Memorial Days

With palms together,

Good Morning Everyone,



Today at Clear Mind Zen Temple we will prepare for tomorrow’s Zazenkai (Day of Meditation) which coincides with the annual Hiroshima/Nagasaki Memorial Day. In Japan this day is remembered as “A-Bomb Day” and participants often light lanterns for those ancestors killed by the atomic bomb strikes on these two cities near the end of World War Two. During our Zazenkai we will mark these catastrophic events by lighting two candles and reciting the Great Compassionate Dharani, a chant that evokes the that aspect in us we call compassion to act in the world..



War is never a good solution to conflict among nations, just as violence is not a good solution between individuals. We have these marvelous brains able to look into the deepest realms of inner and outer space, unlock the mysteries of the genome, and even travel in space, yet we cannot seem to think our way out of using bombs and guns to solve our conflicts.



Events such as memorial days honoring those who died are meaningless without a commitment to changing behavior so as not to pile up more bodies for our children to honor. Personally, I would rather understand memorial days as times of committing to peace than remembering war because the danger in remembering war is that it often arouses feelings of great sadness and hurt. We know from our practice that such feelings are often at the source of our anger toward those who hurt us and act as justifications for additional conflict.



Let us each commit to peace, bringing about peace, and the practice of non-violent solutions to conflict.



Be well.