Consider the Source
The Pentagon will gladly supply, on request, such information as the quantity of ordnance expended in Vietnam. From 1965 through 1969 this amounts to about 4.5 million tons by aerial bombardment. This is nine times…
Category: Vietnam
What You Understand Depends on Where You Stand/1
For Brent and Brett On Daniel Berrigan’s Night Flight to Hanoi Night Flight to Hanoi is an account of Jesuit Daniel Berrigan’s odyssey in late January and early February 1968, when he and historian Howard Zinn traveled…
Deep Seeing
Dear Chris, For me, one of Thich Nhat Hanh’s greatest gifts is the original 14 precepts of the Order of Interbeing (first published by Parallax in 1987). As you know, I include the 4th precept…
Respecting the Vietnamese
On John Balaban’s Remembering Heaven’s Face: A Moral Witness in Vietnam For Chris, Carol, and Cristina John Balaban declared himself a Conscientious Objector during the VietnamWar; he ended up going to Vietnam, but as a member…
Minutes, from the Vietnamese
Every minute you practice will build and strengthen this energy in you. —Thích Nhất Hạnh One minute of life is one minute to serve the revolution. —Đặng Thùy Trâm
Heroes
In this Washington Post piece on Rory Kennedy’s new film, Last Days in Vietnam, she is quoted as follows: “I think the reason why people don’t know what happened [in 1975] was this was such…
Compromismo/2 (Reading/3)
Dear Professor So last night I went with my friends to this bar The same bar they’ve been going to for two years Drinking the same overpriced drinks they always drink Making the same chit-chat…
Leçon de français d’aujourd’hui
Un poème de Thich Nhat Hanh Ne dites pas, je serai parti demain, car je ne cesse de naître, aujourd’hui encore. Regardez en profondeur : je nais à chaque seconde bourgeon sur une branche printanière,…
Reckoning with War
Dear Friends of Saint Louis Mindfulness Sangha, The first of the five wonderful mindfulness trainings emphasizes cultivating reverence for life. The original version of the 12th precept of the Order of Interbeing reads: “Do not…
Western Reverence for Life
General William Westmoreland once said “The Oriental doesn’t place The same high value on life As does a Westerner In the Orient life is cheap It doesn’t matter” The general said this in 1972 27…