The Saffron Message: Learning from the Monks who Walked 2,300 Miles for Peace
We live in a world that is terrified of being left behind. We chase external goals, tethered to our phones, our minds spinning with the "chitta vritti"—the constant fluctuations and "monkey mind" that keep us from being present.
I feel lucky to be in DC, the destination of the monks long journey for peace, where Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara spoke at nearby American University’s Bender Arena. Seeing them in their saffron robes was a visual reminder to slow down. Their journey wasn't just about the miles on the road; it was about the journey inward. For me, its a needed reminder to make time to return to my yoga mat, to continue to share my yoga joy and passion when teaching, and continue to find ways to take my yoga (the union of mind, body and spirit) into the world.
The Myth of “Finding” Peace
One of the most profound takeaways was that peace isn’t something we go out and capture. It is already with us, but we are simply too busy to see it or live it. We are so full of thoughts about the past and anxieties about the future that there is no room for the present.
Where Attention Goes, Energy Flows
The monks challenged us to look at where we place our awareness.
The One-Thing Rule: We’ve been conditioned to multitask, but peace is found in doing one thing at a time.
The Breath is Free: In a world where everything has a price tag, the air we breathe is free. Connecting to our breath and feeling our heartbeat is the simplest way to return to the "now."
Letting Go: To find peace, you have to be willing to drop the heavy rocks (the grudges, anger, and anxiety) you’ve been carrying.
Inhale and Out-hale
Like the journey back to the mat in yoga, mindfulness is a "rinse and repeat" process; practice is the path. It is about breaking the critical cycle of being hard on ourselves when our minds wander. When you realize you’re lost in thought, acknowledge it, and gently bring yourself back to the present moment—opportunity to be present with each gifted inhale and out-hale (my twins name for the exhale) .
The walk from Texas to DC may be over, but as the monks reminded us, we have to "walk" for the rest of our lives. We need to work on inner landscape to effect a more peaceful, better outer world. I want to carry their journey in my heart and follow in their footsteps of mindfulness. Peace begins within, but its togetherness has the power to change everything.
The lessons of their journey reminds me of the work we have done for the International Campaign for Tibet and their Compassion Rising Campaign to celebrate His Holiness the Dali Lama’s 90th birthday: https://studiored.us/blog/ict?rq=compassion%20rising