Don't Organize, Mourn!
by Chris Wilson, member, BPF Board of Directors

Don’t organize, mourn!

Earlier, I wrote something under a title that was the reverse of the above. But there are situations when you have absolutely no idea what to do, much less any idea how to organize others to do something. The assault on Falluja, now beginning in fits and starts, is such a situation. It is almost certainly too late for any action on our part to stop this assault (nor is it clear that John Kerry would have done anything different).

Falluja vividly illustrates a perennial truth about war: even when you win you lose. If we “win” in Falluja, it means that we lose young soldiers who had no need to be there; we sow hatred among the families and friends of those we kill; we sow hatred among the many Iraqis who believe that we kill Iraqi civilians indiscriminately; we sow hatred among the Sunni Muslims the world over for using our power to suppress Sunnis in favor of Shias. Most of all, we lose because we increase the chance that the friend or loved one of someone we kill will vow revenge by delivering a nuclear device to our doorstep.

So, what is a Buddhist to do about the attack on Falluja, a situation that makes one sick at heart precisely because one can think of no way to prevent it? The answer is in the question. There is nothing else to do but be sick at heart. This, however, does not mean we should simply wallow in hand-wringing impotence. Rather, as the Japanese Zen Master Fukushima Roshi says, “Buddha always comes forth in dignity”. In the present case, this means that rather than suffer bitter feelings in silence, you should instead publicly declare yourself to be in mourning. The ceremonial ritual of mourning is universal, and has an inherent dignity. Tomorrow, for instance, I will begin wearing a black armband. When asked what I am in mourning about, I will say as simply as possible how sad I feel about the assault on Falluja and why. Of course, it would be better and more supportive to mourn the assault on Falluja with others who feel the same way. At the weekly Quaker/BPF anti-war vigil in San Francisco this Thursday, perhaps others will join me in publicly mourning this tragedy.

If asked what good any of this will do, I can answer only that it is at least an honest response, and because it is sincere, it might cause a few people of good will to pause a moment in their busy day to reflect on the wrong that is being committed in their name.