Visiting New Orleans

New Orleans is in heavy recovery mode from Hurricane Katrina.  A tremendous amount of damage can still be seen in and around the city.   Additionally there are deep political and spiritual struggles for the future of the city.  There is money to be made and many are interested in “cleaning up” the city.  Others are more concerned with justice and making things right.

 

While I was in New Orleans there was a controversial city council vote on the destruction of some public housing.   It seemed that the majority of New Olreanians supported tearing down the public housing.  However, from my perspective as an outsider, the proposed plan to provide affordable housing is out of touch with reality.  Housing in New Orleans, at the moment, is unaffordable. 

 

Consequently, there is a serious homeless problem in New Orleans.   Everyone I spoke with seemed to be unaware of this problem.  In fact, I was constantly told that there was low income housing, vouchers, and public assistance available.  Never the less, I saw with my own eyes, large homeless camps under overpasses and near city hall.   These people were well dressed, clean, and some were families with children.  So while the political spin seems to be that there is “affordable housing available”, the reality is the opposite.   There is not enough affordable housing, or perhaps the barriers to getting affordable housing are too high, or confusing, or demeaning.  No matter the cause, there are people, good people, living on the streets - homeless.

 

Peace, Paul

Last Week

It is the last week at Malu Aina before Judy and I travel to the mainland for the holidays.  The last few days on the farm have been wet.  There is standing water in all of the fields and everything has become damp and limp.  Our little cabin in the woods has held up nicely.  There is mud everywhere and keeping ones feet and clothes “clean-ish” has become a big challenge.

 

From our cabin we can hear cars on the main road and cows lowing in the distance..  Closer to the cabin we are surrounded by the sounds of frogs, birds, and the vibrant aliveness of nature.

 

The sun in Hawaii comes up quickly in the morning.  One moment it is night and the next, or so it seems, day is upon us.  The slow drawn-out predawn show of the northern latitudes is missing here.   As the sun leaps into the sky it is greeted by crowing and tussling of Roosters preparing to leave the roost.

 

Tuesday I spent the morning working under the cover of the screen house.  This is the small shelter where we grow all of our salad greens.   Without the protection of the screen house, the fragile lettuce plants would not survive the torrential rains of the rain-forest.

 

In the afternoon I sat with Martha, Judy, and Jim around the dinner table stuffing and stamping envelopes while drinking coffee and “talking story”.  I was happy not to put my wet socks and muddy boots back on and trudge out to the the fields.

 

In the evening Martha prepared a delicious dinner.  We finished the day with pumpkin pie, of which we all ate too much.

 

Several of the Banana plants on the farm, have been knocked down by the wind.   On Wednesday, covered in rain gear and dodging the worst of the rain, I replanted many of the stumps.

 

In the evening our local Hawaii Seed group had its monthly meeting.  We discussed GMOs and how to protect Taro from becoming the next crop contaminated / poisoned by Genetic Engineering.  The New Year will mark the begining of the Hawaii Legislative session.  It will also be a busy time for us as we struggle to convince our legislators to resist the enticements of money and power, and instead do what is right - protect our food and our children from the dangers of GMOs.

 

On Saturday morning we will leave for New Orleans.  I will miss the quiet and routines of Malu Aina and life on the farm.  However it will be good to be with family for the Holidays.  It is something that we missed last year.

 

Peace, Paul  

A New Home

We have made the move out to Malu Aina, a farm 20 minutes south of Hilo, HI. It is a farm rooted in the Catholic Worker tradition and so has a strong Peace and Justice focus. Neither Judy nor I are Catholic. This doesn’t seem to matter. Though life at the farm is lived within the context of a strong spiritual vision, there are few outward trappings of religion. It is as if the farm itself, its vibrant aliveness, hard work, and communalism is the whole of the religious life. The life here is sacred. Which is not to say that moving did not have its ups and downs. It was a hard move as we once again moved into a smaller living space. However, in many ways it has been a move up. We now have more privacy, a much better kitchen, and over all better living situation. We are definitely more settled here than we were in Hilo. At night we fall asleep looking at the stars or listening to the rain in the forest outside our cabin. In the morning we awaken with the sun and the stirring of the roosters in the predawn light.

We are happy!

Peace, Paul

Night Snorkel

Here is a picture of a squirrel fish that we startled on recent night snorkel.

A New Friend

A week ago Friday I had the good fortune to meet Martha Hennessy, granddaughter of Dorothy Day. In good Catholic Worker form we met at a picket against the War.

I was introduced to Martha as a “Buddhist Catholic Worker”. It is not the first time such an introduction has been used and not at all wrongly. I was raised Methodist, converted to Buddhism at 18, and discovered Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker movement in college. These 3 religious influences have played a strong guiding role in my life. The Methodist upbringing set deep roots in a biblical understanding of the world. Buddhism offered a methodology for prayer and contemplation that was sadly missing from the protestant Christianity of my childhood. The Catholic Worker provided an example of how one can aspire to embody and live according to the Sermon on the Mount, which is, in my view, the heart of the Jesus teachings, the core of the Gospel. The Catholic Worker offers a model for how we can embody the love and compassion of our religious teachings in the world. This is especially important for Buddhists, who can sometimes can get lost intellectualism and otherworldliness.

Since our meeting on Friday, Martha and I have had several opportunities to get together and “talk story”. We have had wide ranging discussions on the Catholic Worker, Dorothy Day, Religion and Spirituality, and life in general.

It is always heartening to share one’s concerns and hopes with another who shares much of the same religious language. Though Dorothy Day was a very significant figure in the 20th century, especially among Catholics, she is not that well known to the general public. This is a shame because she worked to embody the best of the Christian and Catholic teachings. Her life is an example of what is needed to create truly peaceful and just world.

I am looking forward to spending more time with Martha and exploring together how to live an authentically religious life.

Peace, Paul

The Missing Religious Voice

Tuesday evening found myself and many others attending the US Armies’ Stryker Draft EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) public hearing. The Army has been trying for several years to get a Stryker Brigade permanently station in Hawaii. The stationing of the Styker Brigade in Hawaii would contribute to the further militarization of the Hawaiian Islands. It would also dramatically increase the amount of ordinance used, fired, and detonated on the Islands.

When my turn came to speak, I addressed a few problematic sections of the EIS directly. I then turned my comments to Buddhism.

I stated that I was invited to Hawaii as Buddhist practitioner and religious leader. I reminded the audience that Buddhism has a strong and clear anti War / militarization message and teaching. It is said the followers of the Buddha are not even supposed to watch the preparations for warfare.

I told the audience that I had serious concerns for our Buddhist children and our congregations who are most definitely watching the preparations for war. They cannot help but see them in these heavily militarized islands. They are also being exposed to an ideology of warfare and violence. An ideology that states, explicitly or implicitly, that war and killing are acceptable and even ethically correct. It is and ideology that runs directly counter to the Buddha’s teachings on non-harming, love, compassion, and wisdom.

I shared that as a Buddhist and Religious person, I had grave concerns about these impacts. I pointed out that nowhere in the EIS are the effects of increasing militarization on the Buddhist community mentioned. I reminded the audience that Buddhism is one of the largest, if not the largest, religion in Hawaii.

After these brief statements I concluded and returned to my seat. I listened to hour upon hour of testimony against the Stryker. The majority of the testimony was secular. Some of it was angry and some was not. However, there was not a strong religious opposition to the Stryker. The Hawaiians often spoke from a religious paradigm but few others.

Why weren’t strong religious voices present, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Jews? Where is the debate and struggle within the religious community over this most basic ethical and religious issue: warfare and violence? Why do our churches seem collectively either unconcerned or paralyzed?

Peace, Paul

Peace Day

On Sunday Malu Aina joined the peace day parade and festival in Honokaa. That’s us in the white suits with the radiation symbol, finishing up. We went as citizen radiation monitors to help raise awareness about Depleted Uranium (DU).

Depleted Uranium is used in weapons for armor penetration. It is very hard and has many qualities desirable by the military. Unfortunately it is also a radioactive waste product which is pyrophoric. This means that as it heats up it aerosolizes and burns. As a result, small radioactive ceramic particles are released into the atmosphere, and carried on the wind like dust. As a fine particles they can easily be inhaled and lodge in the lungs or other parts of the body. Remember, these are radioactive particles that are potential lodging in the human body. They are ceramic as well, so they are neither absorbed nor broken down by the body.

There has been very little science done on the effects of DU exposure. However there seems to be a connection between DU and birth defects. DU appears to affect the reproductive cycle in some way that is not fully understood. There are many other negative health affects that may be associated with DU but the birth defects are the most disturbing.

Here is a short, powerful, disturbing film about Depleted Uranium.

Why is this an issue here in Hawaii? We are very militarized here. In the center of the Big Island is the Pohakuloa Training Area. This is a live fire range. The military has now confirmed that DU munitions have been used and found at Pohakuloa. This means personnel at Pohakuloa and those living downwind of the Training Area may be being exposed to DU.

Currently the military and the Health Department are doing very little to protect the Citizens of Hawaii. In fact they are working very hard to whitewash the issue. As we know from the Downwinders out west, those who lived downwind of the nuclear tests in the desert, it is up to us, the citizens, to protect ourselves. Neither the government nor the military will take responsibility for poisoning its citizens. This is not speculation; this is history.

Anyway, the event was a great success. We had fun and were able to distribute over 1000 flyers on this important health issue.

Peace, Paul

Buddhist Monks Continue Protests in Burma

Here is news about the latest protests by monks in Burma. Burma is home to imprissoned Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Monks’ Protest Is Challenging Burmese Junta

Peace, Paul

Another Full Week

It is hard to believe that another week has sped by. Once again the week has been full of activities. Much of the week was focused on the GMO struggle. GMOs (Genetically Modified Organism) are scary and potentially very dangerous products in the new field of genetic engineering. This is not hybridization or cross breeding. It is altering plants and other organisms at the genetic level by introducing new and often foreign genetic material. By new and foreign I mean cross species genetic modification — introducing animal genes into plants, particularly food crops.

There is very little research done on the effects of Genetic Engineering and what research is done, is being funded by the corporations who stand to profit from the sale of GMOs.

Of course once a life form is released into the wild you can’t recall it later. GMO corn or rice or potatoes or whatever, that are in the field now, can and will contaminate other non-gmo fields. There is no way to avoid contamination. If in 10 years we discover that a particular GMO poses significant health or environmental risks, there will be nothing that can be done about it. That plant will already exist in the wild. And I am sure that we are all aware at how difficult it is to control invasive species.

I did other things in addition to work on the GMO issue. I led services in Waimea on Wednesday. I attended a meeting of ICIA (Interfaith Communities in Action) on Thursday. I tabled at UHH’s peace day on Friday. And today, Saturday, I painted signs and made preparations for the Honokaa Peace Day and Festival on Sunday.

As always, the days are rounded out with and supported by daily religious services, silence, contemplation, and reading. Without this deep well to draw strength from, it would be easy to be defeated by the world. A world seemingly driven mad by greed and hatred. But in the struggle to live out a prayerful life, one action at a time, I also find strength, hope, and love in the world.

Peace, Paul

A Day on the Farm

Saturday, a group of us participated in Malu Aina’s volunteer day, half day really. The morning consisted of weeding the Taro Patch and planting several rows of beans. The work passed quickly and enjoyably with the assistance of many hands.

We were done by 11:30 am and returned to the main buildings just ahead of the rain. We finished the morning with a shared meal, delightful discussion, and some wonderful stories from Jim about past peace actions and demonstrations.

Peace, Paul