We Will Cultivate Peace

In the pre-dawn hours of early morning, just before monsoon season in
Cambodia, I heard a gentle sound falling on the road. Although I could almost
believe it to be rain if my eyes were closed, it was actually the sound of
over six hundred pairs of sandled feet walking on the dusty red dirt road. 
The walkers wore colours of saffron or white and held their hands in
'samphea', the prayer-like gesture of respect seen throughout Asia.

These walkers had joined the 4th Dhammayietra for Peace and Reconciliation in
Cambodia.  As Cambodian society has cycled through hope and despair during
the last four years, one constant expression of the people's desire for peace
is this, now annual, cross country mass walk for peace and reconciliation. 
Each year the number of participants in the Dhammayietra has grown, as the
urgency of the situation has increased.  This year just under 700 Buddhist
monks, nuns and Cambodian lay people began the three week, 600 kilometre
pilgrimage form the Thai border in the west, to the Vietnam border in the
southeast.

The Cambodian Dhammayietra walkers were joined this year by twenty-five
people from the Interfaith Pilgrimage for Peace and Life, as well as a small
number of supporters from other countries in Asia and the West.The Interfaith
Pilgrimage was walking from Auschwitz in Poland to Hiroshima in Japan in
commemoration of the immense suffering caused during WWII.  They arranged
their walk route to add their support to the Dhammayietra.

As we passed silently through the countryside, a series of banners running
sequentially through the walk made an eloquent statement:
The suffering of Cambodia has been deep
From deep suffering comes great compassion
Great compassion makes a heart of peace
A peaceful heart makes a peaceful person
A peaceful person makes a peaceful family
A peaceful family makes a peaceful community
A peaceful community makes a peaceful nation
A peaceful nation makes a peaceful world.
As the walk paassed through the countryside the sounds of war were frequently
heard in the distance.

As we made our way toward Battambang, Cambodia's second largest city and the
capital of the most war-torn province, we heard shelling nightly.  Tens of
thousands lined the road with buckets of water, fragrant flowers afloat, and
incense, raising their hands, plams together, awaiting the water blessing of
the pilgrims, despite the war which surrounds them.  As they sprinkled holy
water with a bunch of flowers and leaves, "May your heart be as cool as this
water," they prayed, "May we live in peace and happiness soon."

On the morning of June 1, in the 'no-man's land' on the Cambodian-Vietnamese
border, the pilgrims fanned out in a display of saffron and white for a final
three minutes' prayer of silence for victims of all wars.  One last tree was
planted at the border of the two countries, as a symbol of peace.  In the
final address, the Dhammayietra encouraged all of the Cambodian leaders and
armed parties to listen to the voice of the hundreds of thousands of people
"who hunger for peace", to lay down their weapons and make peace for
themselves and the whole world.  Maha Ghosananda ended by reminding us all,
"As for us Dhammayietra participants, with the power of these steps, we will
continue to cultivate peace in our hearts, in our homes, our schools, our
communities, our villages, our country and in the whole world."
Liz Bernstein and Yeshua Moser


Seeds of Peace
is the approximately 52-page thrice-annually magazine of the Thai
Inter-Religious Commission for Development (TICD) and the International
Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB). The latter organisation works to promote
cooperation among socially conscious Buddhist groups and to promote
cooperation between Engaged Buddhists and activists from other spiritual
traditions. Each issue contains a variety of material. This includes reports
on INEB conferences, reports on Buddhist and other nonviolent activism,
analyses of political and environmental struggles in the countries of Asia,
theoretical articles, book reviews and letters to the editor. Seeds of Peace
is edited by Jonathan Watts and Kenneth MacLean and is published by the
International Network of Engaged Buddhists, 127 Soi Santipap, Nares Rd,
Bangkok 10500, Thailand. An annual subscription (three issues) costs $US15
(minimum).