Peace in Oneself, Peace in the World: The Real Heart of Engaged Buddhism: A Response to Lisa Kemmerer

Ms. Kemmerer says she came to the retreat at Estes Park "to enhance [her] ability to teach about Thay, about contemporary Zen Buddhist practice, and Engaged Buddhism." We trust that Ms. Kemmerer, as a student of Zen Buddhism, will not be surprised if in responding to her key question, " Was this retreat really only about me?', we have to answer, "Yes!".... and, "no." One of the central themes of Thay's teaching, especially in the context of engaged Buddhism, is "Peace in oneself, peace in the world." In the ultimate dimension of reality, there is no separation between oneself and the world; in daily practice, peace always has to begin with our way of relating with ourselves and those around us. We could only smile with recognition and solidarity, as fellow students in the Zen tradition, at the recurring anguish and irritation ultimately summed up in Ms. Kemmerer's demand: "Time was running short; when would my questions be answered?" Countless others have hit the same wall of frustration in their encounters with Zen teachers across the centuries. (It's a lucky thing--or perhaps an unlucky one?--that Ms. Kemmerer wasn't asking her questions of our great patriarch, Master Linji. He almost certainly would have responded with a shout or a blow to try to help her break out of the prison of her thinking, judging mind.) Enjoy your koan! In our experience, focusing and dwelling upon others' imperfection rarely helps us to realize inner transformation, understanding and compassion--the only true foundation for being peace, and bringing more peace into the world. As it says in the Bible: "First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother's." Specifically with regard to vegetarianism and veganism, Sister Chan Khong addressed this in the "Commonly Asked Questions" section of Thay's book, For a Future to Be Possible: Buddhist Ethics for Everyday Life (1993/2007). In response to the question, "If I take the First Mindfulness Training [on not killing], does it mean I have to become a vegetarian?" Sister Chan Khong explained: Thay Nhat Hanh asks us to practice mindfulness deeply every time we eat or drink. If we do so, we may find that our appetite for meat and fish begins to diminish. The important thing is to be aware of what we consume. I have met people who cannot be vegetarian because of medical reasons, but who respect life more than many vegetarians. Some vegetarians are too extreme, and are unkind to those who cannot give up meat-eating. I am more comfortable with a meat-eater than an extremist vegetarian who is filled with self-righteousness. (107) At our retreats in Plum Village and on tour, we do our best to balance our own way of living out the teachings of the Buddha with making those teachings accessible at the same time to a broad spectrum of people who are not yet ready to, for example, go totally vegan or even be full-time vegetarians. We certainly are not going around our retreats forcing 800 mature adults into absolute, total compliance with the teachings offered. We're very happy that people from many walks of life feel welcome to come and receive teachings that can help them move a little bit farther along their path. Meanwhile, elsewhere in this journal issue may be found Thay's letter of November 2007 gently asking his students to refrain from eating milk and eggs as well as flesh; a "love letter" Thay recently wrote to KFC asking for more humane treatment of chickens; and also the latest version of our contemplations recited before meals. We believe these pieces respond to the bulk of Ms. Kemmerer's criticisms, and may even lead her to re-examine her assertion that her questions during the retreat were not mindfully considered and "the learning . all one-way." Most of Ms. Kemmerer's other observations had to do with situations that were more or less random, or personal to the individual she observed, and not representative of any systematic, deliberate policies. …