Peace is Every Step - April 15

What: A gentle, walking meditation inspired by the teachings of Thích Nhất Hạnh.
Slow down, breathe, and walk together in awareness as a community.

Where: McConnell Apron then walking loop around the mounds (as weather allows)

When: 12:15 – 12:45 PM
Come as you are. Come late. Leave early.

Who: Open to everyone. No experience necessary.

Bring: Comfortable shoes, sunblock, sunhat, water, curiosity, and cultural humility.

Facilitated by: 
Dr. Kathy Yep
Asian American Studies
Faculty for ASAM 88: The Social Theory of Thích Nhất Hạnh

Optional Resources

• How to Walk — Thích Nhất Hạnh (4:29)
• Basic Instructions for Walking Meditation — Sister Dang Nghiem (2:40)
• Zen in Practice: Walking Meditation — Sister Sinh Nghiem (4:08)

Background

“Peace work is not a means. Each step we make should be peace.
Each step we make should be joy. Each step we make should be happiness.
We don’t need the future. Everything we want is right here in the present moment.”
— Thích Nhất Hạnh, Creating True Peace

Zen master Thích Nhất Hạnh co-founded the Order of Interbeing during the American War in Vietnam in the 1960s. The Order of Interbeing organized community-led mutual aid amid militarism, forced displacement, human-made starvation, gender-based violence, environmental destruction, and collective grief.  Tending to the liminal space between heartbreak and hope, the Order of Interbeing rooted their peace-making in the concepts of mindfulness and interconnectedness.

Thích Nhất Hạnh’s root temple is in Huế, Vietnam —the same city where Pitzer hosts one of our summer programs.