Bringing Peace in a World of Trauma

Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Zen master, whom Martin Luther King nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, is a voice of power and wisdom in this time of tumult in the world. With the challenges before peace officers today, his teaching is both relevant and practical.

Krista Tippettt, host of “On Being,” visited him at a retreat attended by police officers and other members of the criminal justice system; they offer stark gentle wisdom for finding buoyancy and “being peace” in a world of conflict, anger, and violence.

I had the privilege of closely working with Cheri Maples, one of Hanh’s disciples, she was a very close colleague and advisor of mine during the last decade of my career. She went on to retire as a captain in charge of recruitment and training, then as a Buddhist dharma teacher.

She has been an active community organizer, working in neighborhood centers, deferred prosecution programs, and as the first Director of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

As Past President of the Dane County Timebank, Cheri was instrumental in creating its justice projects – the Youth Court, which is based on a prevention and restorative justice model; and the Prison Project, a prison education and reintegration initiative supported by multiple community groups.

She also served as head of Probation and Parole in the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and as Assistant State Attorney General.

She now serves as an ordained dharma teacher in the zen tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh.

What she has to say about her police experience and zen practice is important for all of us to hear. CLICK HERE.

There will be another mindfulness retreat led by Cheri and Richard Goerling for law enforcement professionals on October 7-9 in Virginia. Why might you want to attend?

“The occupational stressors for public safety professionals are immense. The work is often demanding and exhausting as we expose ourselves daily, repetitively, and cumulatively to human suffering in our communities that manifests in the form of racism, poverty, violence and exploitation. As the atrocities become familiar and repetitive, suffering becomes routine as does our, often mal-adaptive, response to it.

“Whether we recognize it or not, the nature of the work changes us. How we are affected varies from person to person, but the effects of unmanaged stress and trauma happen incrementally over time in a way we often do not recognize. These effects can be pervasive and show up in the form of burnout, irritation, anger, cynicism, a numbing of the heart, and countless medical problems” — Cheri Maples

For further information CLICK HERE.