With the tenth anniversary of 9/11/2001 coming up, I thought it might be a good idea to resurrect the old TOOT project. TOOT was one response This blog to the fear, hatred and hopelessness many of us experienced in the aftermath of 9/11, and that we still experience today. I invite you to explore this site, and… [Read more…]
August 5, 2011
I think the Dali Lama said that once, and whether he did or not, it helps to remember it. It is easy to think that “those other people” are crazy, insane, and not at all like us. They are inhuman, less than human, bat-shit crazy terrorists. Of course, we might be talking about members of… [Read more…]
August 1, 2011
One of the factors that got us thinking about “the opposites of terrorism” was the realization that the Bush administration’s reaction to 9/11 was based in the same mind-set that lead to the attacks themselves. It was as if Bush was pushing us to become our enemies. The recent terrorist attacks in Norway appear to be based… [Read more…]
July 17, 2011
The driver of Orange Cab No. 710 fears the night. He wonders if passengers will rip his turban from his head, sink their teeth into his scalp or call him a terrorist. Life for Sukhvir Singh has been full of unease since 7:59 p.m. Nov. 24. That’s when Luis Vazquez climbed into the back seat. Vazquez had been barred from the… [Read more…]
July 17, 2011
Being kind can be viewed as being the opposite of being “self”-centered, where self can be me, my group, my race, or my nation. Being kind breaks down the barrier between “us” and “them”—the barrier that is one of the hallmarks of terrorism. This barrier can divide me from the rest of the world, or… [Read more…]
July 15, 2011
Waging peace seems to be the natural outcome of seeing what is and practicing kindness. Just as getting a sunburn is the natural outcome of sitting out in the sun too long, or smiling is the natural outcome of playing with a baby, so waging peace seems to be the natural outcome of seeing things… [Read more…]
July 9, 2011
Don’t you just love (or possibly hate) the things we can do with language? A person can be arrested for possessing a minute amount of some recreational drug, get thrown into jail, and henceforth be known as a “hardened criminal.” Of course, to other people he might be known as Joe, or son, or daddy.… [Read more…]
July 3, 2011
The basic idea behind “the opposites of terrorism” is that we don’t want to respond to terrorism or the threat of terrorism in a manner that advances the terrorists’ aims. Rather, we want to respond to terrorism by doing the “opposite” of terrorism, whatever that may be. This morning I found the following post on… [Read more…]
July 2, 2011
To my mind, meditation could be thought of as an opposite of terrorism. So when I saw a video by the Tibetan meditation teacher Khandro Rinpoche called “What’s the opposite of meditation?” I thought it was worth sharing. The basic stance of meditation, as I understand it, is that most of our problems originate in our… [Read more…]
July 1, 2011
Here’s an old story that’s a nice example of waging peace. Every year storms washed hundreds of starfish onto the beach. If left on the beach, they will dry out and die. One day a young boy was visiting the beach with his family and after such as a storm had subsided, he went down… [Read more…]
July 2, 2011
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