‘Veterans are the light at the tip of the candle,’ illuminating the way for the whole nation.
If veterans can achieve awareness, transformation, understanding, and peace, they can share with the rest of society the realities of war.
And they can teach us how to make peace with ourselves and each other, so we never have to use violence to resolve conflicts again.
— Thich Nhat Hanh
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Contoveros 
“Ain’t gonna study war no more . . .”
That was the song veterans and family members of vets sang at the retreat with Thích Nhất Hạnh at Blue Cliff Monastery, upstate New York. We formed a group which included the daughter of General William C. Westmoreland, once commander of the army during the Vietnam War.
Thầy held a special place for veterans from the United States who faced war and believed we could help others see the futility of all wars!
(See https://contoveros.com/2017/03/15/thich-nhat-hanh-sees-the-suffering-in-us/)
Lyrics
I’m gonna lay down my burden, down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside, down by the riverside
I’m gonna lay down my burden, down by the riverside,
I’m gonna study war no more
I ain’t a gonna study war no more, I ain’t a gonna study war no more
I ain’t a gonna study war no more, I ain’t a gonna study war no more
I ain’t a gonna study war no more, I ain’t a gonna study war no more
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Someday, we’ll have to get Contoveros to write a short blog post about the retreat he attended with Thich Nhat Hahn, and how he took part in a walking meditation when the modest monk rested and looked directly into Michael J’s eyes and comforted his soul.
“God is available to us 24 hours a day,” the Buddhist monk from Vietnam told the gathering of some thousand people at Blue Cliff Monastery in up state New York.
“How often are we available to god?”
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Hey Michael J, I appreciate your blogs more than I can say.
My son is a recent vet and composed a youtube video to honor the humanity of our soldiers. I thought you might find it moving:
Take Care,
Laurie
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Octobia,
Beautiful. Dog tags, the shell casing and the Airborne symbol hit me. So did the coffin being carried by members of all branches of the services in their dress uniforms. I had dress blues. (Still do, but will never get back to the size to ever wear ’em again!)
Thank you. Thanks to your son also,
michael j
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Check this out, the video will make you “suck it up”.
http://ellocogringo.wordpress.com/16-the-warriors-mind/price-of-peace/
Everything on my site is downloadable
The message is important, not the messenger.
walt
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Thanks Walt. El Loco Gringo.
michael j
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Beautiful. It is both a treasure and a responsibility.
Peace,
Phil
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I have a poem somewhere to the effect;
it wasn’t the lawyer who gave you justice, it was the soldier
it wasn’t the politician who gave you democracy, it was the soldier
etc. I’ll find it and return
thanks for waiting, here it is
“It was the soldier, that gave you freedom of the press not the reporter
It was the soldier, not the poet that gave you freedom of expression
It was the soldier that gave you freedom of speech, not the campus organizer
It is the soldier that salutes the flag It is the soldier that serves under the flag
And it is the soldier whose coffin is draped by the flag
So that others may have the right to bum the flag.”
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Walt,
This soldier bows in salute to such heartfelt words.
He also “requsitioned” the poetry, and published it in a separate post at his humble blog.
Hope you don’t mind. It means a lot to me.
michael j
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Walt passed on less than a year after providing me his poem above.
I like to think his consciousness is soldiering on in another part of the cosmos, helping the rest of us to achieve enlightenment.
Thank you, brother.
michael j
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Wounded Healers often make the best ministers, because they’ve “been there” and have come through it, turning the wounding into compassion and blessing.
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Katharine,
I’m thinking, I’m thinking.
My sister-in-law just got a speeding ticket. Doing 62 in a 35 mph zone.
She told me just after I was plea-bargaining my own moving violation to avoid points for doing 54 in a 25 mph zone.
One would expect this of me, a war veteran with PTSD.
But Michele? She’s another one of those bonifide ministers, a Methodist type, pastor of her own church in Germantown, PA, the First United Methodist.
Nice to know that law infractions pose no bar from serving humanity as a member of the clergy.
There may be hope for somebody I know after all.
michael j
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Darkness is only an absence of light
The night does not dispell the light
But the coming of a new dawn
Does signify the end of a long cold night
As surley as ignorance is an absence of knowledge
Love is an absence of hate
JSP
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“. . . [I]gnorance is the absence of knowledge,”
“Love is the absence of hate.”
Jason Scott,
Reminds me of something that impressed me so much, I wrote it down, perhaps saving it only to share with you right now:
Rabi’a: My love for God, leaves me no time left in which to hate the Devil.
michael j
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