Peace

“In this session, Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara shares why peace does not begin in the world, it begins in your own breath.”

“People just told me, ‘We have never seen anything like this before.’

All the communities, all the neighbors, coming together, so many people, and everything so peaceful.

That made me realize I chose the right thing to do by taking on this journey, simply walking, walking with mindfulness.

When I look around, I see so much peace, so much love, and people caring for one another.

If everyone in this world could live with love, kindness, and compassion, the world would be at peace. We would not need to fight.

All we need is mindfulness, loving-kindness, and compassion. Without loving-kindness and compassion, there is no peace.

Love and kindness have no boundaries.

But love alone can have boundaries, because it often comes with selfishness. We love only the people we like.

Loving-kindness is different. It is for everyone, even for those we call our enemies.

I hope that in 2026, we all give ourselves a chance to live a better life by simply practicing mindfulness.

Mindfulness is not only for Buddhists. It is for everyone.

It is within our breath.

It is not far away. It is not outside. It is right here.

For so long, we have been chasing the outside world. We rarely come back inside to look at ourselves.

Last night at the church, thousands of people came together.

I said to them, we all have a wild animal inside us.

If that wild animal is not under control, when it is unleashed, it can harm ourselves and harm others.

That wild animal is the mind.

The mind is very sharp, like a knife.

If we are not careful holding a knife, we can cut ourselves. How many of us have cut our fingers while cooking because we were not mindful and were multitasking?

The mind is even sharper than a knife.

If we do not know how to manage it, it can destroy our own lives and harm many others. That is what we see happening around us today.

Most of us live under stress.

Stress from work, life, family, children, and responsibilities.

When we are overwhelmed, we do not know what the right thing to do is.

And when we do not know, we act unwholesomely. Then we suffer and regret it, but by then it is too late.

So we must stop before it reaches that point.

And the way to stop is mindfulness.

Mindfulness begins with the breath.

Breathing in. Breathing out.

Being aware of each breath.

For years we have been breathing like robots, only to survive.

Now is the time to slow down.

Place your attention at the nostrils.

Do not force the breath.

Just know each breath going in and each breath going out.

Thoughts will arise. Everyone has thoughts, past thoughts, future thoughts, good and bad thoughts.

But we miss the present moment, and the present moment is what we need most.

When a thought appears, do not follow it.

Acknowledge it silently, ‘thought, thought,’ and come back to the breath.

When a sound arises, acknowledge it as ‘sound’ and return to the breath.

When sensations arise, itching, pain, numbness, acknowledge them and return to the breath.

This is how we train the mind to come back to the present moment.

With practice, thoughts will still arise, but they will no longer control us.

They will fade on their own.

We must slow down.

Enough running. We have been running our whole lives.

Let us walk for peace, not run for peace.

Do one thing at a time. Stop multitasking.

Do not let toxic people control your emotions.

If you cannot find good friends who support mindfulness and wisdom, it is better to be alone.

Alone gives you time to practice and grow.

Every morning, before the mind picks up old worries and negative thoughts, give it a job.

Write on paper, ‘Today is going to be my peaceful day.’

Read it. Say it out loud.

Say it to the universe.

Only you can ruin your peace. No one else.

If everyone in the world began their day this way, the energy of peace would spread everywhere.

Peace begins inside each of us.

When you are at peace, your family will feel it.

When you smile, others smile.

That is how peace spreads.

So let us practice mindfulness, kindness, and compassion, not just today, but for the rest of our lives.”