Reflections from a Peace Walk

We caught up with Sama's founder Haiyan Khan to learn about his recent peace walk through Canada. As usual, his insights don't disappoint.

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Q.  What inspired this walk?

A. I heard once that a disciple asked the Buddha what the appropriate way to honor one’s teacher is. The Buddha replied: “

Of all the things, the highest way to honor your teacher is to walk the path to freedom (Dharma). All the Buddhas delight in this happening.”

My hope is that my walk honors Peace Pilgrim (and all of my teachers), someone who has had a profound effect on me, while walking my path to freedom. I imagine her and my teachers delighting in my very humble and simple offering.

Q. Did you have any intentions or prayers you carried with you at the start?

A. Yes, but most did not last too long on this walk. Lol. 

One of the intentions, however, did last. It was to see all with love and wish them well. This intention somehow stayed, and I am grateful. I realized how much spare time I had during a walk and my mind had nothing to do. So I realized it would be good to engage it in something positive. I would see a person and wish them well. I would imagine them going back to their life, their house, relationship and have some ease in their situation. I would imagine them feeling contentment while they were cooking a meal for their family. Or I would imagine a farmer pausing while they were working in the fields and feeling a connection with the earth. This is something we can all practice at any time. It has a soothing effect on the mind and keeps it busy. 

Q. What does the preparation for something like this look like?

A. First off, a walk like this is more of a calling than anything else. 

For me, my daily spiritual practice, having a supportive partner, and finding inspiration from reading about saints and sages of different traditions have all been very beneficial. 

Another important thing which I feel has been very helpful for me was sitting with the intention for the walk. This has been challenging for me since the intention is hard to articulate and not clear yet. However, making time and space for holding the intention has felt valuable.

On a practical level, having good wide and flat shoes along with a light load and a good sun hat are all very beneficial. 

Q.  Why Canada?

A. Mostly convenience. Summers are too hot for walking in the south. I was going to walk in the northeast or perhaps the Montana area. Then the thought of Canada came, and it sounded more magical and I got a cheap flight.

Q. Tell us what Peace Pilgrim means to you. 

A. There are defining moments in one’s life and for me, the introduction to Peace Pilgrim was one of them. I'm embarrassed to say that I don't remember when she came into my life. 

For those who don't know Peace Pilgrim was a woman who walked 28 years as a penniless pilgrim across the United States.

It's hard to put her influence on me in words. I'm likely not exaggerating when I say that she is in my thoughts multiple times a day. To me she symbolizes the embodiment of all things good such as surrender, compassion, fearlessness, kindness, forgiveness, hope and inspiration. While I have been steeped in Yoga, I really appreciate and admire that she did not know much about Yoga and Spirituality in the conventional sense, however she clearly lived it at the deepest level.  

I also love that Peace was an activist and action oriented. Peace was concerned about the devastation and horrors of war. She rose up in a time (The McCarthy Era and Jim Crow Laws), where people were persecuted for their beliefs, their party affiliations and how they looked. She embodied love and faith in the face of fear and power. She showed how a person with almost no apparent resources can have an inspiring effect on so many people.

Her message was a simple yet profound one. “This is the Way of Peace: Overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth, and hatred with love.” She articulated an entire action-oriented path that while seemingly simple is by no means easy to follow. 

Q. You have done other walks of a similar nature in the past. How was this one different?

A. This walk was more preparatory and exploratory than a pilgrimage. It served the purpose of connecting me back to the tradition of a pilgrimage. For example, I listened to Swami Sankarananda's book “Pilgrimage Home” that really helped me. He talks about his experience of his cross country pilgrimage in detail. Knowing and being close to him, his words helped me along my walk. 

I love to observe nature when I get a chance. I love to see how pets, insects, birds and animals tend to navigate life. They teach and inspire me. For example, they don't have climate-controlled homes or warm showers or healthcare. Centuries ago, we didn't have many luxuries that we depend on now. In fact there are people now who don't have this. I love to see what the cows do when it starts to rain, do they take shelter, if so where? 

What do they do when they get wet or cold? I see and maybe learn a little. I observe how animals sleep? Do they have beds, if so where. What posture do they sleep in? Do they have pillows? I really need a pillow. What do they do? How they clean themselves etc. I feel there is so much practical knowledge to integrate. I also recognize that just because the animals do this, I can do this. I see my limitations and learn from them. 

Q. How has the walk changed you?

A. Haha. Not sure if anything has truly changed, but I also know that everything is constantly changing and something like a walk surely has an element of deep change. So let's see…

Q. What lessons from the road do you hope to carry into your daily life now?

A. Earlier I had shared there was a practice that stayed with me. It was the practice of loving everyone I saw. I would like to carry this practice into my daily life more. There were several days during the walk, where this was happening by itself. I would see a person and automatically the thoughts would move in that direction. From the first thought on, the mind would start to wish them well or create a story that was centered around seeing them in a positive light. It was a simple everyday experience, however instead of a simple experience of negative, doubtful or neutral thoughts, there was a simple experience of a real sense of warmth and good wishes towards the person. When I checked in during these times there was a deep sense of simple and timeless peace underneath it. While this specific experience is no longer the case (I blame it on my pedicab career on Bourbon Street, haha), this is one of the things I want to practice more in my daily life. It’s a great practice for anyone really. 

Q. Is there anything else you would like to share?

A. We are all going through a lot right now. The world is very overwhelming with so many problems and challenges. As a result, we have unprecedented levels of stress and anxiety. I feel so lucky to have found spirituality. It has saved me. I wish that everyone finds their spirituality, real spirituality. I wish that everyone finds a pathway towards being more harmonious. I wish that they will be supported and protected in their journey. I wish they access peace and contentment on a daily and constant basis.

For me, spirituality has been a deeply grounding experience that balances this crazy upside down world. It does this by reminding me that there is much more to life than I know. There is much more than a “9 to 5” we live and think we are. There is so much mystery. Have you noticed? Where we come from is a mystery. Why we are here living this thing called life is a complete mystery. What happens after we die is also a mystery. And most of all, even who we are may not be what we have assumed. So in this context it's so presumptuous to assume that we know anything for certain, when we are surrounded through and through by mystery. 

To be able to stop and see these universal experiences orients me to my spirituality.  

Internally we are hooked up to feel better. Our whole body tells us this. To observe that harmonious experiences leave no residue and that non-harmonious experiences leave a trail of desire and eventually dissatisfaction is the dawning of spirituality. To see that nothing out there will ever satisfy us fully is deep insight. To see that satisfaction is already present and complete is real wisdom.

To then care for each other genuinely such as offering the same harmonious lifestyle that I would like to live to all feels right. To work towards the good of this whole is a worthwhile purpose. Imagine a world where if someone is sick they are cared for, if someone is without a home they have the opportunity to have a home and warmth and comfort, if someone is grieving they have a shoulder to rest, if someone is othered they are warmly included and if someone is without love they have a community where people see and accept them. 

Jai Guru Dev - May the ultimate victory be of our inner Guru. The Timeless.