Dear friends around the world,
It is the eve of December 31, 2009, the last day of the year. It marks a special moment for many of us; many will celebrate, many will make resolutions as we move into the New Year of 2010.
This time also marks a poignant moment for a community of monks and nuns from the central highlands of Vietnam. After peacefully resisting over a year of brutal physical and psychological persecution – the government has finally succeeded in dissolving this community – the official deadline for them to disperse was today, December 31.
It is a symbolic moment for them and for members of their wider community, the tradition of meditation practice founded by Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh. All 400 members of the community have already fled from the temple where they took refuge after being violently expelled from their own monastery in September. Many are now in hiding in Vietnam. They eagerly await the response of the French government whom they are currently petitioning for asylum. Their intention is to stay temporarily at their home monastery, Plum Village, in the Southwest of France, until the government in Vietnam becomes more open and they can return.
This story is not new. Around the world, in every corner of our planet, in every country and in every time, peoples and groups large and small have been persecuted and subject to violence and discrimination on the basis of race, gender, age, religion, nationality, and political view. On this eve of the New Year, we are also reminded of events of 2010 years ago. Many of us around the world have recently celebrated Christmas day – a day of hope for peace in the world – the story of a child born into a time and place of great persecution and violence. For many, the birth of Jesus is the story of one who overcame those conditions, offering a message of hope, a path of peace.
Now as these 400 Buddhist monks and nuns experience their own moment of peril, they join the ranks of countless others. At this moment, thousands upon thousands of others around the globe, Catholics, Protestants, atheists, Bahá’ís, Hindus, Muslims, small sects and communities, Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Africans, women, children, elderly – countless groups – millions are subject to discrimination and violence. Many are seeking shelter, calling for help. Many of their voices go unheard.
In this New Year of 2010 let us take time to make peace with ourselves and those around us. The path of peace and non-discrimination is available. Let us devote the first days of 2010 to acceptance, inclusiveness, non-violence – to peace. Let us walk in peace with the feet of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, in the footsteps of Jesus, Moses, Mohammed, Buddha and countless other messengers of peace and freedom. Let us, for one day, do no harm to anyone, to any living thing, or to the Earth, whether by thought, word, or deed. Let us for one day, not condemn or discriminate against anyone. Our world is in desperate need of healing. Let us live together, one day, in peace. Let us make one small step for peace.
Thank you.
Let us hope this prayer will come true.
That peace can blossom in the hearts of the rulers of Vietnam, for their, for their family, for all the vietnamise people.