The Power of Gentle Words

I couldn't resist sharing this poem by Thich Nhat Hanh found at the beginning of his book "Calming the Fearful Mind: A Zen Response to Terrorism":

Promise me,

promise me this day,

promise me now,

while the sun is overhead

exactly at the zenith

promise me:

Even as they

strike you down

with a mountain of hatred and violence;

even as they step on you and crush you

like a worm,

even as they dismember and disembowel you,

remember, brother,

remember:

man is not our enemy.

The only thing worthy of you is compassion --

invincible, limitless, unconditional.

Hatred will never let you face

the beast in man.

One day, when you face this beast alone,

with your courage intact, your eyes kind,

untroubled

(even as no one sees them),

out of your smile

will bloom a flower.

And those who love you

will behold you

across ten thousand worlds of birth and dying.

Alone again,

I will go on with bent head,

knowing that love has become eternal.

On the long, rough road,

the sun and the moon

will continue to shine.

How is my suffering transformed into compassion?

This power in powerlessness is one of the unmistakable signs of the Kingdom. As I continue to walk this "long, rough road," may the sun and moon continue to shine in acts of compassion.

Behold, the Kingdom!