Thich Nhat Hanh speaks out.
Posted by John on October 11, 2001 at 17:51:11:

I'd wondered about not hearing the spiritual leaders around the world speaking up about the war situation. Now, my wide-awake friends Susan
Swann and Allan Sorokin, of the Tucson Creative Living Center—best *wilderness* workshop space in southern Arizona—found this "prayer" by
Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, and forwarded it over to me to share with you. It's called "Rest in Peace."

.......................................................................

I am a World Trade Center tower, standing tall in the
clear blue sky, feeling a violent blow in my side, and
I am a towering inferno of pain and suffering
imploding upon myself and collapsing to the ground.
May I rest in peace.

I am a terrified passenger on a hijacked airplane not
knowing where we are going or that I am riding on fuel
tanks that will be instruments of death, and I am a
worker arriving at my office not knowing that in just
a moment my future will be obliterated.
May I rest in peace.

I am a pigeon in the plaza between the two towers
eating crumbs from someone's breakfast when fire rains
down on me from the skies, and I am a bed of flowers
admired daily by thousands of tourists now buried
under five stories of rubble.
May I rest in peace.

I am a firefighter sent into dark corridors of smoke
and debris on a mission of mercy only to have it
collapse around me, and I am a rescue worker risking
my life to save lives who is very aware that I may not
make it out alive.
May I rest in peace.

I am a survivor who has fled down the stairs and out
of the building to safety who knows that nothing will
ever be the same in my soul again, and I am a doctor
in a hospital treating patients burned from head to
toe
who knows that these horrible images will remain in my
mind forever.
May I know peace.

I am a tourist in Times Square looking up at the giant
TV screens thinking I'm seeing a disaster movie as I
watch the Twin Towers crash to the ground, and I am a
New York woman sending e-mails to friends and family
letting them know that I am safe.
May I know peace.

I am a piece of paper that was on someone's desk this
morning and now I'm debris scattered by the wind
across lower Manhattan, and I am a stone in the
graveyard at Trinity Church covered with soot from
the buildings that once stood proudly above me, death
meeting death.
May I rest in peace.

I am a dog sniffing in the rubble for signs of life,
doing my best to be of service, and I am a blood donor
waiting in line to make a simple but very needed
contribution for the victims.
May I know peace.

I am a resident in an apartment in downtown New York
who has been forced to evacuate my home, and I am a
resident in an apartment uptown who has walked 100
blocks home in a stream of other refugees.
May I know peace.

I am a family member who has just learned that someone
I love has died, and I am a pastor who must comfort
someone who has suffered a heart-breaking loss.
May I know peace.

I am a loyal American who feels violated and vows to
stand behind any military action it takes to wipe
terrorists off the face of the earth, and I am a loyal
American who feels violated and worries that people who
look and sound like me are all going to be blamed for this tragedy.
May I know peace.

I am a frightened city dweller who wonders whether
I'll ever feel safe in a skyscraper again, and I am a
pilot who wonders whether there will ever be a way to
make the skies truly safe.
May I know peace.

I am the owner of a small store with five employees
that has been put out of business by this tragedy, and
I am an executive in a multinational corporation who
is concerned about the cost of doing business in a
terrorized world.
May I know peace.

I am a visitor to New York City who purchases
postcards of the World Trade Center Twin Towers that
are no more, and I am a television reporter trying to
put into words the terrible things I have seen.
May I know peace.

I am a boy in New Jersey waiting for a father who will
never come home, and I am a boy in a faraway country
rejoicing in the streets of my village because someone
has hurt the hated Americans.
May I know peace.

I am a general talking into the microphones about how
we must stop the terrorist cowards who have
perpetrated this heinous crime, and I am an
intelligence officer trying to discern how such a
thing could have happened on American soil, and I am a
city official trying to find ways to alleviate the
suffering of my people.
May I know peace.

I am a terrorist whose hatred for America knows no
limit and I am willing to die to prove it, and I am a
terrorist sympathizer standing with all the enemies of
American capitalism and imperialism, and I am a master
strategist for a terrorist group who planned this
abomination. My heart is not yet capable of openness,
tolerance, and loving.
May I know peace.

I am a citizen of the world glued to my television
set, fighting back my rage and despair at these
horrible events, and I am a person of faith struggling
to forgive the unforgivable, praying for the
consolation of those who have lost loved ones, calling
upon the merciful beneficence of
God/Yahweh/Allah/Spirit/Higher Power.
May I know peace.

I am a child of God who believes that we are all
children of God and we are all part of each other.
May we all know peace.

Follow Ups:

• A move that can be made awarely for peace. John 10/12/2001(0)

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