Thich Nhat Hanh Jewish Roots The Better Way to Live Alone in the ...

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sangha NEWSThich Nhat HanhReceives Bridgeof Peace AwardMonks and nuns from Deer Park accepting Thay’s awardFive peacemakers honoredat ceremony in Los AngelesBy Peggy Rowephoto by David MaungThe monks and nuns of Deer Park Monastery invited the bell tobegin the celebration and offered the Five Contemplations for thebanquet. The Bridge of Peace Award, a crystal globe on a crystalstand, was presented to Thay by Soto Zen lay priest Claude AnshinThomas. Anshin shared how the Sangha and other veteransenabled him to travel to Plum Village where he experienced a timeof profound healing and transformation. The award was acceptedby the monastics of Deer Park, who read a statement from Thay:“I am very grateful and very touched to receive this award. Weare at a critical point of history in the world. It is heartening tohave so many people together to practice peace. Peace is availablein every step.” Then they sang Thay’s poem “Recommendation,”accompanied by guitar.Awards also went to Le Ly Hayslip, Marla Ruzicka, Dr. WaqarAl-Kubaisy, and Marshall Rosenberg. What the five remarkablehonorees share is compassion for others, the courage to tell thetruth, and the gift of unconditional love. All five took action tobetter the lives of others and to promote peace in the twenty-firstcentury.Le Ly Hayslip, a Woman ofOrdinary DreamsLe Ly left Vietnam when she was 13 years old. She describesherself as a “woman of ordinary dreams,” whose only life dreamwas to be a stay-at-home wife and mother. In 1985 she began herefforts to visit her homeland, but there were no diplomatic relationswith Vietnam. She says, “I had a dream in my spirit to seeus reunited again as people, if only I could break down the wallsof fear and mistrust that divided us. I dreamed that I, a housewifewith a third-grade education, could transform the hatred of warinto a bridge of peace for all people.”So Le Ly became a bridge builder. She received permissionto travel to Vietnam in 1986, in 1987 she founded the East MeetsWest Foundation, and built schools, clinics, hospitals in Vietnamalong with many other works to foster peace and reconciliationbetween the US and Vietnam. In 1999, she founded the GlobalVillage Foundation. Her life is chronicled in the Oliver Stone filmHeaven and Earth.A Posthumous Tribute toMarla RuzickaAfter leading a Global Exchange Reality Tour in opposition tothe war in Afghanistan, Marla stayed behind to help. She arrivedin Kabul only a few days after the Taliban was removed. The dayafter Saddam’s statue fell, Marla arrived in Iraq where she wentdoor to door tallying the loss and injury of human life and seeinghow she could serve. Did you know that in the twentieth century,ninety percent of the casualties of war were soldiers? Did you knowthat in the twenty-first century, ninety percent of the casualties ofwar are civilians? So Marla started counting.In 2003, Marla formed the Campaign for Innocent Victims inConflict (CIVIC). On April 16, 2005 Marla was killed in a suicidebomb attack in Baghdad on her way to visit an injured child. Shewas a lovely twenty-eight-year-old woman with an infectious laughand warm smile. Before her death, she successfully lobbied theU.S. government to provide medical and other assistance to Afghanand Iraqi families. To date, 25 million dollars have been appropriatedand Marla’s work continues through CIVIC Worldwide.The Courage of Dr. Waqar Al-KubaisyA woman with a beautiful smile presented herself to me witha firm handshake. “Thank you for your presence of peace,” shesaid. I found out later that she was the Iraqi physician receivingthe Bridge of Peace award for courage. In her acceptance speechshe talked about the lives being lost; she described her relentlesswork to help all people by bringing medical services and supplies40 Summer 2006
sangha NEWSto where they are needed. She has had many family memberskilled, including six of her cousins who were bombed in a car.Most recently, in the dead of night, her husband was kidnapped; hewas tortured for twenty-six days and suffered extreme injuries forwhich he is receiving medical care. She spoke of the pointlessnessof war and its tragic impact in her homeland.Pete Peterson, from POW toAmbassadorIn 1966, U.S. Air Force Captain Pete Peterson was shot downover North Vietnam. He spent over six years in the infamous HanoiHilton as a prisoner of war. On his return, he placed his attentionon reconciliation and peace. “After the war I had two choices,”he said. “I could go home angry, disenchanted, depressed… or Icould get on with my life. I woke up one morning and realizedI had no control over yesterday. But I had full control over andresponsibility for tomorrow.” After serving as a member of the U.S.Congress, Pete was appointed by President Clinton as ambassadorto Vietnam, a post he held until 2001. He set about to reopen diplomaticand economic ties between the U.S. and Vietnam. Todayhundreds of American companies have offices and factories inVietnam. In 1998 he married Vi Le at the Hanoi Cathedral justa few blocks from the Hanoi Hilton. He continues to further tiesbetween the two nations through his foundation, The Alliance forSafe Children, Vietnam.To Be a Bridge of PeaceMarshall Rosenberg, renowned developer of a method ofconflict resolution called Nonviolent Communication (NVC),was there to receive the Nonviolence award. “What I want in mylife is compassion, a flow between myself and others based on amutual giving from the heart,” he said, and shared stories from hisexperiences of offering NVC around the world.Larry Ward and I sat with Ron Kovic in the VIP room. Ronwas the 2005 recipient of the Bridge of Peace award, and he wasportrayed by Tom Cruise in the Oliver Stone film Born on theFourth of July. Ron has twinkling eyes and infectious positiveenergy. He wheeled his chair to me and held my hand, commentingon my peaceful energy. I, in turn, asked him his secret. “Lifeis precious,” he said. “I woke up in the hospital in Vietnam withpart of my body gone, and in incredible pain and deep despair.But I should have been dead. This is a miracle, that I am alive.I get my energy from people and from life. I love people. I amalive. What a miracle!”This evening was a wake-up call for me. I am grateful tohave been touched by these people, to have the opportunity to becalled into a bigger story. What is my dream for peace? How canI be a bridge of peace? How can I grow my heart larger for thisworld?Peggy Rowe, True Original Source, is a DharmaTeacher and gourd artist practicing with the BrightPath Sangha in Asheville, North Carolina.Dr. Waqar Al-KubaisyLe Ly HayslipOliver Stone, Martin Sheen, Claude Anshin Thomas, MarshallRosenberg (back), and Pete PetersonPeggy Rowe smiles as Claude Anshin Thomas bows to Ron Kovicall photos by David Maungthe Mindfulness Bell 41
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Page 24 and 25: monastic INSIGHTOn the WayHomeBy Si
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