Taken from video source
The two men in this photo are Pancho Ramos Stierle and Adelaja Simon. I have meditated with them in the park near their home in Oakland where many homicides have taken place. We wanted to spread loving-kindness and help heal the wounds of something that is now very dysfunctional.
At the heart, there is the opportunity for change, even liberation. It just takes people who are willing to put in the work to wisely encourage the inherent goodness to prevail.
As for their personal practice, they have renounced many things. They meditate and practice yoga daily, work on developing urban gardens for the public, rarely use money, are celibate, refrain from speaking for one day a week, are vegetarian, refrain from eating refined sugar and processed foods, don’t have a cell phone, and last but not least, voluntarily live in a neighborhood plagued by danger—all in order to promote peace.
At the heart, there is the opportunity for change, even liberation. It just takes people who are willing to put in the work to wisely encourage the inherent goodness to prevail. We all make choices, and here are Pancho and Adelaja acting non-violently once again, in an area that is currently prone to discord.
Right now there are people selling drugs, molesting children, beating their wives and supporting prostitution. Here we have photos of people with guns, sticks, riot-gear, and helmets arresting some other people who are sitting cross-legged and meditating. Of course, there is the fact of where they where meditating and the fact that police ordered them to move and they didn’t. But, in this situation, it good to try to look at the bigger picture. Usually, not moving during meditation is a good thing! Meditation helps civilians be more calm, insightful, and peaceful. The more one meditates, the more we are in the present moment and able to connect with our humanity. Maybe this should be encouraged. Although Pancho and Adelaja were arrested on a technicality, we could only hope that folks would protest as non-violently as this! With all the other criminal activity in society, should we really be spending our time trying to arrest people who are meditating?
Taken from video source
Police around the country in many places such as Oakland, Wall Street, UC Berkeley and now UC Davis have used violence and intimidation to try to stamp out the Occupy protests. Why? What are these people saying that is difficult to hear? What would happen if they were really heard? And what would change if they were heard?
We need solutions that go beyond violence. Unfortunately, the underlying causes for the problems that people are protesting about are not changing—but getting worse. Even the misguided police who try to use brutality as a solution may find it scary to think that if pressure keeps mounting, they won’t be able to control the growing population of Americans who want change. It’s not just Americans, but masses of people world-wide who are growing increasingly desperate—challenged by unemployment, hunger, environmental destruction, poverty and oppression of different forms.
Permission given by Jasna Hodzic (Photographer) and The California Aggie
People are not happy and they are going to do something, so why not let them do it non-violently? Meditating for peace is something to encourage. I don’t want people meditating in my doorway or obstructing me any more than anyone else does, but it is healthy to let people publicly express their pain in a way that doesn’t hurt others. If these protests hurt the profits of those who are trying to deceive others, it is only a problem for craving and desire.
When law enforcement no longer protects civilians, but increases violence instead, things have gone off track, and we should re-examine proper principles of law and order.
Law and order must contain virtue. As we look at the police, we can see that they are people too, with families, mothers, children, hobbies, favorite music, and so on…They must have courage to confront the endless threat of violence that they put themselves into as they are called to enter dangerous situations. There are the ideals of serving the community, and there is also the reality that they need money to support their families and their basic needs as a human being. These are human beings! Their job is to protect civilians—who are also human beings. When law enforcement no longer protects civilians, but increases violence instead, things have gone off track, and we should re-examine proper principles of law and order.
The basic issue here is lack of virtue. Virtue is the necessary ingredient for proper law and order. The Buddha said 2600 years ago that if people avoid 5 things, then their current life and future lives will greatly improve. What are they?
- Refrain for taking the life of any living creature
- Refrain from taking that which is not given
- Refrain from sexual misconduct
- Refrain from false and harmful speech
- Refrain from taking drugs and alcohol
Pancho and Adelaja follow this code of peace. This is not only an ideal for the police to use in creating a safer and happier environment, but it is a solution that everyone can engage with if they want to create the true causes for positive change. This practice is needed both on and off duty for it to be effective. If we really want to be more safe, we need to go against our base desires. Change doesn’t happen by continuing the same un-benificial habits that lead to the same un-benificial results.
We are in unprecedented times, facing problems that are born of causes. We need to look at those causes and change them if we expect different results. As we can see from the photos above, things are not in balance now. The more that each of us is a model of peace and virtue, the more others will spread the kindness they receive from it, and the more people will see the power of our wholesome intentional actions.