Under the heading "On the Misuse of “No Fixed Views”" above, there was a reference to an Israeli Zen Master teaching his IDF students with a clip of the video. Like many of us, I too was disturbed by it. So I decided to write to that teacher to clarify (since I don't speak Hebrew) and here is his reply:
"Thank you for asking.
As a Buddhist priest, I can never say such things, unfortunately someone deliberately miss translated the words.
I did talk to my students in the army, going to war, (two of them died later on, I am still in contact with their parents), telling them to be focused, peaceful and without self-pity or feeling bad about being in this situation, just go and protect your country, being mindful and not hectic.
Now someone translated it as being without mercy and compassion. Exactly the opposite. As if I told them to be without compassion.
This is so sad for me, I got letters from my colleges in Japan and other countries. They checked and found me right. Still my name was damaged and there is nothing much I can do.
Thank you again for asking,
In the three jewels,
Nissim Amon."
He also forwarded this link someone clarifying the translation :
The clip is what he said; there are some edits to shorten it. So, I sourced the original clip (the IG one), which is longer, and replaced it in the text in my article. I'm sorry, but the original is even worse.
It was published, about a year ago, in Middle East Eye (perhaps other outlets too), a reputable news outlet, https://www.middleeasteye.net/.
I also spoke to one of the Hebrew-speaking journalists at MEE, and they verified the translation, saying it was just the first part—there is a second part, apparently, it is even worse.
I'm sorry, but someone, like Nissim Amon, who felt it was OK to put this video out, must be deeply programmed by the Zionist mindset, which means he is likely steeped in the twisted, sophisticated logic of Hasbara, Israel's propaganda machine.
This means all speech and actions are sanctioned, however debased, in service of defending Israel, including contributing to the web of lies that have justified Gaza. I don't know, of course, how much that conditioning influenced Amon's horrific post, but it does fit the pattern of the upside-down world of Zionism.
Thank you for your comment - his words were checked by an Israeli Hebrew speaker and verified. Your link doesn’t work - but I’ll recheck the translation.
A practitioner of 30 years I have no time for any Dharma teacher or institution that has not spoken on the genocide. You have articulated in a detail way better than I ever could why this is so. Your fierce writing and depth practice is a medicine for me, as I work to eat this chaos and continue to show up for Palestine.
This is the spiritual leadership I've longed for my whole life. From the Dharma I learned to find it in myself and the world and not to need it from authority figures. But seeing it reflected back from someone in an actual spiritual leadership position gives me hope despite the stakes and despite the choices others have made so far. Thank you, thank you, thank you. May your message have deep impact in our communities and our shared future.
Thank you Thanissara. I cherish your insight and ability to communicate what needs to be said. I take guidance from your words and feel the relief of alignment - so precious in this world of chaos and confusion, deceit and abominable cruelty. Layers are being stripped away and the truth is emerging - at such a cost to the Palestinian people who have for so long borne the brunt of this truly evil edge of Empire. May their agony and endless sacrifices come to an end. May they experience peace and freedom, healing and homeland again. May we all courageously find our way to face up to the lies, the lobbies, the sheer wickedness of Zionism's supremacist apartheid brand of settler colonialism. May its dehumanizing effect on all hearts and minds everywhere be seen through and overcome. Free Palestine.
Hi dearest Sister, it is as you say and may your prayers come to pass quickly. It’s an unbearable horror being endured in Palestine and so much distortion, gaslighting and unnecessary suffering being deliberately manufactured to create as much pain and cruelty as possible. We’ve been here before, let’s hope we don’t have to go through the whole same story again but can wake up powerfully and quickly and stand up together - Sending much much love ❤️ xxxx
Thank you. As someone who supports sanghas in the plum village tradition, neutrality is often used to help us stay in our comfortable bubbles. I need words like these to help me find ways to share what I know in my heart and body in Buddhist terms. Xo
Yes, have heard about that at PV. All good wishes for finding those ways to share your deeper knowing. Raising our voices is challenging with the internal suppression of Buddhist ‘neutrality’ but we must think of the price being paid by those who have no voice.
Thank you for what you’ve written here. Naming, witnessing and learning more are so important. AND I feel deeply frustrated with the lack of access to the levers of power that would stop this, as you mention. I find myself constantly wondering if, in addition to speaking out, there are other large collective actions we can take together, as a national or worldwide sangha, to block the harm and ease the suffering.
While I wish everyone well and that the war ends soon, this Socialist Zionist Buddhist has lost all patience with such ideological nonsense. The Jews are a shape-shifting target. My mum was told to go back to Palestine, various rightwing thinkers despised them for being cosmopolitan and homeless, and now, according to some imbeciles on the ersatz left, they are the only indigenous people to have colonised their own homeland. You could hardly make it up! It’s just racism dressed up in ‘progressive’ language and offers nothing to the Palestinian Arabs. Peace comes through understanding, not hatred disguised as ideology.
Thank you, Thanissara, for your clear and detailed, direct, and courageous critique of the predominant dharma responses from Buddhist leaders and practitioners regarding the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza and ethnic cleansing and apartheid in the West Bank. It is deeply sad and tragic that the Zionist mission from its beginning was (is) unwisely and determinedly ethnocentric. Its blatant disregard for the lives of the Palestinian people who lived in the region could never have led to a healthy society. It is astonishing that the Zionist narrative was (and still is) so broadly accepted and unquestioned. It has such deep, tenacious roots in the psyche—individual and collective.
Likewise, it is astonishing to me how Buddhist teachings so beautifully wise in their guidance for alleviating suffering could be interpreted in ways to bypass any involvement in stopping the genocide in Gaza. Biases are revealed in words not spoken, in actions not taken.
The Buddha was a witness to genocide. He watched his clan being slaughtered and taken into captivity. What do we Dharma people do when confronted with genocide? We witness it. We don’t turn away. The Buddhist press, such as it is, has always been weak. It never confronted the systematic Buddhist attacks on the Rohingya, or the systematic suppression of Tamils in Shri Lanka, not to mention the original genocide carried out by the Buddhist rulers of Shri Lanka 2000+ years ago. It never confronted the suppression and ethnic cleansing of Lopas of Bhutan. If the Buddhist press has failed, it’s failed in its responsibility to be a witness.
Very true. Even though the Buddha was unable to save his clan, he still stood before King Virudhaka and the Koshala three times to try to stop them. For me, the point is that even if the odds are low, we should still try to do what we can, or at the least, verbally witness, as you say. Yes, Buddhist history is not that engaged, unlike the Buddha, in systemic change, or trying to end wars. However, we're in a different time, and the stakes are far higher. So we shouldn't model ourselves on history but forge a new path to meet this moment.
I am not suggesting passivity. I am suggesting that the Buddhist press in America is selling a commodified version of Buddhism, following the rest of American Media, and failing to address issues it may lose advertising and sponsorship over.
As always, beautiful and crucial writing from a Dharma practitioner. Over these past months, I’ve found myself again and again considering that if Buddhists don’t see the Dharma as having something to say about genocide, then what is the point of it all? I hope more and more wake up and recognise the need to act.
I also want to point people toward a resource/collective/upcoming event that Thanissara and others have helped to organize -- the Liberation Circle. See https://liberationcircle.org/
I had a dream this morning about starting something like this. Then I came in here to these comments and was so filled with love seeing all these practitioners who SEE what the dharma is in the way I see it. Was feeling so much less lonely. I said out loud to myself, 'this is my beloved community.' Then I saw your link. Thank you for thinking to share it here.
I have been studying and practicing Buddhism for five or six years, but not attached to a sangha and fairly isolated in terms of a local Buddhist community. Like the writer I have been devastated, again and again, at the horror of the past 20 months. I’ve tried mostly on my own to figure out how the dharma might aid me in standing up to this, and in offering consistent solidarity without succumbing to despair. But I’m not really aware of how Buddhist institutions have been complicit through their silence. Any specific examples? Is there a debate being had out somewhere? ❤️🇵🇸❤️
There seems to be very few sangha spaces that are hosting a debate - there are smaller sangha spheres - particularly, usually BIPOC/SWANA spaces - But it’s likely to happen as there’s some momentum now building for this kind of gathering. Thanks for your input and reflections, in spite of it all, (Buddhist Institutionalism) the Dharma itself has much to offer for navigating these times.
Thank you Thanissara - a hugely important teaching. And so very relevant. Most Sanghas are grappling with this, and I know it will be helpful to many. 🙏🙏
Under the heading "On the Misuse of “No Fixed Views”" above, there was a reference to an Israeli Zen Master teaching his IDF students with a clip of the video. Like many of us, I too was disturbed by it. So I decided to write to that teacher to clarify (since I don't speak Hebrew) and here is his reply:
"Thank you for asking.
As a Buddhist priest, I can never say such things, unfortunately someone deliberately miss translated the words.
I did talk to my students in the army, going to war, (two of them died later on, I am still in contact with their parents), telling them to be focused, peaceful and without self-pity or feeling bad about being in this situation, just go and protect your country, being mindful and not hectic.
Now someone translated it as being without mercy and compassion. Exactly the opposite. As if I told them to be without compassion.
This is so sad for me, I got letters from my colleges in Japan and other countries. They checked and found me right. Still my name was damaged and there is nothing much I can do.
Thank you again for asking,
In the three jewels,
Nissim Amon."
He also forwarded this link someone clarifying the translation :
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=970c2ac656&attid=0.1&permmsgid=msg-f:1838809530047232703&th=1984c38670117abf&view=att&zw&disp=safe
The clip is what he said; there are some edits to shorten it. So, I sourced the original clip (the IG one), which is longer, and replaced it in the text in my article. I'm sorry, but the original is even worse.
It was published, about a year ago, in Middle East Eye (perhaps other outlets too), a reputable news outlet, https://www.middleeasteye.net/.
I also spoke to one of the Hebrew-speaking journalists at MEE, and they verified the translation, saying it was just the first part—there is a second part, apparently, it is even worse.
I'm sorry, but someone, like Nissim Amon, who felt it was OK to put this video out, must be deeply programmed by the Zionist mindset, which means he is likely steeped in the twisted, sophisticated logic of Hasbara, Israel's propaganda machine.
This means all speech and actions are sanctioned, however debased, in service of defending Israel, including contributing to the web of lies that have justified Gaza. I don't know, of course, how much that conditioning influenced Amon's horrific post, but it does fit the pattern of the upside-down world of Zionism.
Thank you for your comment - his words were checked by an Israeli Hebrew speaker and verified. Your link doesn’t work - but I’ll recheck the translation.
I couldn't agree more
A practitioner of 30 years I have no time for any Dharma teacher or institution that has not spoken on the genocide. You have articulated in a detail way better than I ever could why this is so. Your fierce writing and depth practice is a medicine for me, as I work to eat this chaos and continue to show up for Palestine.
This is the spiritual leadership I've longed for my whole life. From the Dharma I learned to find it in myself and the world and not to need it from authority figures. But seeing it reflected back from someone in an actual spiritual leadership position gives me hope despite the stakes and despite the choices others have made so far. Thank you, thank you, thank you. May your message have deep impact in our communities and our shared future.
🙏💖🙌
Thank you Thanissara. I cherish your insight and ability to communicate what needs to be said. I take guidance from your words and feel the relief of alignment - so precious in this world of chaos and confusion, deceit and abominable cruelty. Layers are being stripped away and the truth is emerging - at such a cost to the Palestinian people who have for so long borne the brunt of this truly evil edge of Empire. May their agony and endless sacrifices come to an end. May they experience peace and freedom, healing and homeland again. May we all courageously find our way to face up to the lies, the lobbies, the sheer wickedness of Zionism's supremacist apartheid brand of settler colonialism. May its dehumanizing effect on all hearts and minds everywhere be seen through and overcome. Free Palestine.
Hi dearest Sister, it is as you say and may your prayers come to pass quickly. It’s an unbearable horror being endured in Palestine and so much distortion, gaslighting and unnecessary suffering being deliberately manufactured to create as much pain and cruelty as possible. We’ve been here before, let’s hope we don’t have to go through the whole same story again but can wake up powerfully and quickly and stand up together - Sending much much love ❤️ xxxx
Dear Thanissara
I subscribe to your substack and want to offer an episode on my small podcast to talk about Gaza and the silence from Dharma organizations.
Let me know if that's of interest.
We're at:
www.escaping-samsara.com
And
www.escapingsamsara.substack.com
Best
Nathan
sure, have msg'd you with my email.
Thank you. As someone who supports sanghas in the plum village tradition, neutrality is often used to help us stay in our comfortable bubbles. I need words like these to help me find ways to share what I know in my heart and body in Buddhist terms. Xo
Yes, have heard about that at PV. All good wishes for finding those ways to share your deeper knowing. Raising our voices is challenging with the internal suppression of Buddhist ‘neutrality’ but we must think of the price being paid by those who have no voice.
Yes we do. Xo
This is the Buddhism I have longed for. Thank you for exposing me to it.
Thank you for what you’ve written here. Naming, witnessing and learning more are so important. AND I feel deeply frustrated with the lack of access to the levers of power that would stop this, as you mention. I find myself constantly wondering if, in addition to speaking out, there are other large collective actions we can take together, as a national or worldwide sangha, to block the harm and ease the suffering.
While I wish everyone well and that the war ends soon, this Socialist Zionist Buddhist has lost all patience with such ideological nonsense. The Jews are a shape-shifting target. My mum was told to go back to Palestine, various rightwing thinkers despised them for being cosmopolitan and homeless, and now, according to some imbeciles on the ersatz left, they are the only indigenous people to have colonised their own homeland. You could hardly make it up! It’s just racism dressed up in ‘progressive’ language and offers nothing to the Palestinian Arabs. Peace comes through understanding, not hatred disguised as ideology.
Thank you, Thanissara, for your clear and detailed, direct, and courageous critique of the predominant dharma responses from Buddhist leaders and practitioners regarding the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza and ethnic cleansing and apartheid in the West Bank. It is deeply sad and tragic that the Zionist mission from its beginning was (is) unwisely and determinedly ethnocentric. Its blatant disregard for the lives of the Palestinian people who lived in the region could never have led to a healthy society. It is astonishing that the Zionist narrative was (and still is) so broadly accepted and unquestioned. It has such deep, tenacious roots in the psyche—individual and collective.
Likewise, it is astonishing to me how Buddhist teachings so beautifully wise in their guidance for alleviating suffering could be interpreted in ways to bypass any involvement in stopping the genocide in Gaza. Biases are revealed in words not spoken, in actions not taken.
Biases are revealed in words not spoken, in actions not spoken. The simplest account of the truth. thank you friend.
Exactly, dear Sally. More to say on this, shortly. 🙏🏻
The Buddha was a witness to genocide. He watched his clan being slaughtered and taken into captivity. What do we Dharma people do when confronted with genocide? We witness it. We don’t turn away. The Buddhist press, such as it is, has always been weak. It never confronted the systematic Buddhist attacks on the Rohingya, or the systematic suppression of Tamils in Shri Lanka, not to mention the original genocide carried out by the Buddhist rulers of Shri Lanka 2000+ years ago. It never confronted the suppression and ethnic cleansing of Lopas of Bhutan. If the Buddhist press has failed, it’s failed in its responsibility to be a witness.
Very true. Even though the Buddha was unable to save his clan, he still stood before King Virudhaka and the Koshala three times to try to stop them. For me, the point is that even if the odds are low, we should still try to do what we can, or at the least, verbally witness, as you say. Yes, Buddhist history is not that engaged, unlike the Buddha, in systemic change, or trying to end wars. However, we're in a different time, and the stakes are far higher. So we shouldn't model ourselves on history but forge a new path to meet this moment.
I am not suggesting passivity. I am suggesting that the Buddhist press in America is selling a commodified version of Buddhism, following the rest of American Media, and failing to address issues it may lose advertising and sponsorship over.
Got it - yes.
As always, beautiful and crucial writing from a Dharma practitioner. Over these past months, I’ve found myself again and again considering that if Buddhists don’t see the Dharma as having something to say about genocide, then what is the point of it all? I hope more and more wake up and recognise the need to act.
I also want to point people toward a resource/collective/upcoming event that Thanissara and others have helped to organize -- the Liberation Circle. See https://liberationcircle.org/
I had a dream this morning about starting something like this. Then I came in here to these comments and was so filled with love seeing all these practitioners who SEE what the dharma is in the way I see it. Was feeling so much less lonely. I said out loud to myself, 'this is my beloved community.' Then I saw your link. Thank you for thinking to share it here.
I have been studying and practicing Buddhism for five or six years, but not attached to a sangha and fairly isolated in terms of a local Buddhist community. Like the writer I have been devastated, again and again, at the horror of the past 20 months. I’ve tried mostly on my own to figure out how the dharma might aid me in standing up to this, and in offering consistent solidarity without succumbing to despair. But I’m not really aware of how Buddhist institutions have been complicit through their silence. Any specific examples? Is there a debate being had out somewhere? ❤️🇵🇸❤️
There seems to be very few sangha spaces that are hosting a debate - there are smaller sangha spheres - particularly, usually BIPOC/SWANA spaces - But it’s likely to happen as there’s some momentum now building for this kind of gathering. Thanks for your input and reflections, in spite of it all, (Buddhist Institutionalism) the Dharma itself has much to offer for navigating these times.
Thank you Thanissara - a hugely important teaching. And so very relevant. Most Sanghas are grappling with this, and I know it will be helpful to many. 🙏🙏