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A Model for Implementing THE GLOBAL ETHIC
by Elizabeth Oakley Hutchinson
Give me the money that has been spent on War and I will clothe every
man, women and child in an attire of which kings and queens would
be proud. I will build schoolhouses in every valley over the whole
earth. I will crown every hillside with a place of worship conscrated
to the gospel of Peace.
Charles Summer
This essay was originally written by Elizabeth Oakley Hutchinson
as a final paper for World Religions in the Lens of America: The
Problem of Pluralism, a course taught Fall Term 1993 by Professor
Diana L. Eck, Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies
at Harvard University.
INTRODUCTION
TOWARDS A GLOBAL ETHIC: An initial declaration
is one of the exciting and visible successes of the Parliament of
the World's Religions held in Chicago in late August of 1993. Signed
by 200 "scholars and theologians representing the world's communities
of faith," this document represents "a point of beginning
for a world sorely in need of ethical consensus." It reaffirms
a commitment to non-violence, justice and peace, and supports all
persons right "to be authentically human in the spirit of our
great religious, and ethical traditions." These are important
and essential reaffirmations in an age threatened with religious
strife, annihilating war, and ecological disaster. But how exactly
do the lofty aspirations of 200 religious leaders translate into
action which works for peace, justice and interreligious dialogue?
Such a question is one which The Peace Abbey of Sherborn, MA constantly
asks: How can the world be a better place and how can we practice
and promote a life of peace? This paper will explore, in detail,
the ways in which The Peace Abbey offers concrete examples of how
the Global Ethic might be implemented by an interfaith organization.
After an initial overview of the Global Ethic and the 1993 Parliament
of the World's Religions, the paper will describe the mission and
practice of The Peace Abbey, and The Life Experience School with
which it is affiliated; examine the programs sponsored by The Peace
Abbey; and investigate the ways in which these programs link with
A Global Ethic and major world religions. It will base much of its
material on extensive interviews with several Peace Chaplains affiliated
with The Peace Abbey. It is hoped that an understanding of The Peace
Abbey's vision may illustrate one way of coping with the violence
and pain which inspired A Global Ethic, and offer a model for its
implementation.
A GLOBAL ETHIC and the
1993 World Parliament of Religions
The document “Towards A Global Ethic” directly confronts
the painful dilemma faced by the world as it moves towards the 21st
century..."The world is in agony." With these words the
Ethic sets out to identify and condemn the violence, ecological
destruction, poverty, and total "disregard for justice"
that is silencing persons' potential and erasing their dreams for
the future. It sees the chance for "lasting peace among nations"
slipping away as the greed for power and consumption dominates the
world arena, and it takes a firm stand that there will be "no
new global order without a new global ethic."
It is in defining this global ethic that the document holds out
hope. It sees such an ethic grounded in a common set of core values
shared by the teachings of world religions, reinforced by the spiritual
power drawn from a belief in an Ultimate Reality, and renewed by
prayer and meditation. A Global Ethic affirms a vision of persons
living in peaceful harmony which honors religious differences and
respects the "dignity, individuality and diversity" of
individuals. It supports each person's right "to be authentically
human" in the spirit of these religious traditions and to have
"an equal chance to reach full potential as a human being."
It urges us to stand in solidarity with a culture of non-violence,
justice and peace. Finally, it pledges to work towards a transformation
of individual and collective consciousness, an "awakening of
our spiritual powers through reflection, meditation, prayer or positive
thinking ... and a conversion of the heart." Simply put, A
Global Ethic honors religious pluralism, non-violence, and a life
of prayer. It believes that a commitment to a common global ethic
can "move mountains!”
It is clear, in examining the literature published for the 1993
World Parliament of Religions, that the Global Ethic is a response
to a wide-ranging concern over religious intolerance and war. It
follows several decades of increasing interest in interreligious
dialogue which included the 1966 Nostra Aetate of the Second Vatican
Council, the World Council of Churches' Unit for Dialogue with People
of Living Faiths, and countless declarations included in A SourceBook
for the Community of Religions, produced for the 1993 Parliament
of the World's Religions. Marcus Braybrooke, author of Stepping
Stones to a Global Ethic, has been one of the prominent voices promoting
interfaith dialogue and a global ethic. He notes that "the
search for shared moral values may be more appropriate to official
discussion than more speculative dialogue about the questions of
truth." He urges the end to interreligious conflict and an
affirmation of a global ethic. He observes that "interfaith
organizations have shown that people of many religions, whilst disagreeing
about beliefs, can agree on the importance of peace and justice,
of social action to relieve suffering and on efforts to save the
planet." He strongly recommends that the interfaith movement
become more practical.
Diana Eck has also played a key role in promoting increased inter-religious
dialogue. In her 1987 article in Current Dialogue, she outlines
six forms in which such dialogue may take place. In addition to
parliamentary-style, institutional, and theological dialogue, she
includes community dialogue which searches for good relationships,
spiritual dialogue which learns from other traditions of meditation
and prayer, and inner dialogue which is so deeply connected with
prayer. It is the last three forms of dialogue which may well lead
to the change of heart which Joel Beversluis, the editor of A SourceBook
for the Community of Religions, sees as essential to the future
hope for humanity. He comments that the many meetings and declarations
that preceded the 1993 World Parliament revealed that, in addition
to commitments to peace and justice, there is a new conviction that
a change of heart is "a necessary characteristic of the next
phase of personal, corporate, religious and cultural history."
Rather than continuing to rely on technological, governmental or
economic solutions, the world needs "the wisdom and gifts found
within religious traditions."
Apparently, this change of heart was as much part of the Parliament
as it was the Global Ethic. Gerald O. Barney (an authority on systems
dynamics) stirred the souls of many gathered in Chicago by issuing
a call for peace in saying, "We need to be part of the new
beginning. If we can break bread together, surely we can live together."
Cara-Marguerite-Drusilla (Lyceum of Venus of Healing) observed that
many persons felt "there was something forming that was not
yet formed - a feeling of hope." The Dalai Lama (Buddhist)
said, "If all religions can come together with a common ethic,
we can do something," with which Ravi Yalamanchi (Hindu) concurred
as he urged persons to put aside preconceived notions, affirming
that, "we're all reaching towards the same point." If
there was any consensus within the Parliament, it appeared that
many agreed that prayer, meditation, and belief in an Ultimate Reality
could cross over different religions. Persons can share these experiences
without fear of losing one's personal faith and with a hope for
shalom. However, there appeared a distinct lack of consensus over
whether any true inter-religious dialogue took place outside of
the elevators and hallways, how the Global Ethic was to be implemented,
and what the next concrete, practical step would be. This is where
The Peace Abbey may offer some answers.
THE PEACE ABBEY
The Peace Abbey and Peace Chaplaincy are about loving how other
people love God and supporting people to find ways to make peace
within and around differences. Each religion, each person, each
way of understanding is unique, and finding ways of having dialogue,
having harmonious relationships between people, investigating differences,
talking about them is key - rather than just looking at the differences,
at the separations, and saying they can never come into line with
one another.
[Gina Rose]
History of the Peace
Abbey
The Peace Abbey traces its roots to the October 27, 1986 meeting
in Assisi, Italy, where the heads of the twelve major world religions,
at the invitation of Pope John Paul II, met together to pray for
world peace. Lewis Randa, founder of The Life Experience School,
was present at this event and felt called to commemorate that day
by praying The Sacred Office of Peace, the prayers said by the leaders
at that event, every day since that historic moment. Simply put,
this day marks the origin of The Peace Abbey. However, as the truth
of many religious traditions is found in scripture, so is the real
history of The Peace Abbey found in stories which precede this event.
You can't appreciate The Peace Abbey unless you see the Upper Room.
What is the Upper Room? One hears it referred to frequently at
The Peace Abbey. It is a room above the Meeting Room of which once
housed numerous symbols of the different world religions. These
symbols came to the School by fascinating routes much to the bemusement,
at times, of its founder! Long before that day in Assisi, Lewis
Randa had founded, in 1972, The Life Experience School which is
the outcome of his graduate thesis at Goddard College Graduate School
for Social Change and his alternative service following his discharge
from the military as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam
War. The Life Experience School is Lewis’ way of honoring
the spirit of God within each and every person. It is committed
to social change and peacemaking in the world, and to integrating
students with disabilities into the life of the community. Early
on in the existence of The Life Experience School, Lewis discovered
that the students, the School's morning meeting of meditation, its
commitment to peace and social justice, and especially the intangible
quality of the school, all had a surprising effect on people. Persons
would arrive at the School and feel compelled to give it religious
symbols! This began with a Monstrance from France donated by a Franciscan
Priest and was followed by an American Buddhist giving a sitting
Buddha and a Bodhisattva, a Jewish friend offering a Menorah, a
$5000 gift to buy a life size crucifix and several sculptures. More
and more symbols of different world religions arrived in the Upper
Room, long before the event at Assisi, and Lewis began to feel as
if something was leading him to bring all the religions together.
But in what way and when?
In 1986, the United Nations' International Year of Peace, Norman
Nyland, a student at The Life Experience School, died of cancer.
Norman was loved by all and Lewis decided, as Norman had been born
on the Feast of St. Francis, to take his ashes to Assisi. Lewis'
trip coincided with the gathering of world religious leaders to
pray together for peace on earth. Upon witnessing this event, Lewis
finally knew what the Upper Room, with its symbols of the twelve
major world religions, was all about!
It all came together and it changed my life. I was an observer
at the historic day of prayer in Assisi. I knew that I was meant
to share the prayers so that people could appreciate how people
of different faiths experience and love God. [Lewis]
From that moment, The Sacred Office of Peace was prayed by The
Life Experience School and disseminated throughout the world.
The inspiration and funding for The Peace Abbey, as a separate
program of The Life Experience School, derived from Mother Teresa's
visit to the School on June 4, 1988. She had heard about the children
and their efforts to share the Prayers for Peace prayed at Assisi,
and she came to bless them, their teachers and parents. Following
her visit, a local bank volunteered to fund the purchase of the
house which became The Peace Abbey. Established in 1988, The Peace
Abbey was created to serve as an ecumenical model for religious
organizations around the world. Situated on the grounds of the School,
it was envisioned as a center for peace and justice activities and
spiritual rejuvenation. It provides a sacred place for persons to
pray, a place where people of faiths may come together on a common
ground, and a sanctuary for the Sacred Office of Peace which is
prayed daily. "The Abbey is a center which cultivates peace
of the soul, and is committed to translating that peace into political
and community action."
A Tour of The Peace Abbey
To me The Peace Abbey was like coming home. Everything I believed
in was right there. It felt like the most holy place. It was like
living sculpture, living art, the art of belief. [Gina]
II walked into The Peace Abbey and immediately saw the life size
statue of Mother Teresa. Coming into this place was the most incredible
experience, the apex of my journey ... all my senses were alive.
I looked around and saw all the symbols of the major religions existing
there in peace and in harmony. It all had meaning for me. I thought,
this is what it’s supposed to be like. We would have peace
if people would tolerate one another’s beliefs, and showed
interest and curiosity about religions that were different from
their own. [Dot]
One cannot truly understand The Peace Abbey without experiencing
it in person. From the outside, The Peace Abbey is an unassuming
house with an air of modesty which in no way prepares you for what
you will meet as you enter. When you walk through the door of The
Peace Abbey, you are transported to another place. As indicated
above, many feel as if they have "come home," that this
is where their journey was leading them. You are embraced by a feeling
of peace and surrounded by multiple sensations that wash over you
- the aroma of mulled cider, a deluge of deeply moving art, soft
background music of Latin American songs of liberation. On your
right, in the front hall, is a monk's stole and the words, on a
scroll of the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the poor in
spirit because the kingdom of heaven is theirs." On the door
is a list of the recipients of the Abbey's Courage of Conscience
Award. On the wall is a large photograph of Gandhi.
As you walk into the main room, with the statue of Mother Teresa
on your right, you are filled with the warmth of the fire and the
mantelpiece above it which holds images from virtually all the religions
of the world: a Monstrance from a French monastery, a sacred bone
relic from St. Clare of Assisi (XII Century), a model of the Dove
of Peace sculpture given to recipients of the Courage of Conscience
Award, a Menorah, a Life Magazine article detailing the miraculous
escape of the Dalai Lama in 1969 accompanied by a photograph of
the Dalai Lama receiving the Courage of Conscience Award at Harvard
University. There is a globe lit up and on the wall; nearby, is
a painting of a Bodhisattva and a photograph of Mother Teresa. On
the far right, by the door through which you entered, there is a
flag of the United Nations' University for Peace with which The
Peace Abbey is affiliated, along with Harvard Divinity School and
Wellesley College Chaplaincy, a large book recording the names of
those who have signed The National Registry for Conscientious Objection,
and a drawing of the proposed Pacifist Memorial. In only your first
few minutes at The Peace Abbey, you feel part of a worldwide, interfaith
commitment towards peace and justice.
The language of pacifism is spoken at the Abbey with the knowledge
that it implies a willingness to sacrifice and suffer, if necessary,
in order to end the cycle of violence in the world. [Lewis]
You walk from the main room into the Chapel of Change and, again,
are surrounded by a surfeit of images from many world religions.
On the right is a bronze statue of the Dancing Shiva with writings
from the Bhagavad-Gita underneath it, accompanied by a write-up
on the fundamental principles of Hinduism and a description of the
Vedas as the most ancient scripture forming the foundation of the
Dharma. On the other side of the door is an icon and bronze bust
of martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, a reliquary
holding the blood-stained cloth from the altar behind which he was
killed in 1980, a photograph of him, as well as his zucchetto (skullcap)
and eye glasses. Throughout the Chapel, The Peace Abbey, and The
Life Experience School there are multicolored sashes from Central
America, which capture the energy and integrity of its indigenous
people.
On the walls of the Chapel there is a Chinese brush painting,
a large wooden crucifix, and two stained glass windows, one of the
Dove of Peace and the other of St. Francis. Native American religions
are honored with a wooden sculpture of a Native American woman with
peace feathers, and a "crown of thorns" made from the
barbed wire removed from the front fence of the Nevada Nuclear test
site located on sacred Shoshone Indian land.
On the far side of the Chapel, there is a small Jewish ark holding
the Torah, a prayer shawl draped over it, and a Shofar which is
used for heralding the beginning of the Jewish New Year. There is
a description of the Shofar and the Hanukkah Menorah, a sculpture
of Moses with the Decalogue, and a copy of the Hebrew Scripture
in both Hebrew and English. Beside the Hebrew Scripture is a copy
of the Quran in Arabic and English, above which is a photograph
of Mecca during Ramadan. As you finish walking around the chapel,
there is a statue of the Buddha and descriptions of Zen philosophy
which recognizes a finite and infinite mind, and of ahimsa, the
nonviolent cornerstone of the Jain Religion.
In a very small space, the Chapel of Change honors the beliefs
and rituals of the world's twelve major religions. It is a spiritual
center which holds the sacred texts, icons, symbols, sculptures,
and crafts of diverse spiritual traditions. It houses the Sacred
Office of Peace, prayed daily, and offers outward and visible signs
of The Peace Abbey's commitment to pacifism, non-violence and a
life of prayer.
Upstairs in The Peace Abbey, the embrace of the world's twelve
major religions continues with the guest rooms and meditation rooms
each reflecting a specific spiritual path. Retreat rooms are dedicated
to the Quaker tradition, Gandhi, St. Francis, Judaism, and the Native
American religions. There are two porches on the second floor devoted
to the Bahai' faith and Buddhist tradition as well as there being
a Zen Buddhist meditation room on third floor with mats, several
statues of the Buddha, a description of the Tea Ceremony, prayer
beads, and a feeling of peace and solitude. Native American and
Central American art is woven into the fabric of The Peace Abbey's
atmosphere. The Peace Abbey exists as a microcosm of the world's
religious reality.
The Heart of The Peace
Abbey
The religious power structures in our society have lost the vision
and their spirituality. They are hollow and empty. What calls me
to The Peace Abbey is not just the incredible presence of peace
and the symbols, but the embodiment of a grassroots courage which
resonates with a hunger for connection around the world that has
a power which can both bypass and invite clerical hierarchy. [Dot]
At the heart of The Peace Abbey are the Sacred Office of Peace,
the Special Peace Corps, the Peace Chaplains, and the Courage of
Conscience Awards. The vibrancy of these four programs in particular
illustrates the ways in which The Peace Abbey can serve as one model
for implementing the Global Ethic and facilitating interreligious
dialogue.
The Sacred Office of
Peace
The Peace Abbey's ministry is based on sharing the Prayers for Peace
and encouraging people to learn about other religions through their
prayers.
To truly grasp the essence of various faith systems, you must pray
their prayers -- their sacred scripture translated through relationship
and communion with God. Prayer is an act of faith through which
the essence of faith systems come into focus, come alive. [Lewis]
The Sacred Office of Peace, comprised of the prayers handed down
in Assisi on October 27, 1986, is prayed daily to commemorate that
event in Assisi. The Prayers for Peace now exist in both the original,
long version, the Sacred Office of Peace, and a shorter version,
called the Peace Seeds, which was created to facilitate the daily
prayers for persons with less time. The short and long versions
of the prayers are disseminated worldwide by The Peace Abbey, having
been translated by the UN into the six major languages of the world.
Over the past seven years, thousands have gone out of The Peace
Abbey, many of them sent through the Internet.
Praying the Peace Seeds is such a small, beautiful way for human
beings to live in peaceful coexistence. I think of the Peace Seeds
as Tibetan prayer flags -- the flags flutter in the wind and the
prayers go out. My voice is joined with all the thousands of other
voices praying for peace in all of these different ways. Just to
feel like there is one place on earth that holds this truth is extraordinary.
< [Gina Rose]
To support the practice of daily prayer, students of The Life
Experience School make available the Peace Seeds Rosaries to be
used as one prays the prayers for peace. Despite freezing temperature
or oppressive heat, each day at the School concludes with the students
and staff gathering for their on-going, outdoor vigil for peace.
This witness for peace is a poignant example of the depth of commitment
that is common place at the Abbey and School.
The Life Experience School
and Special Peace Corps
How appropriate it is that The Peace Abbey is a program of The Life
Experience School, and not the other way around! This School is
a center of peace and love, of which The Peace Abbey is an extension.
At the core of its life is the daily Morning Meeting in which participants
"cultivate a spiritual awareness" in themselves and "elevate
peace as the central theme of their existence." Each morning,
students, staff, and friends of The Life Experience School and Special
Peace Corps gather around The Peacemakers Table in the schoolhouse.
They pass the Blessing Bowl, share a period of silence, and acknowledge
their place in the universe through reciting the planets in the
Milky Way Galaxy. They then recite the names of the major religions
in the world and read aloud the names of peacemakers throughout
history.
The Blessing Bowl ritual is particularly moving. It is a hand
washing ceremony in which each person turns to their neighbor, engages
eye contact, touches fingers, and allows their hands to be dried.
The bowl itself has special significance for it was filled with
olive branches by Lewis during the Day of Prayer for World Peace
in Assisi. The heads of the major religions each reached into the
bowl to accept the symbol of peace, a tradition in the land of St.
Francis.
The ritual is a reminder that we are the elements of what is possible.
The water brings forgiveness. . . it doesn't matter what you believe
-- our presence at the table connects us with each other. We all
need forgiveness. Allowing ourselves to have our hands dried by
another makes us vulnerable. And we have to be vulnerable -- it
breaks through the denial of the violence in the world. [Dot]
Students come to The Life Experience School with "life challenges
that are the result of, or complicated by, neurological impairments,
epilepsy, head injuries, developmental disabilities... and other
life-threatening illnesses." The School's goal is to help each
student to discover his or her particular talent with a special
focus given to peacemaking. The School endeavors to integrate the
students into the community encouraging them to offer their service
in a world which usually cares for them. The students become familiar
with the basic tenets of peace in each of the twelve major religions
of the world while saying the Prayers for Peace.
Recently, a Special Peace Corps has been formed to enable men
and women over 22 years of age to become actively involved in community
service. The idea derived from the School's philosophy of peace
education and service, where the students discover that giving is
more important than receiving. These “activists of the heart"
are a gift to communities and a concrete example of the change of
heart called for at the 1993 Parliament. We are all fearful of the
disabled person within ourselves. These fears break down when we
allow people with disabilities to serve, and thus contribute to
the well-being of the community of which they are part.
The Peace Chaplaincy
The Peace Chaplaincy is another program which illustrates the tremendous
potential of The Peace Abbey. It is integrally linked with inter-religious
dialogue in a pluralist society.
The Peace Chaplain is a person who draws from the spiritual teachings
and traditions of the major faiths of the world in an effort to
promote understanding and harmony, love and forgiveness, and peace
and justice in a world where religion far too often divides, rather
than unites people. Religion is one of the major solutions to intolerance,
hatred and war precisely because it is one of the major causes.
The pastoral ministry of the Peace Chaplain may include religious
education centered on world religions and the Prayers for Peace,
sharing solidarity bread, advocacy on issues of peace and justice,
the promotion of interfaith dialogue, conflict resolution, pastoral
counseling, participation in Courage of Conscience Awards ceremonies,
draft counseling and the distribution of The National Registry for
Conscientious Objection.
The potential of the Peace Chaplaincy, however, lies not in the
activities the Chaplains may promote, but in the Chaplains themselves.
At this time, there are five Peace Chaplains: Lewis Randa, Quaker,
pacifist and innovator of alternative models for social change;
Dot Walsh, an expert in conflict resolution, and leader of workshops
on non-violence and prison ministry; Wayne-Daniel Berard, peace
activist, writer and English and Humanities Professor; Gina Rose
Halpern, artist, teacher, and active participant in Buddhism, Judaism,
and Christianity; and Julie Pierce, Waldorf school teacher, activist
and foster parent for third world children at risk. Because I see
the future growth of The Peace Abbey evolving out of this interfaith
role, I would like to let Dot's, Wayne-Daniel’s and Gina’s
voices speak about the Peace Chaplaincy, what it is, where
it is going, and how their life's journey led them to this ministry.
In some ways their journeys symbolically hold the hope for interfaith
dialogue.
Dot Walsh
Integral to Dot Walsh's ministry is her belief that the world is
in tremendous denial about violence. Having worked for years inside
of prisons, Dot finds The Peace Abbey, "the most authentic
model (she has) found for non-violence and peacemaking." She
said,
"My work brings me into two very opposite places: The criminal
justice system connects me with one of the most violent environments
and The Life Experience School/Peace Abbey brings me to one of the
most non-violent and peaceful environments."
Dot believes her whole journey has centered around learning about
non-violence and becoming non-violent. For years, she has run workshops
on non-violence through the Quaker Alternatives to Violence Program
(AVP). Upon connecting with The Peace Abbey, she discovered the
spiritual base of what she has been doing on a practical level with
the workshops. She found deeper meaning with regards to her efforts
to try to help people understand where they were going personally,
as a community, as a nation, and as a global entity. The Peace Abbey
answered deep-seated questions for Dot. The prayers offered her
the harmony of having her spirit in tune with persons all around
the world praying together.
Dot sees her work as Peace Chaplain taking several forms. First,
she has adapted AVP to incorporate the Morning Meeting ceremony
of The Peacemakers Table, which offers the symbols and rituals for
which most persons are hungry. A major focus of her work involves
helping persons discover the roots of violence, the roots of non-violence,
and the transforming power within themselves which can make a difference.
Could this be an answer to those voices calling for a change of
heart? Peace Chaplains, according to Dot, are potentially strong
assets for the community in human services, schools, and even in
the corporate world. She believes they can play an important role
in the whole business world, if the word "chaplain" can
be heard as mediator which in the workplace can help in resolving
issues which are crucial to employers and employees. Dot envisions
the Peace Chaplains playing a major role in bringing persons of
all religions together. As a member of the Governor's Advisory Board
for Chaplains in State Institutions, she invited the chaplains to
The Peace Abbey and discovered that, Some were horror struck by
the symbols displayed in unity. They were so uncomfortable. I thought,
if you can't even be in a place where all the symbols are, how can
you possibly talk with others about the differences? What is the
hope of a Global Ethic?
Dot also serves as a spiritual director, pastoral counselor and
supervisor to Harvard Divinity students who work at The Peace Abbey,
which is a registered field education site for Harvard Divinity
School.
Wayne-Daniel Berard
Like many involved in The Peace Abbey, Wayne-Daniel’s journey
has been one of broad-based spiritual experience seeking form and
enunciation in a world given to narrow denominationalism. From childhood
Wayne-Daniel “cannot remember a time when I was not filled
with the presence of a loving Someone, a love that filled the entire
world around me.” Growing up in a rough, industrial city,
he was astonished that others could not sense the Presence, and
could actually act violently toward others. He recalls going out
into the woods at age 5, kneeling, and committing himself to non-violence,
because “hurting others just didn’t make sense in a
world created by and filled with God. It would be like continuing
to act on the premise that the world was flat after you’d
seen so clearly that it wasn’t.”
By fifth grade, Wayne-Daniel had read the Christian Bible in its
entirety, and found in “the teachings of Jesus, the voice
of that loving Someone who had accompanied me always. I recognized
it right away - I’d heard it all my life.” At 14, he
entered the Franciscan minor seminary, and left at 19, “finding
formal religious life a very difficult place for one who was serious
about his spirituality.” After years of involvement as a Roman
Catholic layman, Wayne-Daniel underwent a five-year period of deep
spiritual struggle. He discovered contemplative prayer, Zen practice,
and became part of an Episcopal parish. It was near the close of
this period that a friend introduced him to The Life Experience
School and The Peace Abbey.
I found in The Peace Abbey the same heart that beats strongly in
the too often hidden center of Catholicism, of Buddhism or Episcopalianism,
etc. Only here it wasn’t hidden; the Abbey wears its soul
on the outside - vulnerable and lovely. One can misread the different
images here, and come away thinking that the Abbey represents some
challengeless hodge-podge of the world’s religions. I’ve
found just the opposite to be true: The Abbey is a magical mirror
with the power to bring into razor-sharp focus one’s own,
individual spirituality and the true center of one’s tradition.
Experiencing The Peace Abbey is like marveling as the soot of well-intentioned,
prayerful centuries is washed away from the Sistine Chapel . . .
-BANG! - there’s all the original colors and vibrancy and
life. And you must respond, must refocus, must be more of who you
always truly were in God.
Wayne-Daniel describes his work as a Peace Chaplain as “a
ministry of the moment, of availability.” An associate professor
of English and Humanities at Nichols College, Wayne-Daniel notes
that “my role is to build awareness through publicly being
who I am - a Chaplain of Peace - all the time, without hesitation.”
Gina Rose Halpern
Gina comes to the Peace Chaplaincy through a very different journey,
which embraces a lifetime of exploration of world religions. She
grew up in a secular Jewish family with no religious training. But,
from early childhood, Gina was filled with a deep spiritual yearning.
She says, "Some of my earliest memories have to do with prayer.
I remember walking on the beach as a little kid and feeling the
sea shells breaking under my feet, and apologizing for breaking
them".
She recalls the time when her parents took her to a stream and
she watched the water flowing on the top, the fish swimming in the
middle, the light dappling through, and the pebbles on the bottom.
She recalls, "I had some understanding about time, many things
coexisting at once, and that everything is not what it seems. It's
not just a stream; there are many, many levels of interpretation.
I knew that was a really important spiritual moment of understanding
through nature."
Gina did not have any words to describe her experience of the
holy. Yet, as an artist from an early age, she discovered she didn't
need words. It was here that she connected with the life of the
spiritual. At times she felt driven to communicate what she didn't
know, driven on a quest for the unknown which would satisfy her
soul. One winter in Maine, her hunger drove her to walk twelve miles
once a week and to study the Old and New Testaments.
Seriously drawn to Christianity, she was baptized the following
summer. However, her Jewish roots were still very much part of her.
Upon returning to Massachusetts, she discovered, through an Anglican
monastery, "A Judaism of spirit, of history, and of depth."
She ended up going to Israel over the Passover as a Jew and Christian,
which she found exceptionally challenging, for while she had a perfect
understanding of how the religions fit together with her, others
did not want to understand that she wasn't just Christian or just
Jewish.
In 1986, Gina traveled to Asia, connecting with a life-long attraction
to Eastern Religions. During this trip she took the first Buddhist
initiation, which involved, "taking refuge in the Buddha, the
Dharma, and the Sangha." She remembers looking out of a room
on the third floor of a monastery in Katmandu, into the eyes of
a huge stupa which looked right back at her.
In 1989, Gina was invited to work at Antioch's Center for Buddhist
Studies in Bodgaya, India, where she studied for six months, three
forms of Buddhism: Theravada, Zen, and Tibetan. While there, she
was given the Bodhisattva initiation, a profound experience for
her.
The Bodhisattva of Compassion has particular meaning for her as
she links the thousand eyes in the palms of the Bodhisattva's thousand
hands with Christ's passion. She believes that as the Bodhisattva
brought all suffering beings into a compassionate embrace, so too
did Jesus suffer with humanity. She sees the Bodhisattva's eyes
as "seeing Stigmata," a crucial insight into the way in
which Christianity and Buddhism have come together for her.
It was very difficult to tell people how the three religions could
coexist with her "in total peace and harmony." She finally
grasped her dilemma when she realized that, "most people look
at religion as a path with a goal at the end," whereas she,
as an artist, approached things through vision. As she loves looking
down from an airplane seeing the way all the landscape merges, so
she loves the merging of world religions.
The Peace Abbey is like a microcosm of that experience, because
it is so visual and so packed with all of these signposts, all of
the symbols of every religion, every aspect of human beings all
coexisting under the two roofs of the School and the Abbey.
The Peace Chaplaincy brings it all together for Gina. No longer
does she need to separate parts of herself. She feels the Chaplaincy
is where she is called to be fully herself. As a Peace Chaplain
Gina continues with her art, her teaching and her healing. She finds
herself increasingly called upon as a source of spiritual leadership
and finds comfort in her daily praying of the Peace Prayers. "Prayer
is like breathing. I recite the Peace Prayers every day. Prayer
is going on even when I am not consciously thinking about it. It
is the most powerful aspect of who I am and what I do."
The Courage of Conscience
Award
The Peace Abbey has become internationally known for its work in
peacemaking, and is especially renowned for its Courage of Conscience
Awards. Of all The Peace Abbey's programs, this one connects it
most directly with persons from around the world. Originally known
as The Peace Abbey Award, which was in the form of a bust of Oscar
Romero, this award became the Conscience Award after the Gulf War.
It is presented to individuals and organizations for their "outstanding
contributions to the causes of peace and justice. The award is in
the form of a marble-cast statue of the peace dove in outreached
hands." The sculpture, originally commissioned by The Life
Experience School for the XIV Dalai Lama, was created by internationally
acclaimed artist Lado Goudjabidze, formerly of the Soviet Union.
The dove is depicted as taking flight from open hands, symbolizing,
according to Lewis Randa, "peace not yet developed, but emerging
out of our palms."
Recipients of The Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award include
XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Vietnamese Zen
Master Thich Nhat Hanh, Daniel Berrigan, Rosa Parks, and Peter,
Paul and Mary, all of whom have attended school and abbey events.
The most recent recipients are author, poet and philosopher Maya
Angelou, and political satirist Barry Crimmins.
Other Programs of
The Peace Abbey
The Peace Abbey of The Life Experience School sponsors a number
of other programs which encourage interfaith dialogue. Each of the
programs reaffirms, in its own way, the Global Ethic's commitment
to non-violence, justice and world peace. Some programs are local
in nature, waiting to serve as models for projects elsewhere in
the world, while others are worldwide. Some are more secular in
nature while other are distinctly religious. Some are precisely
defined in their scope, and others are wonderfully open-ended, defining
the future of The Peace Abbey as they evolve. All of them support
each person's right "to be authentically human in the spirit
of our great religious and ethical traditions," which, ultimately,
is one of the cornerstones of the Global Ethic.
National Seal of Philanthropy
Knowing all too well the difficulties of securing sufficient funding
to remain in operation, The Peace Abbey has been working to not
only solve its own funding woes, but the funding difficulties most
charitable and cultural non-profit organizations face throughout
America. By establishing a National Seal of Philanthropy which would
signify that a company or corporation has given from 1% to 5% of
its annual profits to tax-exempt organizations, America would become,
as envisioned by Lewis Randa, “a nation of philanthropists.”
Individuals or families would also be recognized as national philanthropists
by the U.S. Congress for donating at least 1% of their income to
non-profit organizations of their choice. The goal of providing
consumers with the altruistic leverage of supporting companies and
corporations that are socially responsible is gaining support from
the State House in Boston to the White House and the halls of Congress,
This undertaking, begun at the School in 1979 to promote “capitalism
with conscience” remains a high priority project for the Abbey.
Peace Rooms
This is a relatively new program aimed at corporations. The Peace
Abbey's Peace Chaplains go into corporations and request permission
to outfit an empty room as a space for reflection. This room will
have in it a large globe, chairs, oriental rug, and background music.
Corporations provide day care, why not provide a room where people
can go during coffee breaks or lunch time to sit in silence and
find peace? Many benefits are derived from removing yourself from
the fracas of the workplace. Imagine sitting in front of the globe
with soothing music playing, and in walks the person who you didn't
think highly of. This could be the staging ground for a new relationship
and understanding, the recognition of spirit.
Inner peace and conflict resolution are the chief motivating forces
behind this program.
Solidarity Bread
Solidarity Bread seems closely linked to Peace Rooms. This bread,
a brown loaf with a candle in the middle, is made by the students
of The Life Experience School. It is brought to companies and peace
and justice groups with the hope that once a month members will
light the candle, break bread, and stand together to verbalize the
spiritual mission reflected in their work. If people can speak from
the heart on how they view their work and in what way spirituality
is manifested in it, perhaps the workplace can change. Again, we
hear strains of a change of heart, conflict resolution and peacemaking.
Sacred Sites
The Peace Abbey will arrange for one's remains to be spread anywhere
on the planet through the chaplains, ministers, priests, and rabbis
affiliated with the Abbey who travel worldwide. For example, the
ashes of Dr. Parimal Das of UNESCO at the UN were spread at the
Nevada nuclear test site, placed on the front yard of the UN, spread
at Tiennanmen Square with the help of a BU professor visiting China,
and taken to the Amazon Rain Forest. The Peace Abbey has notified
funeral homes that it will arrange to have ashes taken to Mecca,
Assisi, Lumbini, and even Tibet. The Abbey, itself, is a site for
ashes. The program was born spontaneously out of what The Peace
Abbey was already doing.
Anointing Children
as Instruments of Peace
With this program, the Peace Chaplains empower parents to anoint
their own children as an "instrument of peace." The chaplains
help parents to glean the essence of all twelve world religions
and then pledge to rear their child in the ways of non-violence
and conflict resolution, illustrated in the ways of the compassionate
Buddha as lived through the Dalai Lama. They pledge to teach the
children forgiveness reflective of the passion of Jesus Christ,
and to pray in the spirit of the Quran.
There is goodness and holiness in all of us, so it is in keeping
with the highest calling of parenthood to anoint one's own child
an Instrument of Peace. It is, after all, our sacred duty to rear
our children for peacemaking. [Lewis]
Anointing one's child an Instrument of Peace illustrates one way
to fulfill the Global Ethic's directive that "young children
must learn at home and in school that violence may not be a means
of settling differences with others.
Subsidizing
Trust
This simple but extraordinary program began with Lewis Randa's visit
to the United Nations' University for Peace in Costa Rica. Here,
Lewis discovered a locked gift shop, 28 km up a dirt road, on a
campus dedicated to peace. Asking how there can be any peace without
trust, Lewis gave the University a check for $300, which effectively
bought all of the gift shop's contents in the name of the students
at The Life Experience School. He then established the rules for
an honor system, left the contents in the shop to be sold for the
University, and returned home with the lock.
The greatest gift we have to give is through our example. People
don't care what you say, they watch what you do. Unlocking trust
at the University is all part of this. The challenge is to undermine
non-productive and negative-based policies with other arrangements.
While solving problems is important, invaliding them holds a greater
truth. [Lewis]
New programs at the Abbey appear whimsical, at first, but are
rooted in something profound. The Peace Abbey has discovered that
there are many ways of handling philosophical differences, all of
which is part of peacemaking.
The National Registry
for Conscientious Objection
The National Registry was created at the School early in 1991, after
the Persian Gulf War. It offers women and men "an opportunity
to register their objection to personal, national, and international
violence." Key to its conception is the reclamation of conscientious
objection as a way of life, rather than a status given by the military.
It promotes peacemaking as a "practical ideal" which resonates
with Marcus Braybrooke's appeal for the interfaith movement to become
more practical.
The Pacifist Memorial
This project is in process and is one of the most exciting, to date.
To be dedicated October 2, 1994, The Pacifist Memorial is envisioned
to outlive the current phase of The Peace Abbey and be a lasting
memorial to pacifism. An eternal flame will be located in the front
of the memorial stone honoring Unknown Civilians Killed in War.
An 8 foot high bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi will stand in the
center, with six brick walls fanning out like petals. Each of the
twelve prayers of the Sacred Office of Peace will be engraved on
the end of each wall with the names, dates and inspirational quotes
of pacifists on the sides. The names of Martin Luther King Jr.,
Dorothy Day, Peace Pilgrim, William Penn, Mary Dyer, Albert Schweitzer,
Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, John Lennon, Albert Einstein, Bertrand
Russell and others have been submitted for consideration and are
currently being studied by the Review Committee.
Queries and Skepticism
For the pragmatic businessmen, for whom the "bottom-line"
is paramount, and the left-brained theologians who engage in "speculative
dialogue," The Peace Abbey can be something of a mystery. Who
are its sponsors? Does it have a Board of Trustees? Where does it
find the funds to survive? There are concrete answers to each of
these questions, but as with the evolution of the Upper Room, these
questions miss the essence of the Abbey, for there is a transforming
power, beyond comprehension, which connects with the faith and commitment
of those persons affiliated with The Peace Abbey. This is ongoing
and intimately linked with the students who continually teach those
around them about being intuitive, visceral, open to synchronicity,
and faithful. The Peace Abbey has on its walls a quote by Margaret
Mead saying, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful
committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing
that ever has." The Abbey is a living example of this conviction.
However, The Peace Abbey and the School do need funds to survive,
a necessity which is one of Lewis Randa's greatest challenges. He
does battle with the legislature, takes major advances against his
several credit cards, and keeps his faith in The Peace Abbey's mission.
For the most part, this approach seems to work. Moreover, as is
apparent from the narrative above, The Peace Abbey is not isolated.
Funds come when they are needed. The local bank loaned $475,000
to purchase a building for The Peace Abbey after Mother Teresa's
visit to the School, major gifts were given to pay for several sculptures,
cities and towns pay to send children with disabilities to the school,
and the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation provides
contracts for the Special Peace Corps. The new Pacifist Memorial
will be funded completely out of pocket by persons committed to
the vision, including those who don't see themselves as pacifists,
but see pacifism as the next step in our evolution.
The School and Peace Abbey have a Board of Trustees. It is not,
however, an overly active board, but more like a panel of "involved
Godparents." They meet once a year to be brought up to date.
The Executive Board meets regularly to handle the business at hand.
If general board members wish to learn more about the School at
other times, they need to come to the Morning Meeting and be with
the students who are the heart of it all.
To the outside observer, there could be a legitimate concern that
Lewis Randa may be indispensable to The Peace Abbey's future. Is
this interfaith organization, in fact, not only the vision of one
man but also dependent upon him? Lewis thinks this is not the case.
Were he to die, he believes that "the vacuum will be filled
immediately because the place is too vibrant to falter." While
it is understandable why one might, initially, be skeptical of The
Peace Abbey's ability to survive without Lewis Randa, it soon becomes
clear to those acquainted with The Peace Abbey that the Abbey, the
Peace Chaplaincy, the Sacred Office of Peace, the Courage of Conscience
Awards, and the Special Peace Corps have a life of their own with
support from persons all over the world. The modesty of both Lewis
Randa and those affiliated with The Peace Abbey is deceptive. It
may be small in acreage and budget, but it is large in vision. The
energy of the Abbey and its program is palpable. Its rippling effect
is gradually being felt globally, because it answers a hunger for
peace, prayer and inter-religious dialogue.
THE GLOBAL
ETHIC AND THE PEACE ABBEY
It seems clear, after exploring the mission and programs of The
Peace Abbey, that its vision and the aspirations of the Global Ethic
are one and the same. The Global Ethic states that there will be
"no new global order without a new global ethic" and The
Peace Abbey acts on this belief. The Global Ethic honors religious
pluralism, non-violence, and a life of prayer, and The Peace Abbey
puts this into practice. The Global Ethic supports the rights of
all persons "to be authentically human (and to have) ... an
equal chance to reach full potential as human beings," while
The Life Experience School and Special Peace Corps are enabling
this to be a reality. The Global Ethic names the greed for power
and consumption as a cause for the world's agony, while The Peace
Abbey addressed this head-on with its proposed National Seal of
Philanthropy, workshops on non-violence, and programs of Peace Rooms,
Solidarity Bread and Subsidizing Trust. The Global Ethic is committed
to ending war and interreligious violence, while The Peace Abbey
has established The Registry for Conscientious Objection, the Courage
of Conscience Awards, and the proposed Pacifist Memorial. The Global
Ethic pledges to work for "a conversion of heart" and
an "awakening of our spiritual powers through reflection, meditation
and prayer," which is, certainly, the inspiration for the Sacred
Office of Peace and Peace Seeds, the Peace Chaplaincy, the Anointing
of Instruments of Peace, Sacred Sites, the deeply spiritual Chapel
of Change, and ultimately the entire mission of The Peace Abbey.
Simply put, the goals of the Global Ethic and The Peace Abbey are
identical. They are both grounded in a "fundamental consensus
on binding values," found in the teachings of world religions,
reinforced by a shared belief in an Ultimate Reality which crosses
religious barriers, and renewed by prayer and meditation.
Both The Peace Abbey and the Global Ethic believe that world religions
are uniquely well-suited to be constructive forces in promoting
peace, for not only do they "provide their adherents with forms
of ethical discourse about the ultimate meaning and value of reality,"
but they summon those who believe in this vision into committed
action. Both the Global Ethic and The Peace Abbey envision religions
as powerful agents for change. The Peace Abbey offers one illustration
of how an interfaith organization, by "creating space where
all religious traditions are welcome," can be particularly
effective in facilitating this change. It offers, in a microcosm,
a glorious "open house for all of the peoples of the earth"
to work together for justice and peace. In its own, quiet way, the
Abbey is a wonderful example of one of the tiny seeds from which
can germinate an "imagined community" which embraces the
whole inhabited earth.
In summary, The Peace Abbey's ministry totally resonates with the
Global Ethic. It offers a way for persons holding different religious
beliefs to respect diversity and cooperate on behalf of non-violence,
peace, justice and humanity's right to authenticity. It honors the
wisdom and gifts of the world's religions. It offers a courageous,
inspirational, and viable model for the implementation of the Global
Ethic, a model which is drawing the attention of world leaders to
a magical place in Sherborn, Massachusetts: The Peace Abbey of The
Life Experience School.
About the Author
Elizabeth Oakley Hutchins is in her final year of the M.Div. program
at Harvard Divinity School. Upon graduation she looks forward to
a ministry which combines her commitment to peace and social justice,
her current pastoral care work with persons living with HIV/AIDS,
and her two decades of experience in educational administration
and teaching both in the United States and Asia.
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ARTICLE:
The Global Ethic