Wall of Moms: War is not healthy for children and other living things

My mom was Another Mother for Peace. She posted this poster on a childhood bedroom wall, "War is not healthy for children and other living things." (She posted the poster in my brother's room, in case he got any notions of growing up to become a murderer-for-hire for the government--(aka, joining the military.) When the current pandemic hit, the United Nations called for a ceasefire for health reasons. And the Wall of Moms link arms (while wearing the prescribed face masks to prevent their exhalations from affecting the health of someone else) as they stand united in front of federal troops who are sent out to attack the populace. Moms keep standing up for peace, and health. The camouflaged and arsenal-loaded federal troops all looked like boys to me, in the photos I saw. Not a single mom among them. It's long past due to have the boys (of any age) step aside in the name of public health. There are a whole lot of moms who can do it all better. My mom, even when she had Alzheimer's, recalled at a Mother's Day tea in her assisted living facility that her proudest memory was getting arrested with Maya Angelou at the Nevada Nuclear Test Site as they all chanted, "No More War! No More War! No More War!"

Mi madre era otra madre para la paz (Another Mother for Peace). Colocó este póster en la pared de un dormitorio infantil: "La guerra no es saludable para los niños y otros seres vivos". (Colocó el póster en la habitación de mi hermanito, en caso de que tuviera alguna idea para convertirse en un asesino mercenario para el gobierno, es decir, ser soldado en el ejército). Cuando la pandemia actual golpeó todo el mundo, las Naciones Unidas pidieron un alto el fuego por razones de salud. Y el Muro de las Mamás (Wall of Moms) une los brazos (mientras usan las máscaras faciales prescritas para evitar que sus exhalaciones afecten la salud de otras personas) mientras se unen frente a las tropas federales que fueron enviadas para asaultar a la población. Las mamás siguen defendiendo la paz y la salud. Las tropas federales camufladas y cargadas de arsenal me parecieron todos niños, en las fotos que vi. No hay ni una madre entre ellos. Ya es hora para los niños (de cualquier edad) se hacen a un lado en nombre de la salud pública. Hay muchas mamás que pueden hacer todo mejor. Mi madre, incluso cuando tenía Alzheimer, recordó en un té del Día de la Madre en su centro de vida asistida que su recuerdo más orgulloso era ser arrestada con Maya Angelou en el sitio de prueba nuclear de Nevada (Nevada Nuclear Test Site) mientras todos gritaban: "¡No más guerra! ¡No más guerra! ¡No más guerra!"

Paris Attacks: Give Peace a Chance

It’s terrible what happened in Paris. I mourn in deepest sympathy.

Yet I do not hate and saber-rattle, calling for war. Why? As Buddhist leader Daisaku Ikeda wrote, “Nothing is more barbarous than war. Nothing is more cruel…Nothing is more pitiful than a nation being swept along by fools.”

Tokyo after Allied bombing raid (March 1945) 

Photo: daisakuikeda.org

Ikeda, who grew up in war-torn Japan, has dedicated his life to ending war and spreading peace through a process called ‘human revolution.’ In the first volume of his series of novels The New Human Revolution, Ikeda cites the great pacifist, Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi led India to independence 

through the nonviolent methods of 

civil disobedience. Photo: Wikimedia

Gandhi proclaimed that the ‘power of the spirit’ is stronger than any…bomb. To transform this century of war into a century of peace, we must cultivate the limitless inherent power of human life. This is the ‘human revolution’…

Ikeda bases the concept of ‘human revolution’ on the writings of 13th-century Japanese Buddhist reformer Nichiren Daishonin. Based on deep study of the teachings (sutras) of the Buddha, Nichiren criticized the people in power in his country for their beliefs and assumptions, for they were causing harm to the people.

These erroneous beliefs and assumptions, he argued, were the causes of the civil unrest, attacks from foreign countries, extreme weather, and epidemics that left bodies piled up like cordwood in his island home of Japan.

What were these erroneous beliefs and assumptions? Are they still around, causing misery in today’s world? And what correct beliefs and assumptions did Nichiren advocate would cause peace and happiness?

The erroneous beliefs and assumptions in general were that humanity was a hierarchy where those at the top had the right to manipulate everyone else in order to maintain their own privileged position of power, no matter how much suffering they caused.

Are these beliefs and assumptions still around today, causing misery? The answer is obvious: Yes.

What beliefs and assumptions did Nichiren say were correct, for causing peace and happiness? He cited the Lotus Sutra, claiming that all humans are equal. We are all interconnected with everything, down to the minutest particle of dust, in the great and sacred mystery called ‘Life.’

Interestingly, these beliefs and assumptions are shared by all the indigenous cultures I am aware of, especially hunter-gatherer cultures who have lived sustainably on this planet for thousands of years.

Some people distil these correct beliefs and assumptions into the phrase “We are One.”

Awake to this reality of our interconnection, of our oneness, our equality, we are called Buddhas – awakened ones. If we are awake to our Buddha attributes of limitless courage, compassion and wisdom, Nichiren claimed we can transform our lives, countries and world into a place of ‘eternally tranquil light.’

Violence only begets violence. The cycle must stop.

World Peace. Art: LynetteYetter.com

The killings in Paris are part of a cycle based on erroneous beliefs and assumptions. Now is a time when we can pause and start a new cycle – a cycle of waking up to our oneness with each other, with our Mother Earth and indeed the entire universe.

Ancestral teachings of many cultures advocate this.

Nichiren taught that we can speed up our awakening, our human revolution, with the practice of chanting the mantra “nam-myoho-renge-kyo” to stir up our Buddha-wisdom. Based on that wisdom we take action to make positive change for our own happiness and the happiness of all our relations.

May the poison of the killings in Paris be transformed into the medicine of world peace.

As we say in Bolivia, Jallalla. It’s an Aymara term imbued with hope and determination to work intensely to make our dreams become reality.

And as my Lakota teacher, Peji, taught me — Ho. “Come on! Let’s do it now!”



First published as "Paris Attacks: Give Peace a Chance" on BlogCritics.org

No More War! ¡No a la Guerra!

(El castellano sigue el inglés)
No "limited strikes" on the people and land of Syria or anywhere!

Whatever happened to "Do unto your neighbor as you would have him do unto you"?

Is the U.S. government (backed/manipulated by U.S.-based transnational corporations who profit from war) inviting neighbors to do "limited strikes" on the U.S. people and land because of its government's own many breaches of international agreements?

Common sense and even the Bible criticises this proposed aggressive act of "limited strikes", such as in Matthew 7:4-5  ^"How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."

If the U.S. wants to be a "good guy" teaching the world in a paternalistic way, it can start by stopping being a Rambo-esque hypocrite and start being more Gandhi- and Mandela-esque by self-reflecting. The U.S. government needs to apologize for all the harm it has done and work hard to right its own wrongs for the well-being of everyone on our blue orb.

Here is a very partial list of U.S. wrongs that need to be addressed before criticising a "speck" in anyone else's eye:

1. Invading and occupying countries.

2. Manipulating/brainwashing its own citizens through media monopolies.

3. Mandating that corporations have to make a profit no matter how much damage they do to humans, and other living beings such as Pachamama (Mother Earth), in the process.

3. Manipulating/brainwashing people around the world through "Voice of America" radio broadcasts that were started in WWII by the U.S. Department of War and continue to this day.

 4. Disregarding the Kyoto Protocol and other international summits/agreements about living more harmoniously with our Mother, the Earth.

What other wrongs would YOU add to this list?

Keep speaking out. We CAN turn the tide.

***

NO a los "ataques limitados" al pueblo y la tierra de Siria o en cualquier lugar!

¿Qué pasó con "Trata a tu prójimo como te gustaría que le hicieran a ti"?

¿El gobierno de los EE.UU. (respaldado / manipulado por las empresas transnacionales que se aprovechan de la guerra) invitando a los vecinos a hacer "ataques limitados" contra el pueblo de Estados Unidos y la tierra, porque de las muchas violaciones de su propio gobierno de los acuerdos internacionales?

El sentido común e incluso la Biblia critican este acto agresivo propuesta de "ataques limitados", como en Mateo 7:4-5 "¿Cómo puedes decir a tu hermano: Déjame sacar la paja de tu ojo ', cuando todo el vez que hay una viga en tu propio ojo? ¡Hipócrita, saca primero la viga de tu propio ojo, y entonces verás bien para sacar la paja del ojo de tu hermano. "

Si los EE.UU. quiere enseñar al mundo en una manera paternalista, tiene que dejar de ser un hipócrita Rambo-esque y empezar a ser más como Gandhi y Mandela por la auto-reflexión. El gobierno de EE.UU. tiene que pedir perdón por todo el daño que ha hecho, y tiene que trabajar duro para corregir sus propios errores para el bienestar de todos en nuestro orbe azul.

Aquí está una lista parcial de los males de los Estados Unidos que deben abordarse antes de criticar una "mancha" en los ojos de alguien más:

1. Invadir y ocupar países.

2. Manipular / lavar los cerebros a sus propios ciudadanos a través de los monopolios de comunicación.

3. La obligatoriedad legal de que las empresas tienen que obtener lo maximo utilidad, sin importar cuánto daño le hacen a los seres humanos y otros seres vivos, como la Pachamama (Madre Tierra), en el proceso.

3. Manipular / lavar los cerebros de gente de todo el mundo a través de "La Voz de América" ​​emisiones de radio que se han iniciado en la Segunda Guerra Mundial por el Departamento de Guerra de EE.UU. y continúan hasta el día en hoy.

4. Sin tener en cuenta el Protocolo de Kyoto y otras cumbres / acuerdos sobre el medio ambiente -- cómo vivir con más armonía con nuestra Madre, la Tierra Internacional.

¿Qué otros "males" añadirías a esta lista?

Sigue hablando en voz alta. Si se puede convertir la marea.

What if? Thoughts on the Newtown, CT massacre and peace

(El castellano sigue el inglés)
I mourn the deaths of the children and adults in Newtown, CT, killed in a Rambo-style massacre by an American. I mourn the deaths of children and adults everywhere who have been killed by weapons made in the United States, sold by the United States. I mourn the loss of dignity of people trying to make a living, and US culture offers them jobs as accessories to mass-murder -- working for defense contractors, the military, as a politician supporting war, or as an artist developing movies, video games, even novels, which teach and glorify mass-murder. I mourn being part of a culture which lives on the American continent only because our fore-fathers mass-murdered millions of indigenous people (including some of my native Algonquian relatives) and stole the land.

To end the cycle of violence that is systemic in US society, what would happen if the government sets an example by withdrawing the military from everywhere except military bases in the 50 states and stops making and selling weapons for export? What if US tax dollars, instead of paying for mass-murder, were used for humanitarian projects such as housing, education, health, community gardens, parks, arts and music?

As Gandhi and other pacifists have demonstrated throughout history, we can resolve conflicts in other ways, without violence. I mourn. And I have hope -- for any problem created by humans, can be solved by humans.

There are myriads of paths of learning how to live without violence. One path is improving communication skills and the art of dialog. Compassionate communication, also known as "nonviolent communication," is a skill we can learn through books and classes and practice. Lots of practice. It involves expressing our observations, feelings, needs and requests in respectful ways, and to learn how to better listen with empathy.

US former president Jimmy Carter is an expert mediator of international conflicts. In a talk he gave at Royce Hall at the University of California, Los Angeles, he said that all international conflicts are based on the same issues as any disagreement in a family. The scale is the only difference. What if the family is filled with domestic abuse, as our entire society seems to be?
Global domestic abuse? There are excellent books and programs for victims of abuse (everyone in the world), as well as programs for the abusers to learn how to change.

The key is to self-reflect, with the help of a skilled guide, on ones own beliefs, and to embrace other beliefs that are more respectful of life. Like Nichiren Daishonin wrote many centuries ago, "You must quickly reform the tenets you hold in your heart."

Nothing is impossible.

Article first published as What if? Thoughts on the Newton, CT Massacre and Peace on Blogcritics.

***

Yo duelo la muerte de los niños y adultos en Newtown, CT, muerto en una masacre al estilo Rambo por un estadounidense. Yo duelo la muerte de niños y adultos de todo el mundo que han sido asesinados por armas fabricadas en Estados Unidos, que se vende por los Estados Unidos. Yo duelo la pérdida de la dignidad de las personas que tratan de ganarse la vida y cultura de los EE.UU. les ofrece puestos de trabajo como cómplices de asesinato masivo - que trabajan para los contratistas de defensa, las fuerzas armadas, como una guerra político de apoyo, o como un artista en desarrollo películas, video juegos, incluso novelas, que enseñan y glorificar el asesinato masivo. Yo duelo ser parte de una cultura que se vive en el continente americano sólo porque nuestros antepasados asesinaron en masa millones de personas indígenas (entre ellos algunos de mis parientes nativos algonquinos) y robaron la tierra.

Para poner fin al ciclo de violencia que es sistémica en la sociedad estadounidense, ¿qué pasaría si el gobierno pone el ejemplo al retirar a los militares de todas partes, excepto las bases militares en los 50 estados, y deja de producir y vender y exportar armas ? ¿Qué pasaría si los impuestos, en lugar de pagar por el asesinato masivo de guerra, se utilizaron para proyectos humanitarios, como la vivienda, la educación, la salud, jardines comunitarios, parques, artes y música?

Como Gandhi y otros pacifistas han demostrado a lo largo de la historia, podemos resolver los conflictos de otra manera, sin violencia. Yo duelo. Y yo tengo la esperanza - que cualquier problema creado por los seres humanos, puede ser resuelto por los humanos.

Hay una infinidad de rutas de aprender a vivir sin violencia. Un camino es mejorar las habilidades de comunicación y el arte del diálogo. Comunicación compasiva, también conocido como "comunicación no violenta", es una habilidad que se puede aprender a través de libros y las clases y la práctica. Un montón de práctica. Se trata de expresar nuestras observaciones, sentimientos, necesidades y demandas de manera respetuosa, y aprender a escuchar mejor con empatía.

El ex presidente estadounidense Jimmy Carter es un mediador experto de los conflictos internacionales. En una charla que el dio en el Royce Hall de la Universidad de California, Los Angeles, dijo que todos los conflictos internacionales se basan en los mismos problemas que cualquier desacuerdo en la familia. La escala es la única diferencia. ¿Y si la familia está llena de violencia doméstica, como toda de nuestra sociedad también parece ser? ¿Es abuso doméstico Global?

Hay excelentes libros y programas para las víctimas de abuso (todo el mundo), así como programas para los abusadores para aprender a cambiar.

La clave es la auto-reflexión, con la ayuda de un guía experto, en las propias creencias, y abrazar otras creencias que son más respetuosos de la vida. Al igual que Nichiren Daishonin escribió hace muchos siglos, "Usted debe reformar rápidamente los principios que tienen en su corazón."

Nada es imposible.