they were to meet on the road today, what would each think of the other’s spiritual views and practices? In this classic text for spiritual seekers, Thich Nhat Hanh explores the crossroads of compassion and holiness at which the two traditions meet, and he reawakens our understanding of both.
Online Articles
The Charter for Compassion
As she accepts her 2008 TED Prize, author and scholar Karen Armstrong talks about how the Abrahamic religions -- Islam, Judaism, Christianity -- have been diverted from the moral purpose they share to foster compassion. But Armstrong has seen a yearning to change this fact. People want to be religious, she says; we should act to help make religion a force for harmony.
Help us create a Charter for Compassion
People of all nations, all faiths, all backgrounds, are invited to contribute.
By recognizing that the Golden Rule is fundamental to all world religions, the Charter for Compassion can inspire people to think differently about religion. This Charter is being created in a collaborative project by people from all over the world.
Join the world at www.charterforcompassion.org to write the Charter for Compassion.
Great Books
by Thich Nhat Hanh
In the rush of modern life, we tend to lose touch with the peace that is available in each moment. World-renowned Zen master, spiritual leader, and author Thich Nhat Hanh shows us how to make positive use of the very situations that usually pressure and antagonize us. For him a ringing telephone can be a signal to call us back to our true selves. Dirty dishes, red lights, and traffic jams are spiritual friends on the path to “mindfulness”—the process of keeping our consciousness alive to our present experience and reality. The most profound satisfactions, the deepest feelings of joy and completeness lie as close at hand as our next aware breath and the smile we can form right now.
Lucidly and beautifully written, Peace Is Every Step contains commentaries and meditations, personal anecdotes and stories from Nhat Hanh’s experiences as a peace activist, teacher, and community leader. It begins where the reader already is—in the kitchen, office, driving a car, walking a part—and shows how deep meditative presence is available now. Nhat Hanh provides exercises to increase our awareness of our own body and mind through conscious breathing, which can bring immediate joy and peace. Nhat Hanh also shows how to be aware of relationships with others and of the world around us, its beauty and also its pollution and injustices. the deceptively simple practices of Peace Is Every Step encourage the reader to work for peace in the world as he or she continues to work on sustaining inner peace by turning the “mindless” into the mindFUL.
by Jon Kabat-Zinn
When Wherever You Go, There You Are was first published in 1994, no one could have predicted that the book would launch itself onto bestseller lists nationwide and sell over 750,000 copies to date. Ten years later, the book continues to change lives. In honor of the book’s 10th anniversary, Hyperion is proud to be releasing the book with a new afterword by the author, and to share this wonderful book with an even larger audience.
by M.K. Gandhi
Mohandas K. Gandhi is one of the most inspiring figures of our time. In his classic autobiography he recounts the story of his life and how he developed his concept of active nonviolent resistance, which propelled the Indian struggle for independence and countless other nonviolent struggles of the twentieth century.
In a new foreword, noted peace expert and teacher Sissela Bok urges us to adopt Gandhi’s “attitude of experimenting, of tesing what will and will not bear close scrutiny, what can and cannot be adapted to new circumstances,”in order to bring about change in our own lives and communities.
by Thich Nhat Hanh
20th anniversary edition of the classic text, updated, revised, and featuring a Mindful Living Journal.
Buddha and Christ, perhaps the two most pivotal figures in the history of humankind, each left behind a legacy of teachings and practices that have shaped the lives of billions of people over two millennia. If they were to meet on the road today, what would each think of the other’s spiritual views and practices? In this classic text for spiritual seekers, Thich Nhat Hanh explores the crossroads of compassion and holiness at which the two traditions meet, and he reawakens our understanding of both.
by Leo Tolstoy
First published in Germany in 1894, after being banned in Russia, The Kingdom of God Is within You reveals Tolstoy’s world outlook after his conversion to Christianity. He argues that the kingdom of God is within reach of all.
The core of the book deals with his nonresistance to evil, a principle Tolstoy passionately advocated. Gandhi was won over by the book. Tolstoy clearly describes the hazards that bullying governments and false beliefs produced. “The situation of the Christian part of humanity—with its prisons, forced labor, gallows, saloons, brothels, constantly increasing armaments, and millions of confused people ready like trained hounds to attack anyone against whom their masters set them—this situation would be terrible if it were the product of coercion, but it is above all the product of public opinion.”
Abhorring the violence of revolution, Tolstoy calls on Christians to remember that the only guide for their actions is to be found in the divine principle dwelling within them, which in no sense can be checked or governed by anyone or anything else.
by Malcolm X
Malcolm X’s searing memoir belongs on the small shelf of great autobiographies. The reasons are many: the blistering honesty with which he recounts his transformation from a bitter, self-destructive petty criminal into an articulate political activist, the continued relevance of his militant analysis of white racism, and his emphasis on self-respect and self-help for African Americans. And there’s the vividness with which he depicts black popular culture–try as he might to criticize those lindy hops at Boston’s Roseland dance hall from the perspective of his Muslim faith, he can’t help but make them sound pretty wonderful. These are but a few examples.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X limns an archetypal journey from ignorance and despair to knowledge and spiritual awakening. When Malcolm tells coauthor Alex Haley, “People don’t realize how a man’s whole life can be changed by one book,” he voices the central belief underpinning every attempt to set down a personal story as an example for others. Although many believe his ethic was directly opposed to Martin Luther King Jr.’s during the civil rights struggle of the ’60s, the two were not so different. Malcolm may have displayed a most un-Christian distaste for loving his enemies, but he understood with King that love of God and love of self are the necessary first steps on the road to freedom.
by Ram Dass
It’s easy to dismiss Be Here Now as the relic of a whacked-out ’60s acid tripper. Paging through the center section of the book, with its inch-high print and psychedelic drawings, you come across lines like:
Magic Theatre…. For madmen only….price of admission
your
mind
Then you turn to the first page of the book, and you are suddenly sucked into the story of a Harvard psychiatrist who has reached the pinnacle of success, discovers the mind-expanding powers of acid, and ends up trooping through India with a 23-year-old holy man from Laguna Beach, California. In the story, you see all the trappings of your own life and begin to wonder if India might hold the answers after all. Before booking your ticket, turn to the last section of the Be Here Now, “Cookbook for a Sacred Life.”
Ram Dass saves you the trouble by proffering a sober introduction to the basics of Hindu religion. Although he still can’t resist CAPITAL LETTERS, he has done his homework, presenting a whole range of concepts and practices having to do with yoga postures, meditation, renunciation, dying, and sexual energy. So, for the most part, Be Here Now stands the test of time, and if you can entertain the center section in a retro kind of a spirit, it might be just what you’re looking for: “The opposite of craving is saying, baby, this is the way it is, yeah, OK, here and now, this is it. I ACCEPT THE HERE & NOW FULLY.”
by Ram Dass
Ram Dass, one of America’s most beloved spiritual teachers, sparked a revolution forty years ago with the publication of Be Here Now. This landmark classic inspired an entire generation to see the world in a different light. Over the past four decades Ram Dass has been a beacon for seekers worldwide, challenging us to find new sources of meaning and purpose in our lives.
Be Love Now is the third book in a trilogy that began with Be Here Now and was followed by Still Here, Ram Dass’s acclaimed work on aging, changing, and dying. In Be Love Now, Ram Dass shares what he has learned in his remarkable four-decade-long spiritual journey. Through timeless teaching stories, compelling and often humorous personal anecdotes, and soul-stirring insights, Ram Dass tracks the stages of his own awakening in his trademark down-to-earth style. Starting with his days as Harvard psychologist and psychedelic inventurer, continuing through his profound encounters with his guru, Neem Karoli Baba, and moving beyond the reawakening brought on by his near-fatal stroke, Ram Dass shares his life experiences while offering a timeless teaching on love and the path of the heart.
Guiding us through the pitfalls and perils of our own spiritual path, Be Love Now is both a deeply personal and wonderfully universal exploration that will open hearts and minds. Ram Dass once again blazes a new trail, inviting all to join him on this next stage of the journey.
by Ram Dass
More than thirty years ago, an entire generation sought a new way of life, looking for fulfillment and meaning in a way no one had before. Leaving his teaching job at Harvard, Ram Dass embodied the role of spiritual seeker, showing others how to find peace within themselves in one of the greatest spiritual classics of the twentieth century, Be Here Now. Now, as many of that generation enter the autumn of their years, the big questions of peace and of purpose have returned, demanding answers. And once again, Ram Dass blazes a new trail, inviting all to join him on the next stage of the journey.
by Ram Dass and Paul Gorman
Not a day goes by without our being called upon to help one another–at home, at work, on the street, on the phone. . . . We do what we can. Yet so much comes up to complicate this natural response: “Will I have what it takes?” “How much is enough?” “How can I deal with suffering?” “And what really helps, anyway?”
In this practical helper’s companion, the authors explore a path through these confusions, and provide support and inspiration fo us in our efforts as members of the helping professions, as volunteers, as community activists, or simply as friends and family trying to meet each other’s needs. Here too are deeply moving personal accounts: A housewife brings zoo animals to lift the spirits of nursing home residents; a nun tends the wounded on the first night of the Nicaraguan revolution; a police officer talks a desperate father out of leaping from a roof with his child; a nurse allows an infant to spend its last moments of life in her arms rather than on a hospital machine. From many such stories and the authors’ reflections, we can find strength, clarity, and wisdom for those times when we are called on to care for one another. How Can I Help? reminds us just how much we have to give and how doing so can lead to some of the most joyous moments of our lives.
by Ken Wilber
There is arguably no more critical and pressing topic than the relation of science and religion in the modern world. Science has given us the methods for discovering truth, while religion remains the single greatest force for generating meaning. Yet the two are seen as mutually exclusive, with wrenching consequences for humanity. In The Marriage of Sense and Soul, one of today’s most important philosophers brilliantly articulates how we might begin to think about science and religion in ways that allow for their reconciliation and union, on terms that will be acceptable to both camps.
Ken Wilber is widely acclaimed as the foremost thinker in integrating Western psychology and the Eastern spiritual traditions. His many books have reached across disciplines and synthesized the teachings of religion, psychology, physics, mysticism, sociology, and anthropology, earning him a devoted international following. The Marriage of Sense and Soul is his most accessible work yet, aimed at guiding a general audience to the mutual accord between the spiritual, subjective world of ancient wisdom and the objective, empirical world of modern knowledge.
Wilber clearly and succinctly explores the schism between science and religion, and the impact of this “philosophical Cold War” on the fate of humanity. He systematically reviews previous attempts at integration, explaining why romantic, idealistic, and postmodern theories failed. And he demonstrates how science is compatible with certain deep features common to all of the world’s major religious traditions. In pointing the way to a union between truth and meaning, Ken Wilber has created an elegant and accessible book that is breathtaking in its scope.
Media, Films, & Documentaries
Peace Pilgrim: An American Sage Who Walked Her Talk
This is a powerful documentary about an extraordinary woman. At age 44, Mildred Norman left her life circumstances and became Peace Pilgrim -- walking coast to coast for peace for nearly 30 years, living on faith and sharing her wisdom and exuberance generously with people across the land.
This 60-minute documentary is a poetic and musical exploration of her life and message, which is as relevant today as ever. Also included are interviews with Dalai Lama, Maya Angelou, John Robbins, Elizabeth Kubler Ross, and many of Peace Pilgrim's friends, admirers, and relatives, along with newsreel footage from the 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's, when Peace was on her walk for peace.
The video is narrated by Reverend Michael Beckwith. This video was scripted and edited by Sharon Janis (Kumuda) of Night Lotus Productions, using materials that had been filmed and gathered over two decades. You can order a copy of this video or Peace Pilgrim's books or audio materials from Friends of Peace Pilgrim Foundation at http://www.peacepilgrim.org .
Fierce Grace | Documentary | Ram Dass
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Mickey Lemle's documentary Ram Dass, Fierce Grace is a portrait of Ram Dass (Richard Alpert), author, 60s guru, spiritual teacher, cohort of Timothy Leary, & author of Be Here Now, one of the most influential books of the 1970s. The film begins in the present, as Ram Dass deals with the effects of a massive stroke he suffered in February 1997 that left him physically incapacitated, & with impaired memory & speech. Interweaving current conversations, interviews with people in his life, & archival footage, Lemle then looks back at his childhood, the controversy surrounding his research with Timothy Leary in psychedelics at Harvard, his studies in India with Neem Karoli Baba, who renamed him Baba Ram Dass (Servant of God), his work with the Seva Foundation in social action projects dedicated to relieving suffering in the world, & his impact as an author & guru to millions of followers.
Several examples are shown of his compassion & his ability to feel the pain of others. In an early sequence, his beautiful "Rachel's Letter" comforts a family after their daughter was murdered. In the final sequence, Ram Dass listens to a young woman struggling to overcome her grief at her boyfriend's violent death. She brings him to tears when she tells him about a dream she had in which her boyfriend speaks to her from beyond with a reassuring message.
When Ram Dass received the "fierce grace" of being "stroked," he admits he did not have any unusual spiritual epiphany. He recalls, "Here I am, Mr. Spiritual, & in my own head I didn't orient toward the spirit. It showed me I have some work to do." He has written about the stroke in his latest book, Still Here in which he talks about slowing down, & finding out about the "everything" that is out there. For Ram Dass, aging has become a gift. "I was galumphing through life before the stroke," he says. "I'm at peace now more than I've ever been. The peace comes from settling in to the moment."
Enhanced by the music of Krishna Das, the documentary is more than just a bio-pic or a meditation on the process of aging, it is an inspiring portrait of a man whose life can be summed up in one word -- service. Ram Dass has said, "What one person has to offer to another is their own being, nothing more, nothing less." In Ram Dass, Fierce Grace, Lemle has given us Ram Dass's being, nothing more, nothing less. That is a gift of love.
Doing Time, Doing Vipassana | Documentary
This is the story of an ancient meditation technique named Vipassana, which shows people how to take control of their lives and channel them toward their own good.
It is the story of a strong woman named Kiran Bedi, the former Inspector General of Prisons in New Delhi, who strove to transform the notorious Tihar Prison and turn it into an oasis of peace. But most of all it is the story of prison inmates who underwent profound change, and who realized that incarceration is not the end but possibly a fresh start toward an improved and more positive life.
Check the following link for the schedules of the courses around the world, offered free of cost http://www.dhamma.org/
Gandhi | The Film | Starring Ben Kingsley as Gandhi (1982)
Documentaries on the Life of the Historical Buddha
This documentary tells the story of the Buddha's life. Hear insights into the ancient narrative by contemporary Buddhists, including Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.S. Merwin and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Philosophy: Guide to Happiness | Documentary Series | Alain de Botton
Documentary inspired and hosted by Alain de Botton, based on his book The Consolations of Philosophy.
We tend to accept that people in authority must be right. It's this assumption that Socrates wanted us to challenge by urging us to think logically about the nonsense they often come out with, rather than being struck dumb by their aura of importance and air of suave certainty. This six part series on philosophy is presented by popular British philosopher Alain de Botton, featuring six thinkers who have influenced history, and their ideas about the pursuit of the happy life.
Socrates on Self-Confidence (Part 1) - Why do so many people go along with the crowd and fail to stand up for what they truly believe? Partly because they are too easily swayed by other people's opinions and partly because they don't know when to have confidence in their own.
Epicurus on Happiness (Part 2) - British philosopher Alain De Botton discusses the personal implications of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270BCE) who was no epicurean glutton or wanton consumerist, but an advocate of "friends, freedom and thought" as the path to happiness.
Seneca on Anger (Part 3) - Roman philosopher Lucious Annaeus Seneca (4BCE-65CE), the most famous and popular philosopher of his day, took the subject of anger seriously enough to dedicate a whole book to the subject. Seneca refused to see anger as an irrational outburst over which we have no control. Instead he saw it as a philosophical problem and amenable to treatment by philosophical argument.
Montaigne on Self-Esteem (Part 4) - Looks at the problem of self-esteem from the perspective of Michel de Montaigne (16th Century), the French philosopher who singled out three main reasons for feeling bad about oneself - sexual inadequecy, failure to live up to social norms, and intellectual inferiority - and then offered practical solutions for overcoming them.
Schopenhauer on Love (Part 5) - Alain De Botton surveys the 19th Century German thinker Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) who believed that love was the most important thing in life because of its powerful impulse towards 'the will-to-life'.
Nietzsche on Hardship (Part 6) - British philosopher Alain De Botton explores Friedrich Nietzsche's (1844-1900) dictum that any worthwhile achievements in life come from the experience of overcoming hardship. For him, any existence that is too comfortable is worthless, as are the twin refugees of drink or religion.
Walt Whiman: Poet of Eternity | Documentary | PBS American Experience
On a hot summer day in 1855, a 36-year-old writer emerged from an undistinguished printer's shop in Brooklyn, New York, carrying a slim volume of his work. With his book of a dozen poems, Leaves of Grass, he was about to introduce America to a savior.
Being Peace | Thich Nhat Hanh | Audio Talk
Thich Nhat Hanh delivered the words on this talk to an assembly of 700 gathered at Green Gulch Zen Center in Muir Beach, California, on November 3, 1985, and inspired the creation of the best selling book, Being Peace. The talk contained here provides crucial antidotes to our busy lives, and because of Hanh's experience with the war and his willingness to face the realities of our time, these teachings are also about suffering, reconciliation, and peace.