{"id":1715,"date":"2023-10-18T16:37:07","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T20:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redchairblogs.wpengine.com\/holymoly\/?p=1715"},"modified":"2023-10-18T16:37:07","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T20:37:07","slug":"cultivating-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/2023\/10\/18\/cultivating-peace\/","title":{"rendered":"Cultivating Peace"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cHow can I be a presence of peace during so much chaos?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the question I have repeatedly asked myself since the news broke of violence in Israel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I took off a few days over midterm break, and with my Juzu (Buddhist prayer beads) in hand, I spent hours chanting. I meditated on a world where Oneness is fully realized. I read poetry by the late Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, as a chaplain, it is important for me to spiritually center myself so that I can care for others. In the spirit of Thich Nhat Hanh, I must have peace within so that I may create peace in the world. I lean on my twenty-year Buddhist practice to help me do so. I chant. I meditate. I cultivate calmness. I tend to all of those I have been called to care for. I, like so many Buddhist chaplains, strive to be a presence of peace for all faculty, staff, and students, no matter their faith or secular traditions. Even during chaos, we practice to remain centered.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I sit with those who are scared, those who are deeply grieving this violence. I go home and breathe carefully and deeply. I reset and come to campus again the next day ready to provide care for those who need a compassionate presence.<\/span><\/p>\n

I wonder, dear reader, how you are caring for yourself through the chaos. How are you processing the images of war on tv and computer screens? Are you taking walks in nature? Are you visiting your place of worship? Are you checking in on friends and family?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Like me, are you meditating on or praying for peace?<\/span><\/p>\n

I urge our community to think about members who are suffering. I urge us to exercise even more compassion for each other. We never know what burdens another may be carrying. Beings from multiple faith traditions are grieving this violence. May we be a loving presence for all. And do not forget that our University\u2019s wonderful counselors and chaplains are here to support you. Yes, one of the greatest gifts we are given is that of community. May we be a supportive and loving community today and always. May we keep peace within so that we may foster peaceful spaces for all.\u00a0 May a world of peace and Oneness come into being. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cHow can I be a presence of peace during so much chaos?\u201d\u00a0 This is the question I have repeatedly asked myself since the news broke of violence in Israel.\u00a0 I took off a few days over midterm break, and with …<\/p>\n

Cultivating Peace<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jeremy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1QIf6-rF","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1715\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}