Now, in the winter of our discontent, I am deeply heartened by the surprising, almost shocking, response of millions of Americans to the Buddhist monks walking for peace. Several times already, I have choked back tears upon seeing visual evidence of thousands of Americans gathering and waiting for hours, at times in very cold weather, just to witness and greet some 20 monks who were simply walking and offering words which, in saner times, might not be needed. The Associated Press (AP) reports that one Alabaman traveled nearly 400 miles to see them.

“I just felt in my heart that this would help me have peace,” says Becky Gable. “Maybe I could move a little bit forward in my life.” Gable says she has already taken one of Pannakara’s (the lead monk) teachings to heart. She’s promised herself that each morning, as soon as she awakes, she’ll take a piece of paper and write five words on it, just as the monk prescribed. “Today is my peaceful day.” (Source: AP)

Buddhism teaches that the nature of our mind is peace. “Peace is not something we need to create,” writes Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, founder of the New Kadampa Tradition, in his book Modern Buddhism. “It is already within our mind. We simply need to remove the causes of disturbance.” So does yoga: “Peace is the core of existence; we cannot create it,” says Sadhguru, Indian mystic, author and founder of the Isha Foundation.

Moreover, both know that it takes peaceful individuals to create peaceful nations and peaceful worlds. “World peace grows from right where we are,” says Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of Art of Living Foundation. “It is peaceful individuals who can make a peaceful world.” Similarly, Gyatso says, “Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible.”

With all of this said and understood, generating a mind of peace in the midst of all the hate and violence being thrown our way is, for me, quite frankly, not only difficult, but seemingly contradictory. While I wholeheartedly embrace understanding, compassion and peaceful relations as the ideal that should always be strived for, is there a point at which evil is so out of control that acting from love and compassion achieves nothing? I choose to believe “No,” but I also have the misfortune to know from personal experience that standing up to bullies in a physical manner works.

And so, we need leaders and living examples. The walking monks have become the beautiful antithesis to the hateful and immoral actions of the deluded. For every Becky Gable who is inspired to act more peacefully, the tipping point draws nearer. May America be graced with more peace-loving leaders, from whatever spiritual traditions they emerge, and may their soft voices roar across the land, blasting a clarion call for peace and all that is good. ❧

It is with great pleasure that we launch Everyday Spirituality in this issue. It is a quarterly column wherein a group of local spiritual leaders responds to one question from us. We’ve recruited and continue to recruit these leaders so that, over time, our readers get to hear from a variety of perspectives.

And I have to say, as excited as I have been about releasing this column into the wild, I believe the quality of our first installment is outstanding! We ask our spiritual leaders about enhancing romantic relationships, and every answer is inspiring and insightful.

As I’ve often said, Natural Awakenings Atlanta is all about holistic health and personal evolution. Personal evolution is not “self-improvement.” The latter is more about gaining new skills, whether they be work-related or play-related. Personal evolution, however, is a journey inwards. It consists of taking steps to become a more loving and more compassionate human being—one who increasingly becomes one with all that surrounds him or her. The dark night of the soul is very real, so sometimes it can be an extremely messy journey, full of apprehension and fear. So spiritual guidance seems like a highly appropriate thing for us to seek out and share with you, our readers.

Please don’t hesitate to let us know your thoughts about this new offering. And if you have an idea for questions to ask our panel of spiritual leaders, email Diane at [email protected]. ❧

Publisher of Natural Awakenings Atlanta since 2017, Paul Chen’s professional background includes strategic planning, marketing management and qualitative research. He practices Mahayana Buddhism and kriya yoga. Contact him at [email protected].