Last Saturday, five of us, from the Cedars UU Church, attended the Inauguration of the International
Peace Pagoda. The Pagoda is located on land at the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action in
Poulsbo is directly adjacent to the Bangor Nuclear Submarine Base. While I was anticipating the
beauty of a sacred Buddhist ceremony, and fully appreciating the indomitable spirit required to bring this
spiritual project to fruition, what stays with me with the greatest intensity is witnessing the deeply
meaningful friendships between the Buddhist monks and the members of the Suquamish Tribe. Also,
how all of us, on that day, were enveloped in the eternal heartbeat of creation, which melts away all
pretense of separation.
For an hour, monks led the sacred Buddhist ceremony without translation. While I might have enjoyed
hearing the recitation of the sacred sutra texts and bodhisattva vows, translation was not truly necessary
to fully live the experience. However, participation of any available senses was essential. The smell of
the incense, the visual beauty of flower petals being scattered, adoration through the chiming of sacred
cymbals, and the resonance in the body of the beating of the drums. The monks invited us to walk
around the pagoda. Most of us stopped to offer incense, people chanted, and drummers kept time. Not
ordinary time, but the time beating in the heart of eternal creation, of Mother Earth, and of everything that
sustains us.
The heartbeat also demonstrated the bonding between the monks of the Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist
order and the Suquamish tribe. Later in the ceremony, they both shared the pain involved in having
sacred structures burned, with the U.S. Government burning the Suquamish Long House, and arson
destroyed the first attempt at rebuilding. For the Buddhist Order, the decades-long delays in the
government approving the permits to build, and then arson consuming the first efforts at building the
Peace Pagoda. Suquamish Tribal Elder, Barbara Lawrence, shared her deep gratitude for the friendship
forged between the Suquamish and the Nipponzan Buddhist order. She explained to us that when
someone in the tribe has an abundance of a resource, it is always shared with others. As she came to
know Senji Kaneda from the Bainbridge temple and other monks, she observed the Buddhists sharing
their abundance of peace. Buddhist leaders, including Senji Kanaeda, explained how the Peace Pagoda
is grounded in the earth and creation wisdom held by the Suquamish and other indigenous people.
May we all learn from this international experience of feeling the heartbeat of the earth and the quest for
peace, both within and beyond ourselves. May we flourish together by seeking deeper understandings
that uphold us all and reach out with open hearts and minds. Namaste’.