Journeys to the Field (Head for Peace with Charlie)

Journey To The Field with Bernie (Charlie: Head for Peace)

Charlie

Experience what Bernie is doing around the world to wage peace and build hope. Help him in making children laugh, feeding the hungry, promoting love not hate and bringing peace instead of war.

Working with the Dalits (Untouchables) in India

Dalit Woman and Child

Bhikkhuni Pannavati is assisting Dalits in Tamil Nadu, Southern India. Bernie assisted her with his first journey to the field of Soutnern India in November, 2011. He was accompanied by Roshi Eve Marko and Friends of Bernie Sustainers, Senseis Roland and Barbara Wegmüller.

Working with India’s “Untouchables” ~ Roshi Eve Marko

We flew down to Tamil Nadu on Monday, landing in Chennai and taking a car some 4 hours west to Tiruvanmalai, where we stayed at a small ashram at the foot of Arunachala, the mountain overlooking Sri Ramana Maharshi’s ashram where he lived and died. We were at the foot of the mountain, next to groves of banana trees and a vegetable garden.  Here we met Ven. Panavatti, an African-American Theravadin nun who is studying with Bernie, along with her 3 Theravadin monastics, Ven. Panadippa, Dhammaratna, and Sukani.  We also met our host, an extraordinary Dalit leader, Gautama Prabhu, at 33 very handsome and already possessing a lot of skills, knowledge, and leadership capabilities. For the rest of our stay, it was Gautama who shared with us the horrifying picture of the life of the Dalits, or Untouchables, of India.  His own personal story is one of loving the Dharma and seeing it as an extraordinary vehicle for transforming the lives of his people.

Gautama, who leads the organization Foundation of His Sacred Majesty (alluding to the great Buddhist king, Ashoka), traced for us the vast remains of the Buddhist presence in India.  Like Dr. Ambedkar, the Dalit leader and contemporary of Gandhi, he too says that the Dalits were Buddhists many years ago and for this reason face the discrimination and persecution by Hindus. Gautama leads three organizations, two of which are dedicated to social and political action, and the third to bringing Buddhism to the Dalits as a vehicle of emancipating them from the Hindu caste system.

We participated in two sessions of teachings every day to groups numbering 20-30 of Gautama’s leaders-in-training.  The morning teaching was led by Ven. Panavatti and her associates, consisting of basic mindfulness meditation and loving kindness, while in the afternoon we came into a circle in which Bernie spoke and dialogued with the participants, to learn as much as possible about their lives.  Eve did a brief council training and facilitated council.

In the afternoons they asked questions: How will Buddhism change our lives?  How did it change yours?  What caused Americans to turn to Buddhism?  Is it bad to eat meat?  And on the last day, one woman asked: What do you tell your child when he goes to school and his classmates make fun of him for being a Dalit?

We also walked down alleyways to visit our neighbors, where Ven. Panavatti gave out games and toys to the children and bought bracelets and tiny combs from the mothers as a way of investing in their economy, then gave them to the children, while Bernie clowned with the kids.  The mothers sat on outside and held up the babies for us to admire, while behind them their windowless shanties, many made of coconut leaves, were dark. The monsoon rains began after the first 3 days, creating unbelievable mud and rivers of brown water running in trenches through the street.

By far the most touching hours were spent with the Tamils and Dalits in the villages as well as in the teaching sessions.  Their spirit, intelligence and beauty conflicted painfully with the poverty of the villages; the sight of their clean children carrying large backpacks filled with books went hand in hand with the absence of bathrooms in the schools; the women in beautiful saris that hid the thinness of arms and legs resulting from malnutrition and grinding work, the bright-eyed men ready and willing to give their lives to their movement, but not knowing how to support their own families.

The village meetings were held in the rec halls filled with women and children cleanly decked out, the kids wide-eyed with life and curiosity. Then the men came in and ordered the women to go to the back of the room. Panavatti refused, which caused some consternation, but she made it okay in the end and the women and children remained in front. The men immediately submitted a list of things they need (e.g., instead of school books, a bathroom).  We later discovered that, poor as they were, most were still not Untouchables; the latter weren’t even permitted to come into the rec hall.

After the session we went to see a large, 40-acre parcel of land they were given, beautiful, grassy acreage dotted with trees and large mounds of stone. Here they wish to begin some social projects and businesses, the first of which would be a dairy farm.

In our final day of council and discussion, Panavatti, who is a Theravadin nun, said she wishes to teach the Buddhadharma while Bernie said he’d like to help with social action projects.  The Dalits would like training in both areas, as well as some financial help (they’d like to get $100 per month for each of 20 volunteers over a 3-year period, so that this would support their families).

Overall, I am astonished and humbled by this chance to witness Buddhism returning to India, perhaps with the help of a feisty, in-your-face African-American nun.   But one thing is sure. It’s coming back through the poorest of the poor, something which the historical Gautama would surely approve of, and it’s coming back as a form of emancipation from the slavery of caste, which I also think he’d approve of.  And isn’t it wonderful that it’s coming back through the West?

You get a sense of a historic movement.  If Buddhism is of any value, it must prove that value to people who live in squalor and misery, yet are so bright-eyed and full of wonder and intelligence. And the challenge is, how?

Comment on Working with India’s “Untouchables” ~ Venerable Pannavati

Thank you Eve, for your comments and great compassion. We witnessed so much after you all left and interacted with literally hundreds of people. Our host just kept allowing the layers to be peeled back and I am still in the game! We are talking with several groups to structure something workable for wells, water, schools, and heart-training, not eliminating anyone because their love is not perfected, but using whatever talents they bring where it can count. That’s part of the job!Information on how Zen Peacemakers can be involved should they choose to will be posed on our website soon! But, as Bernie-la (and I agree totally) in his Opinion says, “it’s complicated” to say the least! So much pain, hurt, confusion….Yet, in the midst of this, the determination that one will not breathe his last breath without having put every ounce of his flesh into the “try”, forsaking even his own family for the sake of many is what makes me able to see beyond the momentary defiance to help bring about long term peace.Just as Bernie understands deeply the suffering of the genocide of his people and can in profound ways bring comfort and healing through physically (not just mentally) taking sons and daughters to the chambers to really sit with, accept and ultimately overcome the grief, I also understand plight of the Dalit leaders, deeply, being a recipient and witness, myself, of mass hatred condoned by the protective societal institutions (church, school,financial, government) of a nation against Blacks from the time they brought us here until now. And, while Dr. King is heralded with being the voice of our freedom, (and indeed, it goes better for everybody that way), I can tell you also that some groups “just said NO!” and their presence was also a catalyst for change. There was a slogan back them in the ‘hood: “the (true) revolution will not be televised.” But, the healers ultimately do come–and rightly from within the movement. Facilitating this phase is where I see my role. Helping Dalits move on, not as one coming to help — but AS one. Seeing the issues from their side. How do you teach one who has been treated as an Untouchable (and then there’s the Unmentionables as well) to love those who have treated him or her and their descendants this way for a couple of thousand years? (And, we won’t even discuss sheer magnitude of numbers.) You can’t just walk in and say “you have to love your enemies”. No, you have to work along side them teaching love for the enemy and self, by example. Some things are just better caught than taught. It takes wisdom and patience to guide a cornered stallion who can see the gate to freedom but is not quite sure how to get to it–and it takes fearless bodhichitta (which I also call mother-wit) to call wild sons to their true home (the heart). I was never one to take the smooth road. My inner torture having been cooled, I stretch out my hand to the one still screaming in pain. Ghandi was not an Untouchable, he eliminated the oppression of his group. Ambedkar was an Untouchable. Maybe what he did in his time was what was needed. I think so, even if it is not what is needed now. But, what he started is not finished, and that’s why I’m a Zen Peacemaker. So, Bernie-la–dearest–as I approach my 30 day reflection period, the verdict is in: I grock with this group. So, please save a little for us,ok (smile)? I met the author of Water to Wine. He goes where peacekeepers in Darfur will not go and works with the ones peacekeepers will not work with. Isn’t it great that Bernie doesn’t expect us to all be vanilla wafers and line up in a row as Zen Peacemakers, either?

Shantum Seth Interview by Ari Pliskin: 10 things that complicate the story of India’s “Untouchables”

Preparing for the Socially Engaged Pilgrimage in India, I asked Shantum to review the newsletter we were preparing.  Though he is a devout Buddhist who lived with and was introduced to Buddhism by downtrodden Indian Buddhists in Uttar Pradesh, he warned us against overly simplifying the situation. Though there is definitely a revolutionary role played by Ambedkarite Buddhism in liberating “untouchables”, Shantum explained, it stems primarily from a social and political base rather a Dharmic one. In fact, there is more of an emphasis on ‘equality’ than ‘liberation’. Dalits form the bottom rung of the oppressive Hindu caste system.  There are many nuances that complicate this story:

  1. Buddhism isn’t totally free of social distinctions.  While proclaiming castelessness, some Buddhists still marry according to caste expectations, just like Hindus.
  2. There are many stratifications based on sub-castes amongst the Dalits.
  3. There are reformist Hindus who reject the caste system.
  4. Dalit is just one self-identification by people who are considered “untouchable”.
  5. Dalits or “untouchables” are actually considered to be outside of the caste system altogether.  They are “outcastes”.
  6. In terms of socio-economic status, Dalits aren’t  the worst treated group in India.  Muslims are treated worse than Dalits and “tribal” peoples, even worse than Muslims.
  7. Because of benefits of affirmative action policy, some people seek fake identification as Dalits in order to illegitimately reap the benefits.
  8. Though many Dalits venerate Ambedkar (a Buddhist) and loathe Gandhi (a Hindu), Ambedkar and Gandhi respected each other and sometimes praised the other. They both worked to eradicate the curse of untouchability, but had different means, to achieve this end.
  9. Ambekar’s second wife (after the first died) was a Brahmin (the ‘highest’ caste) woman who converted to Buddhism at the same time as Ambedkar.
  10. There are many prominent Dalits, including a former president, former Chief Justice of the Supreme court, and the Chief Ministers of important states such as Uttar Pradesh.

All this is not to say that Dalits haven’t faced discrimination and that Ambedkarite Buddhism hasn’t helped them.  It’s just that the more you know, the more complicated things get.  As Charlie says “go figure”.

Dalit Monks at the site of Buddha’s Enlightenment~Ari Pliskin

This post continues the Bearing Witness Blog’s ongoing coverage of the Socially Engaged Pilgrimage in India with Bernie Glassman and Shantum Seth.  We continue to explore the group that was considered in India to be an “untouchable” caste.  Calling themselves Dalits, many of this group have converted to Buddhism in order to escape the caste system.

“Who are they?” Bernie asked Shantum, pointing to a group of orange-clad monks sitting on the periphery of the lane where pilgrims circumambulate around the Mahabodhi Mahavihara.  They were older and had darker skin than the other monks at the temple.
“let’s go talk to them,” Shantum said.
As shantum approached, one monk asked another “How much did u get?” the second monk saw Shantum approaching “Shhhh.”
Shantum introduced himself and asked a few questions.   The monks explained that they are Indian Dalits ordained  by Dharmapala.  They came to Bodh Gaya from Sankasya, Uttar Pradesh for the Kalacakra teachings given by the Dalai Lama. They don’t understand Tibetan, they said, but they are learning Pali.  They see Ambekar as a preacher and not a Bodhisattva.
While we were speaking with them, a well-dressed pilgrim who may have been East Asian brusquely walked by handing each monk a note of local currency.

Buddhism affords greater equality to women says Dalit practitioner/scholar in Bodh Gaya India ~Ari Pliskin

 

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Bodh Gaya, India

On a 2-week Pilgrimage in the Buddha’s footsteps co-led by Shantum Seth and Bernie Glassman, we met with locals and explored social issues connected to the lands through which we traveled.  During our stop in present-day Bodh Gaya, Bihar, where the Buddha is believed to have attained Nirvana, we took bicycle-powered rickshaws outside the main part of town to a Thai Buddhist Monastery.  There, we heard from Rajesh Kumar and his wife Usha who are leaders of a community of outcaste “Dalits” who have converted to Buddhism to free themselves from the oppressive Hindu caste system.

 

Rajesh has been practicing vipassana meditation for 10 years and wants to share with others the benefits he has experienced.  He invites residents of Bihar to a monthly1-day meditation retreat in Bodh Gaya. The gathering includes a Dharma talk from a teacher in town if one is available or reading of some Buddhist texts.   His group also distributes Dharma books, helps students study for exams and runs a clinic for locals.

20-50 people come to the retreats. The gatherings are open to everyone.  Most people who come are Dalit followers of Ambekar, though not all. Some have embraced Buddhism and converted and others are simply interested in Vipassana meditation.  Starting with mass conversions in 1956, Ambedkar continues to inspire the vast majority of the rapidly growing group of Dalits converting to Buddhism.  In addition to the 5 precepts and 3 refuges usually associated with converting to Buddhism, Ambedkar instructed his followers to take 22 additional vows, intended in part to replace belief in Hindu “superstition,” deities and caste distinctions with a Buddhist belief in equality and social improvement.

 

Rejesh did not take Ambedkar’s vows, though he did take refuge in the 3 treasures and 5 precepts. Ambedkar is a bodhisattva, he explained, who leads people to Buddha, even though the decision to take Ambedkar’s additional vows is a personal question, depending on each person. “Many don’t see me as Buddhist. Hindus still see us as a particular caste”, he explained “but as I do my practice, I don’t worry about what others say.  My mind is liberated from old beliefs.”  Rajesh explained that his group learns from Buddhist traditions from all over world, including the west.

 

“I take the good of all religions and have nothing against any particular religion,” says Usha, Rajesh’s wife.  “However, while I was born as a Hindu, my development happened as a Buddhist.  I’ll die as a Buddhist,” She used to be a Communist and became a Buddhist 16 years ago.  Usha wrote her PhD thesis on the greater equality afforded to women by Pali Buddhist scripture, compared to Hinduism.  She says this is still true today.  For example, Hinduism prohibits a wife from being more educated than her husband.  However, having completed a PhD, a Masters and a bachelors degree, Usha has more degrees than Rajesh (who only has a Master’s degree). Rajesh supported her through her education and he concurred that because of his understanding of the Dharma, he not only tolerates her superiority, but is very proud of it. She hopes other women benefit from Buddhism as she has.   She’s tries to introduce Buddhist philosophy and precepts and meditation to the 16 and 17 year old girls that she teaches.

Visiting the homes of villagers at “Sujata”~Ari Pliskin

 

Wed, Jan 11, 2011

While in Bodh Gaya, we journeyed to a village across the river to meet a Hindu family who Shantum has known for many years.  They met when TNH instructed Shantum to find a child in the village in which a young girl is believed to have saved Gautama from the brink of death after he nearly starved to death practicing austerities.  This led Gautama to find the Middle Way between material indulgence and harsh aceticism.

Since learning Shantum’s story, Rajesh (the boy) grew into a man with a wife names Sabina and kids.  Shantum has maintained a relationship, supporting the family and bringing pilgrims to meet them.  With Shantum’s help, Rajesh built 2 additional stories onto his house.  When we asked him what we did today,  he said that he helped a friend build a house.  He also works growing food and selling it wholesale to vegetable vendors.

The boy said that there isn’t discrimination in schools.  Muslims learn Urdu and Hindus learn Sanskrit, but the otherwise learn and eat together.  When he grows up, he wants to make his parents proud and become a doctor.  The girsl would like to become a teacher.

We were also joined by a man who sells lasi in town and who joined one of the pilgrims on our trip on a previous pilgrimage in which he walked in the footsteps of the Buddha.  He said that Dalits who convert to Ambedkarite Buddhism are confused because they still practice lots of Hindu culture.  They follow 50% Hinduism and 50% Buddhism.  He said that in town, nobody knows who is what caste, but in the village, everyone knows.   Dalits aren’t allowed in temples.  More than 70% descended from Dalit.

Assisting Sarvodaya in Sri Lanka

Founder of the Sarvodaya Movement of Sri Lanka Dr. A.T Ariyaratne

Sarvodaya, Sri Lanka’s biggest charity, is dedicated to making a positive difference to the lives of rural Sri Lankans. Their grassroots movement reaches 15,000 villages in 34 districts with 1,500 staff throughout Sri Lanka. The Founder, A. T. Ariyaratne and Bernie have been friends and have shared ideas for 30 years. In December, 2011, Bernie, Roshi Eve Marko and Friends of Bernie Sustainers, Senseis Roland and Barbara Wegmüller visited Sarvodaya in Sri Lanka and Bernie plans to assist Sarvodaya in the coming years.

Our first trip to Sri Lanka ~ Roshi Eve Marko

We arrived from India last Thursday, Dec 1, 2011,  smack into 32 C degrees with lightning and rain.  It remained 32 with rain and humidity the whole time we were there.  We were brought, after 2.5 hours, to the headquarters of the Sarvodaya Movement. Waiting for us quietly was an 80 year-old man in whites, one of the greatest human beings I’ve met, Dr. Ariyaratne, or just Ari.  I last saw Ari 15 years ago in Yonkers, and before that saw him on his rare visits to Greyston.  He has been officially nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize several times.

Ari was a school teacher many years ago, teaching kids in the old British style in the 1950s, when he decided that was not the way.  He went to a poor village, lived with them, finally assembled everyone and asked them what they needed.  They said a well.  He went to the next village and did the same thing.  They needed a road.  He began to bring the two together for shramadana, or shared work, in which both villages cooperated in building a well for one and a road for the other.  And that was the beginning of Sarvodaya.

Sarvodaya's Chart of Human Needs

Sarvodaya literally means Enlightenment for all. It perfectly describes his philosophy, which is that first you work inside yourself spiritually to discover who you really are, the One consciousness that pervades and connects us all, and once you’ve experienced that then working with others is basically natural.  You don’t cheat or lie or hate or abuse anyone, because they are you.  Sarvodaya now is a network of 15,000 villages working together to improve their lives.  They don’t rely on the government for running water or electricity because the government is corrupt; they help each other out to get those things.  They build their own roads.  Through an alternative banking system they get microcredit for small businesses. They run their own kindergartens and schools, youth programs and programs for young mothers and the elderly.  Many, many people are part of the movement, certainly enough to create another political party.  Ari long ago decided to stay out of politics, though at one time he was asked to serve as Prime Minister.  He has also been under arrest and almost killed a couple of times, usually by government dictators who feel threatened by him.

We had a light supper. He asked us when we wanted to have breakfast and Bernie said 8.  Eight? he asked incredulously. Who can stay in bed that late? How about 7? We compromised on 7:30 and went to our rooms.  These were hot and airless because windows have to remain shut due to mosquitoes.  We slept under mosquito nets with the fans going, but I was still bitten pretty well.  The heat and humidity were terrific since Sri Lanka is a tropical country south of India.

The next day we had breakfast and then a guided tour of the headquarters of Sarvodaya, which employs some 3,000 people in business and social activities, not to mention even more volunteers, including some from abroad. I saw a special center for abandoned, malnourished babies, an orphanage, a kindergarten, a school, a special center for unmarried mothers, and a vocational center for young deaf mutes. There is also housing for the elderly.  There are some 25 such centers around the country.

Sarvodaya Bank Mission Statement

I also saw a large bank owned by Sarvodaya, which has a portfolio of $42 million in microcredit loans (only 6% of which are bad loans). I also saw the head office of the youth division as well as the international division.  Sarvodaya is comprised of some 10 independent companies and organizations supervised by the central office. All are Ari’s brainchildren. Ari doesn’t believe in getting foreign donations due to the dependency that gives rise to. He subscribes to Gandhi’s principles of encouraging village economies and independence. At the end we had lunch with Ari and his wife, interrupted frequently by visiting grandchildren. They own nothing and live modestly in their rooms in the Sarvodaya compound. After that he quickly put us on a van to Kandy.

Can you imagine a lovelier name?  Kandy is higher up in the mountains (still hot but air was clearer and not so heavy). Homes are all the way up or all the way down the mountains in Kandy.

A 5.5 hours drive brought us to their district office, one of 26 Sarvodaya operates throughout Sri Lanka, where we ate and slept. In the early morning we walked around Kandy, admiring many things, including the ever-prevalent monkeys.

We also went inside the ancient temple holding the Buddha’s tooth relic, with its many shrines filled with lotuses brought by devout congregants:

Ari is deeply committed to Buddhism and nonviolence. He told us the story of a major figure of Sri Lanka’s underworld who asked for a meeting.  The man had once been in prison and had been trained, as had thousands of prison inmates, by Sarvodaya activists in nonviolence.  He asked Ari for permission:

“For what?” Ari asked.

“To go back to violence. I must kill someone.”

“Who?”

“The president.  He has put out a contract on your life and asked me to kill you.”

And Ari replied, “I would much rather die a hundred times than for you to go back to a life of violence.  I am not afraid to die, I know I will live for a long time in the hearts of Sri Lankans, much longer than the president.  On no account go back to violence.”

We visited Hippola, a village of some 800 people in the Kandy District and a member of Sarvodaya. With the help of other villages, they’d brought running water to the village.

We saw their kindergarten and school.  We also saw the local branch of the Sarvodaya SEEDS bank, open 7 days a week, operated by two women who’d been trained in banking software to accept deposits from the villagers and process microcredit loans and loan payments.  Their salaries depend on the profits they make, which all go back to the village.  This is one of hundreds of branches of the Sarvodaya bank.

The women running the local Sarvodaya bank branch.

The villagers offered us a home-made dessert buffet.

When we asked about medical services, we heard there was no doctor or nurse in the village or nearby.  But they have their own Peace Brigade of local youth trained by Sarvodaya in, among other things, first aid, including measuring pulse and blood pressure and taking diabetes readings.  Some 120,000 young people have taken Sarvodaya’s youth programs, which involve some 14 units of study and lead in the end to scholarships for college (they estimate that some 25% have completed the entire course).  The young people are also trained to provide emergency services, which they did with great distinction during the tsunami disaster. Below they show Roland, who’s a doctor, a local aloe vera plant and discuss its many uses in the village.

Garage owner holding Charlie and the Buddha

We saw a car mechanic business funded by Sarvodaya’s microcredit program, and a fascinating business of planting mushroom seeds in tightly-wound packages of sawdust, which give rise to beautiful oyster mushrooms over a month’s time:

We returned to Sarvodaya headquarters that night after another 5.5 hour trip.

Ari is no capitalist. His vision is huge; Sarvodaya owns businesses as well as a multi-branch banks, but the profits go back to the villages. Its motto is: Creating a sustainable life with no poverty and no affluence. Never in my life have I met anyone who has put his spirituality into such loving practice as this man has over a lifetime. His sense of spirituality is that it’s all about serving others. He is humble and softspoken, though he loses patience with bad work or lack of integrity. He has no use for fools or nonsense and is certainly not afraid to speak his mind.

He has little concern over the present political/economic systems.  “They will bring themselves down,” he says, “we don’t have to do it for them.  Our job is to continue our work so that when they do go down, there is an alternative system that can take their place.”

He has had deep disappointments and failures in his life. Interest from their endowment fund for headquarters work has shrunk so much they’ve had to lay off lots of staff. He had to sell land owned by Sarvodaya to repay huge losses incurred by a trusted lieutenant (“It almost brought the movement down,” he reflected sadly). And the present dictator of Sri Lanka does not like him and the government will not support any of their work. Still he goes on.

Barbara, Eve, Ari, Bernie

Our friends, Roland and Barbara, had scheduled to stay in Sri Lanka at a hotel for some 6 days vacation at the end of the trip, and Bernie wanted nothing more than to spend 1 day of rest with them before our long, grueling trip back. We’d had no time off for a long time and had travelled far, and I at least was going straight back to work. So when Ari arrived the following morning, Sunday, we told him we’d leave to rest for one day at a hotel with our friends. Vacation and time off is a western concept, Ari said, here in the East we don’t do it.  He had wished to take us to another village and that evening he was speaking before 1,000 people. But he agreed that we leave for our one day off and walked us to the van to say goodbye.

I had no idea where we were going, but Roland and Barbara were only too happy to have us join them, and for my birthday they paid for our day there.  If you want to see where we went, look at the website, www.kanilanka.com.  It was a 4- or 5-star shock after Sarvodaya and the people they serve, and wonderful at the same time.  Air-conditioned rooms, no mosquito nets, and exquisite beauty. We were there for less than 24 hours, but managed a massage and sleep and lots of great food and finally, the morning we left on the day of my birthday, my swim in the Indian Ocean.

Non-Violent Peace Training in Palestine

palestine-non-violence

Due to the Arab Spring there is an increased interest in Non-Violent Peace training. Bernie will be assisting one of the Leaders in this training, Sami Awad, in Palestine.

 

Interfaith Encounter Association

The Interfaith Encounter Association, an Israeli NGO, is dedicated to promoting peace in the Middle East through interfaith dialogue and cross-cultural study. It believes that, rather than being a cause of the problem, religion can and should be a source of the solution for conflicts that exist in the region and beyond.

 

Clowning for Kids in Refugee Camps

Clowns Without Borders offers humor as a means of psychological support to communities that have suffered trauma. Bernie will be accompanying Mr. YooWho (Bernie’s clown mentor and previous coordinator for Clowns Without Borders) to be a schlepper and disturber in refugee camps.

 

Serving the Inner-City Homeless and Disadvantaged

In the 1980’s, Bernie established the Greyston Foundation in Yonkers, New York, which today serves as a national model for community development and social enterprise. Bernie will return to serve the poor and homeless by working in Greyston’s HIV Health Clinic outreach program and by supporting Greyston’s staff in developing its spiritual foundation.

Read More

 

Feeding Disadvantaged Families

In 2010, Bernie and the Zen Peacemakers started the first Let All Eat Café in Western Massachusetts in order to establish a unique family-friendly soup kitchen. Bernie will serve in new Cafés being started in the United States and Europe by groups who have been inspired by Zen Peacemakers’ model.

Read More

Rwanda

Bernie will be assisting Issa Higiro and Dora Urujeni in their projects in Rwanda.

The Rwanda Genocide was one of worst genocides to occur in the 20th century. Taking place in 1994, hundreds of thousands of Tutsis (a Rwandan ethnic class) were killed in the small African country of Rwanda. Hopefully this five minute video may raise awareness for the usually-overlooked genocide.

 

Charlie

 

Travels of Bernie

and his friend Charlie.

 

 

January

Jan 26, 2012 Travel to Yonkers, NY

Jan 27, 2012, Friends of Bernie, Journey to the Field, Greyston, Yonkers, NY

Jan 28, 2012 Travel Home

February

Feb 2, 2012 Travel to San Francisco, California

Feb 3, 2012, Friends of Bernie, Head for Peace Event, San Francisco, California

Feb 5, 2012 Travel Home

Feb 8, 2012 Travel to Yonkers, NY

Feb 9, 2012, Friends of Bernie, Journey to the Field, Greyston, Yonkers, NY

Feb 10, 2012 Travel Home

March

Mar 7, 2012 Travel to Yonkers, NY

March 8, 2012, Friends of Bernie, Journey to the Field, Greyston, Yonkers, NY

Mar 9, 2012 Travel Home

April

Apr 25, 2012 Travel to Yonkers, NY

April 26, 2012, Friends of Bernie, Journey to the Field, Greyston, Yonkers, NY

 

Bernie relaxing in Penn Station, NY

 

April 27 thru 29, 2012, Street Retreat, with Grover Genro Gauntt, Bowery, NY

Street retreats have been a core practice of the Zen Peacemakers since 1991, when Roshi Bernie Glassman led the first one in the streets of the Bowery in New York City. Since then they have been held annually in New York, Denver, Paris and Zurich, and occasionally in many other cities around the world.

Roshi Bernie and Roshi Grover Genro Gauntt will lead a street retreat in New York from April 27 – 29, 2012. Attendence in this retreat is limited to Friends of Bernie. Those attending are asked to raise a mala (see mala description by clicking on mala toggle) of 18 beads of $108 and one large bead of $1,080.

Bernie will attend the first two days of the street retreat and Genro will attend all three days.

May 1, 2012 Travel Home

May

May 16, 2012 Travel to Yonkers, NY

May 17, 2012, Friends of Bernie, Journey to the Field, Greyston, Yonkers, NY

May 18, 2012 Travel Home

June

Jun 3, 2012 Travel to Yonkers, NY

June 4, 2012, Mandala Day, Greyston, Yonkers, NY

 June 5, 2012, Friends of Bernie, Journey to the Field, Greyston, Yonkers, NY June 6, 2012 Travel Home

Jun 11, 2012 Travel to Israel

Jun 12-13, 2012 Sightseeing Israel

June 14-24, 2012, Friends of Bernie, Journey to the Field, Palestine

Due to the Arab Spring there is an increased interest in Non-Violent Peace training. Bernie will be assisting one of the Leaders in this training, Sami Awad, in Palestine.

June 25-28, 2012, Friends of Bernie, Journey to the Field, Israel

Bernie will be assisting efforts in the poorest village in Israel and helping in inter-faith activities there.

Jun 30, 2012 Travel Home

July

Jul 17, 2012 Travel to Yonkers, NY

Jul 18, 2012, Friends of Bernie, Journey to the Field, Greyston, Yonkers, NY

Jul 19, 2012 Travel Home

August

Aug 12, 2012 Travel to Yonkers, NY

Aug 13, 2012, Friends of Bernie, Journey to the Field, Greyston, Yonkers, NY

Aug 14, 2012 Travel Home

September

Sep 8, 2012 Travel to Yonkers, NY

Sep 9, 2012 1:00pm – 4:00pm:Opening Greyston & ZP Hall

Sep 9, 2012 5:00pm – 7:00pm NY Head Event

Sep 10, 2012, Friends of Bernie, Journey to the Field, Greyston, Yonkers, NY

 

Sep 11-12, 2012 Travel to Rwanda

Sep 13-19, 2012 Friends of Bernie, Journey to the FieldRwanda

Sep 20-21, 2012 Travel Home

 

October

Oct 16, 2012 Travel to Yonkers, NY

Oct 17, 2012, Friends of Bernie, Journey to the Field, Greyston, Yonkers, NY

Oct 18, 2012 Travel Home

November

Nov 1, 2012 Travel to Krakow, Poland

Nov 5-9, 2012, Auschwitz Bearing Witness Retreat., Auschwitz/Birkenau, Oświęcim, Poland

Most of each day is spent sitting by the train tracks at Birkenau, both in silence and in chanting the names of the dead. There is time to walk through the vast camps, do vigils inside womens and childrens barracks, and memorial services. Prayer Services from various religious traditions are offered daily. Participants meet daily in small Council groups designed to create a safe place for people to share their inner experiences. The whole group meets in the evenings to bear witness to oneness in diversity. Although Auschwitz, the Place, is the main Teacher for this retreat, experienced Spirit Holders meet each day to reflect on the retreat flow, schedule, events and make appropriate modifications if necessary. The Spirit Holders for this retreat will include: Ohad Ezrahi, from Israel, Bernie Glassman, from USA, (co-founder of Auschwitz/Birkenau Bearing Witness Retreats), Andrzej Krajewski, from Poland, Eve Marko, from USA, (co-founder of Auschwitz/Birkenau Bearing Witness Retreats), Fleet Maull, from USA, Ginni Stern, from USA, and Barbara Wegmüller, from Switzerland……read more and/or register

Nov 11, 2012 Travel Home

Nov 12, 2012, Friends of Bernie, Journey to the Field, Greyston, Yonkers, NY

Nov 13, 2012 Travel Home

December

Dec 9, 2012 Travel to Yonkers, NY

Dec 10, 2012, Friends of Bernie, Journey to the Field, Greyston, Yonkers, NY

 

Dec 11, 2012 Travel to Sri Lankan (Tentative)

Dec 12-18, 2012 Friends of Bernie, Journey to the Field, Sarvodaya, Sri Lanka (Tentative)

Dec 19-20, 2012 Travel Home

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