Training for military revolt means learning the use of arms, ending perhaps in the atomic bomb. For Civil Disobedience it means the Constructive Program. ~ Gandhi, Constructive Program, forward to 1945 edition, p. iii It is very interesting how Gandhi locates Constructive Program (CP) in a parallel but opposite position to training in the use… read more
Tag Archives: daily metta
Village Life: Daily Metta
“…[P]eople will never be able to live in peace with each other in towns and palaces. They will then have no recourse but to resort to both violence and untruth. We can realize truth and nonviolence only in the simplicity of village life. ~ Gandhi, Letter to Nehru, October, 1945, in Bhoodan, March 26, 1960… read more
A nonviolent moment: Daily Metta Video
What is a “nonviolent moment”? Michael gives us some inspiration around this topic and discusses how it relates to current movements for ending war. About Daily Metta Stephanie Van Hook, the Metta Center’s executive director, launched Daily Metta in 2015 as a way to share Gandhi’s spiritual wisdom and experiments with nonviolence. Our 2016 Daily… read more
Simple Logic: Daily Metta
“The more we punish, the more persistent crimes become.” ~ Gandhi, Young India, April 30, 1925 Exactly this was said by Chief Justice Herb Yazzie of the Navajo Supreme Court: “You will never have enough jail space if your purpose is to punish” (quoted in Navajo Times Dec. 29, 2011, p. A-3). If only we… read more
Political Aspect: Daily Metta
“I would ask you to forget the political aspect of the program. Political consequences of this struggle there are, but you are not to concern yourself with them. If you do, you will miss the true result, and also the political consequences.” ~ Gandhi, Young India, March 19, 1925 It is easy to forget that… read more
Truth to Truth: Daily Metta
“My aim is not to be consistent with my previous statements on a given question, but to be consistent with truth as it may present itself to me at a given moment. The result has been that I have grown from truth to truth.” ~ Gandhi, Harijan, August 30, 1939 Instead of setting his sights… read more
No Room for Hatred: Daily Metta
“My personal religion peremptorily forbids me to hate anybody.” ~ Gandhi, Young India, August 6, 1925 When the heart is full of love, there is no room for hatred. That does not mean that there is no space to resist injustice, or to say no to someone who needs to hear it—on the contrary. It… read more
Inner Disposition: Daily Metta
“I can conceive occasions when it would be my duty to vote for the military training of those who wish to take it. …It is not possible to make a person or a society nonviolent by compulsion.” ~ Gandhi, Young India, September 13, 1928 There is a fascinating, subtle difference between Gandhi’s vision, or commitment,… read more
It took one hour: Daily Metta Video
What did it take to bring children divided by war together to see one another’s common humanity? Michael Nagler shares this inspiring story in today’s Daily Metta video. About Daily Metta Stephanie Van Hook, the Metta Center’s executive director, launched Daily Metta in 2015 as a way to share Gandhi’s spiritual wisdom and experiments with… read more
No Escape: Daily Metta
“It is wrong and immoral to seek to escape the consequences of one’s acts.” ~ Gandhi, Young India, March 12, 1925 While this may sound harsh—and the context was artificial methods of birth control —there’s a very uplifting assumption behind it, or rather, two: 1) that the universe is not a punishing place but a… read more
