USD Magazine Fall 2007

“We’re incredibly honored to have him as a speaker in this par- ticular time in history when the world is punctuated by war in so many places,” says Sister Barbara Quinn, R.S.C.J., director of the Center for Christian Spirituality and co-chair of the Social Issues Committee. “His whole message is peace and mindfulness and dialogue; it couldn’t be more timely.” Chris Nayve, associate director of Community Service- Learning, which co-sponsors the conference, anticipates that his appearance will attract crowds of admirers. “In San Diego there is already a buzz. He’ll draw folks from L.A., Arizona. People from the entire Southwest region will jump at the chance to hear him.” Nhat Hanh, 81, is a celebrated Zen master, poet, author and human rights activist who has promoted peace through decades of writings, political intervention and outreach to suffering people. In conjunction with the United Nations, he helped establish 2001 to 2010 as the “international decade for a culture of peace and non- violence for the children of the world.” His courageous protest of the U.S.-Vietnam war, which led to his exile from Vietnam, com- pelled Martin Luther King Jr. to nominate Nhat Hanh for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1966, saying, “I know of no one more worthy ... than this gentle monk from Vietnam. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monu- ment to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity.” Among the monasteries he has founded worldwide — which welcome people of all religious California, has drawn a number of USD students and faculty to learn the art of “mindful living.” Quinn describes it this way: “If you’re praying, pray; if you’re eat- ing, eat; if you’re walking, walk. Don’t try to walk and eat and pray and think about the world’s backgrounds — Deer Park Monastery in Escondido,

AROUND THE PARK

[ m i n d f u l l i v i n g ]

PEACE IS THE PATH Soc i a l I s sues Conference we l comes renowned Buddh i s t monk , ac t i v i s t Th i ch Nhat Hanh by Carol Cujec

Y ou walk through the brush-covered hills under a vast blue sky. The only sounds are birds singing, insects buzzing and the oak leaves crunching beneath your feet. Warm sun and cool shade alter- nately embrace your skin as you walk slowly ... slowly ... conscious of each time your foot caresses

the earth. You focus on the breath rising and falling in your chest as you silently follow a brown-cloaked monk along the path in a journey that pulls you completely into the present moment and fills you with peace. Walking Together in Peace, what the Buddhists call a walking medi- tation, is the title of the 18th annu-

al Social Issues Conference at USD, which takes place fromOct. 1 to 5. The keynote speaker will be the world-renowned Buddhist monk and social activist Thich Nhat Hanh. The themes of the conference, inspired by Nhat Hanh’s work, are peace and reconciliation, contem- plation and social action, and envi- ronment and climate crisis.

PETER KRAMER

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