The city of death…

…could not have been created…

…without modern technology…

… and modern mass media and politics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGSnVAjqQFw&feature=related

How can we respond to the world’s suffering?

We can remember,

…practice additional technology,

… and create new media.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrxgPhWFquo

When I entered the gates of Auschwitz, I was struck by the shear scale.  How could I practice the three tenets of the Zen Peacemakers (not-knowing, bearing witness and loving actions) here?  No pre-modern king could have motivated and organized a society to execute such a task.  The same collective power that toppled monarchy starting with the French Revolution reached its darkest pinnacle at Auschwitz.  It couldn’t have been done without modern transportation, communication and weapons.

But I don’t blame technology.  I love technology.  I love connecting with people all over the world.

‪At the death camp, it struck me how blogging and participating in the retreat is a way to use that same technology to create a world of compassion and connection instead of violence.‬  With an Internet that provides the potential for any individual to reach unprecedented numbers, weapons getting more heinous every day and a dwindling fuel supply, how can we use our technology wisely?

The Auschwitz Bearing Witness Retreat: 15 years of leading interfaith Peacemakers bringing intensive practice beyond the meditation hall into society, bearing witness at the world’s most horrific relic of our darkest depths.

Sitting, re-membering, sharing, connecting.

Fostering our determination to create a more compassionate world and opening our hearts enough to transform that determination into reality.

As I’ve written in ele before, the trip means a lot to me.  The returning practitioners who gather there have become family.  Would you please consider joining the circle?

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