WESTFIELD-A decorated Vietnam combat veteran will shed light on the roots of war and share a message of empowerment and hope on April 20 at the Genesis Spiritual Life & Conference Center.
Claude Anshin Thomas, author, Zen Buddhist monk and international advocate for nonviolence, will present a public talk titled “Mindfulness & Waking Up to the Roots of War and Seeds of Peace within Us” beginning at 7 p.m. The Westfield Mindfulness Meditation Group, led by John H. Meiklejohn, LICSW, BCD, is hosting the evening program.
“This public talk offers an opportunity to highlight the ongoing challenges, suffering and services available for some of our local veterans who’ve returned from Iraq and Afghanistan,” noted Meiklejohn. “The traumas of serving in a war zone all too frequently lead some of our vets to struggle with emotional instability, drug and alcohol abuse/dependence, relationship problems and employment difficulties.”
Claude Anshin Thomas, a decorated Vietnam combat veteran, will speak on the roots of war and finding a path to healing traumatic experiences.
Meiklejohn said public talks can offer an opportunity to highlight and thus de-stigmatize for veterans, their families and the public, these issues and the services available in the community to support veterans.
“Thomas’ lecture will speak directly to veterans and their families who are suffering from such struggles,” said Meiklejohn. “His themes are also relevant to others who are feeling swamped by life’s stressors or are coping with the aftermath of personal traumas that aren’t war-related.”
During an interview, Thomas noted he feels compelled to share his message because he has lived and worked with the “real cost of war, violence and suffering” for the past 48 years.
“What I have discovered through this process is that those of us who have served are not disordered,” said Thomas. “We can learn to live at peace with our un-peacefulness.”
Thomas is the author of At Hell’s Gate: A Soldier’s Journey From War to Peace and the founder of the Zaltho Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes peace and nonviolence. He has received numerous awards, including the Purple Heart, for his service in the Vietnam War. Like many other war veterans, he struggled for years with re-entry into civilian life back home. He has been a fully ordained monk in the Japanese Soto Zen tradition since 1995.
During his talk, Thomas will share his inspiring spiritual odyssey from combat to being a Buddhist monk as a road map for any of us who seek a deeper sense of living and/or wish to find a path to heal traumatic experiences of many types, not only the traumas of war.
Thomas said his message of empowerment and hope is particularly important for veterans.
“The message is that we are not disordered, we are not mentally ill,” said Thomas, adding “that healing is not the absence of suffering.”
As Thomas travels the world speaking about the roots of war, he also teaches meditation and mindfulness practices, leads walking pilgrimages through war-torn and war-scarred places, and offers support to veterans of all wars, and visits schools, hospitals and prisons.
“That it is possible to live at peace with our un-peacefulness has been a critical part of the process in my own particular relation with the real costs of war, violence and suffering,” said Thomas.
Through mindfulness, which grows out of a disciplined spiritual practice, Thomas adds that individuals can nurture healing and transformation within oneself and this process can change the world.
“If we want the world to be a different place, then we as individuals have to live differently,” said Thomas.
To reserve a seat for the lecture, call the Genesis office at (413) 562-3627. Genesis is located at 53 Mill St. The entrance fee is $7 but no one will be turned away due to lack of funds. Donations to the teacher will also be accepted.
Meiklejohn noted that Thomas took vows of mendicancy and does not receive an honorarium. He only lives and works from voluntary donations.
For more information about Thomas’ life, mission and the Zaltho Foundation, visit www.zaltho.org.
