Chanting For Peace

Shanti  means peace, rest, calmness, tranquility, or bliss.

In the Buddhist philosophy, shanti refers primarily to inner peace for how can we extend peace to others if we do not have it within ourselves?

T. S. Eliot, in his poem The Waste Land  translated it as "The Peace which passeth understanding".

It is an all encompassing concept that requires we stay peaceful in the midst of stress and chaos.  It is a concept that requires action; merely knowing that the sanskrit word shanti means nothing if we do not act on it.

“Peace is not something you wish for; It's something you make, Something you do, Something you are, And something you give away.”   Robert Fulghum

The meaning of the Shanti Paath I chanted in class is:
"May peace radiate in the whole sky as well as in the vast ethereal space everywhere.
May peace reign all over this earth, in water and in all herbs, trees and creepers.
May peace flow over the whole universe.
May peace be in the Supreme Being Brahman.
And may we realize that peace.
Aum peace, peace, peace.
 
Poem from class:
Today I Come to the Mat-    Temple Symonds
 Today I come to the mat
 Seeking answers from my spirit
 My breath is present
 I rest upon ujjayi
 Feeling the inhalation fill my body
 Listening to the exhalation
 As my hips settle in surrender and
 My heart opens
 Bruised and broken
 The scars that I have tried to hide from view
 Are now fully visible
 Gratitude fills me
 As I prepare to accept all outcomes
 Today I come to the mat
 Seeking freedom from suffering
 With compassion for my wounded heart
 And in honor of my divine spark.