Acknowledging hatred and cultivating peace

 Hatred never ceases by hatred;
 But by love alone is healed.
 This is an ancient and eternal law.

– from Dhammapada

Mass shootings, police brutality, and racial hatred grab headlines and sadden us all.

The Shambhala teaches us to be courageous in this dark age.  As a Shambhala Center, we have wondered how to acknowledge all of that suffering but have found it so difficult to express our sympathy toward all those affected in a timely manner.  Since the stream of violence does not seem to end, we share these lights and a list of those affected is a gesture of our aspiration for peace.

If, in contemplating all of this as part of your mediation practice, do not be overwhelmed by the hatred that manifests in the world but remember to send out love to the whole world.

▪️ George Floyd. ▪️Breona Taylor. ▪️Soon Chung Park, age 74. ▪️Hyun Jung Grant, age 51. ▪️Suncha Kim, age 69. ▪️Yong Yue, age 63. ▪️Delaina Ashley Yaun, age 33. ▪️Paul Andre Michels, age 54. ▪️Xiaojie Tan, age 49. ▪️Daoyou Feng, age 44. ▪️Tralona Bartkowiak, age 49, customer. ▪️Suzanne Fountain, age 59, customer. ▪️Teri Leiker, age 51, employee. ▪️Kevin Mahoney, age 61, customer. ▪️Lynn Murray, age 62, customer. ▪️Rikki Olds, age 25, manager. ▪️Neven Stanisic, age 23, repairman. ▪️Denny Stong, age 20, employee. ▪️Eric Talley, age 51, police officer. ▪️Jody Waters, age 65, customer. ▪️Robert Lesslie, age 70. ▪️Barbara Lesslie, age 69. ▪️Robert and Barbara Lesslie’s grandchildren, Adah, age 9, Noah, age 5. ▪️James Lewis, age 38, an air-conditioning technician. ▪️Matthew R. Alexander, age 32. ▪️Samaria Blackwell, age 19. ▪️Amarjeet Johal, age 66. ▪️Jaswinder Kaur, age 64. ▪️Jaswinder Singh, age 68. ▪️Amarjit Sekhon, age 48. ▪️Karli Smith, age 19. ▪️John Weisert, age 74.


Photo by Mike Labrum on Unsplash.