Sean Feit Oakes: Nonviolence and Wise View in Relation to the War in Gaza

Spirit Rock Meditation Center: dharma talks and meditation instruction

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) The war in Palestine/Israel is profoundly painful for everyone involved, including those of us witnessing the conflict and feeling it impact our communities. How might the Buddha’s teachings support us as we engage in bearing witness and participating in the larger conversation unfolding around this war and other violent conflicts? Non-violence, understood as arising from wise view and expressing as wise action, is a radical Buddhist approach to social engagement, and challenges views we may hold around right and wrong, guilt and victimhood, identity, ancestry, and land ownership. Conversation about politically-charged situations can be difficult in Dharma spaces, but the profound implications of the Buddha’s teaching can also become a real support for us in negotiating complex social and political realities.