Sensei Bob Ertman regularly practices Bearing Witness in Washington DC area and around the country and the world, with the Zen Peacemakers. If you want more information, or to join one, contact him at Registration@silverspringzendo.org.

Information about the Zen Peacemakers engaged Buddhism and Three Tenets.

For more information about Zen Peacemakers Bearing Witness retreats, go to their website.

Zen Peacemakers:

“Life asks you to face the conditions that are coming at you by being present to them.

When you bear witness, you open to the uniqueness of whatever is arising and meet it just as it is.

When combined with not-knowing, bearing witness strengthens your capacity for spaciousness,

thus enabling you to be present to the very things that make you feel as if you lost your center.

It can strengthen your capacity to see other points of view,

thus allowing for a more complete picture of the situation.

Bearing witness is to have a glimpse into the truth that life of the “other” is actually our own life and we are indeed One Body.

Bearing witness retreats happen in places where deep human trauma occurred and where healing is endlessly needed, and in retreat, we intend to contribute to the healing. It is similar to being in Zen sesshin, in that we are aware and alert and together.”