Over the months, I kept on sending Boss a daily supply of tobacco, always wrapped in a page of BEING PEACE. One page at a time he came to like Thich Nhat Han. Every now and then, Boss even tried his best to meditate, but he was never able to stay awake early in the morning.
After eighteen months Bosshog is released from the grip of San Quentin and from the dependence on me for tobacco and BEING PEACE. Before he walked off the tier, he stood in front of my cell and together we recited what had become Boss's mantra whenever he was about to blow his top:
"Man, man ... If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace."
PEACE BE WITH YOU, dear friends! Peace is the fruit of forgiveness, integrity, and compassion ... Peace opens the door to wisdom, mystery, life ... In the Silence, may each of us create a peaceful heart: a peace-energy to be refleted in the world for our healing ... a peace crucial for the survival of Earth and all her creatures. all upon the Angel of Peace in your thoughts, words and activities. You will be guided and blessed.
The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great spirit, and that this center is really everywhere; it is within each of us.
While we may forsee the OUTWARD APPEARANCE of peace upon a people or nation, it is the UNDERLYING THINKING that must change to create a true and lasting peace. To change the conditions of our outer world, we are invited to ACTUALLY BECOME the conditions of our desire from within. When we do so, the new conditions of health or peace are mirrored in the world around us. To bring Peace to those whom we love in this world, we must first BECOME that very peace in our thoughts, feelings, and bodies.
We see the face of God daily, easily recognizable in a spectacular sunset or in a child's smile. And it also exists in less attractive presentations. Can we accept seeing God in the person of our "enemy"? If we can't, we are doomed to propagating lives of hatred and revenge. Only when we see the face of God in everyone and in all things will we be at peace within ourselves and, more importantly, enable peace to exist throughout the world.
Only when I am reconciled with myself can I think about reconciling other people around me, who are at odds with me or with others. Reconciliation means peacemaking, clearing the way for the different parties, building a bridge between quarreling groups. But it does not mean smoothing everything over, making everything harmonious. Different points of view must remain. Reconciliation means taking the other person or group seriously, and also taking myself and my needs seriously.
The most profound danger to world peace in the coming years will stem not from the irrational acts of states or individuals, but from the legitimate demands and needs of the world's dispossessed.
I crave peace. Peace depends on a slowness. Peace depends on acceptance of other people's processes and perception of truth. Peace depends on reverence and awe for this incredible blue/green planet we have somehow lucked into. Peace depends on a faith that there really is Something Larger going on here, and that rushing and anger are irrelevant to that larger process, what ever it, or It, may be. I am slowly beginning to live this peace, but in so many ways, I am a slow learner.
Peace is not made through theory. Too many people die in war. This grief, this pain can still be felt. No matter how loud one cries, this way no peace can be achieved. The flowers of the meadow, the small insects have life. Each life has to be respected; Where else should peace come from?
