Bearing witness

Portland Buddhist Peace Fellowship holds public meditations in places where State violence has been hideous and protracted. Some of those who come to the meditations were themselves targets of violence. Some are people whose children have been gassed, whose friends have been shot with impact munitions. They know about the trauma, described so well in the Guardian. 

Whoever they are, they accept the opportunity to be present for the truth. They turn off their phones. They silence their music. They notice how their breathing changes, they notice the heat and the emotions that arise, for an hour, bearing witness. Some walk, some sit, some stand: breathing, eyes open, aware. They occupy a square of earth that has been drenched in toxic chemicals. They stand in that public place, taking it in. What they will do with the truth is up to them. (Extra.)