We need a deep mystical awakening the likes of which the planet has never witnessed before -- a mystical awakening that is truly planetary, that draws out the wisdom and the mystic, the player and the justice maker from the wisdom traditions of all religions and cultures. Such a mystical awakening would surely birth that "peace on earth" for which creation longs. ... Peace ON earth cannot happen without peace WITH the earth and peace among all earth creatures.
The venerated Chinese teacher Lin-chi, who died in the year 866, once interrupted the silence with a shout that was said to have nearly cracked the universe.... Breaking the silence can sometimes be a shortcut to cracking open the myteries of the universe. But for now, I'm quite content to sit here quietly. There is only the infrequent shout of a distant ocean wave to rise abo ve the regulated whisper of my own breathing. Soon, even these sounds fade.