THANKSGIVING
2004
DAY
OF GRATITUDE
DAY
OF MOURNING
DAY
OF JOY
The ceremony draws on readings from
Thanksgiving: A Native Perspective developed and
distributed by Oyate, a Native organization working to see
that our lives and histories are portrayed honestly and so all
people will know our stories belong to us. (Oyate, 2702
Mathews St, Berkeley, CA 94702, 510-848-6700, oyate@oyate.org, www.oyate.org). It is inspired by
the teachings and practice of Thich Nhat Hanh, Joanna Macy, and
the Jewish Renewal Passover Seder.
Thanksgiving
A Day of Mourning
On Thanksgiving Day, many Native
Americans and their supporters gather at the top of Coles Hill,
overlooking Plymouth Rock, for the National Day of
Mourning. The first National Day of Mourning was held in
1970. The
--from The
Excerpts from
Suppressed Speech of Frank James (to have been delivered at
I speak to
you as a Mana Wampanoag
Even before the
Pilgrims landed it was common practice for explorers to capture
Indians, take them to
High on a hill,
overlooking the famed Plymouth Rock stands the statue of our
great Sachem, Massasoit. Massasoit has stood there many years in
silence. We the descendants of this great sachem have been a
silent People. The necessity of making a living in this
materialistic society of the white man caused us to be silent.
Today, I and many of my People are choosing to face the truth. We
ARE Indians!
Our spirit refuses to die. Yesterday we walked
the woodland paths and sandy trails. Today we must walk the
macadam highways and roads. We are uniting
What has happened
cannot be changed but today we work towards a more humane
America, a more Indian America where men and nature once again
are important; where the Indian values of honor, truth and
brotherhood prevail.
You the white man are celebrating an
anniversary. We the Wampanoags will help you celebrate in the
concept of a beginning. It was the beginning of a new life for
the Pilgrims. Now 350 years later it is a beginning of a new
determination for the original American--the American Indian
We
are determined and our presence here this evening is living
testimony that this is only a beginning of the American Indian,
particularly the Wampanoag, to regain the position in this
country that is rightfully ours.
--from Chronicles
of American Indian Protest. NY: Council on Interracial Books
for Children, 1979
Thanksgiving
celebrations in the
Some people also
recall the too often untold story connected with
Thanksgiving, remembering that for Native peoples, Thanksgiving
is a day of mourning: the broken treaties, the theft of land and
culture, the intentional and unintentional discrimination.
Whether or not the
First Thanksgiving actually happened is open to
question. As currently celebrated in the
Realizing that what
is celebration for one group
is mourning for
another, we ask,
How can both the
energy of gratitude
and the energy
of mourning
be embraced and held?
How can we construct
ways to begin anew?
Through collective
ceremony and ritual
can there be
not only healing
but also recommitment
to action
in the service of
restorative justice?
Drawing
on many sources, in this Thanksgiving ceremony we offer new
rituals. We invent a vehicle for collective empowering
storytelling
that
is inclusive and healing, for the re-envisioning
of
our collective identity as people living on the land
that
at this time is called the
We
are people born on this land or people who have moved here.
Through
this ceremony, we deepen connection
with
family and friends in mindful community.
Honoring
all of our ancestors, we deepen connection with the past.
Learning
about and understanding the current situation, we deepen
connection with the present. Co-creating a newly integrative and
inclusive vision, we deepen our connection with the future.
On
other Thanksgivings,
weve shared a
meal with family and friends
why on this
Thanksgiving do we also invite ancestors and descendants to join
us?
On other
Thanksgivings,
weve said
what we were thankful for
and then eaten our
food
Why on this
Thanksgiving do we have all this ceremony? Why do we have a
longer ritual?
On other
Thanksgivings,
we eat traditional
foods,
but we dont
have symbolic foods
Why on this
Thanksgiving do we eat symbolic foods?
On other
Thanksgivings,
weve eaten
turkey
Why on this
Thanksgiving
do we refrain from
eating turkey?
TWENTY-FOUR POWERS
we
call on the following powers for healing and transformation
THE
POWER OF REMEMBERING THE LAND
THE
POWER OF GRATITUDE
THE
POWER OF TELLING THE STORY
THE
POWER OF TELLING THE PAIN
THE
POWER OF POETRY
THE
POWER OF STORYTELLING
THE
POWER OF COUNCIL
THE
POWER OF SILENCE
THE
POWER OF CHANTING
THE
POWER OF CIRCLES
THE
POWER OF TURNING TO THE FOUR DIRECTIONS
THE
POWER OF REMEMBERING
THE
POWER OF LISTENING DEEPLY
THE
POWER OF LOOKING DEEPLY
THE
POWER OF NAMING AFFLICTIONS
THE POWER OF NAMING JOYS
THE
POWER OF WISE AND COMPASSIONATE ACTION
SONG
We Gather Together
New
Version
We
gather together to seek understanding
We sing in remembrance of days long gone past
Now
cease from oppressing, now make a new connection,
We sing of building trust now from wisdom and love.
We gather together to hold one another
In
loving compassion for our diffrences
We share our own
cultures, we learn from other cultures
Our
lives are enriched, by embracing us all
We
gather together to greet the world whole
In
peace and in justice, with kindness and joy
We
hold hands with one another in love and understanding
Sing
praises to justice, with mercy and love
We
gather together, to open our hearts wide
We
give to each other, to others not known
We
receive what is given, with warm thanksgiving
Giving
time, giving money, giving thoughts, mindfully
Traditional
Version
In the early 1600s, Dutch settlers
brought the Prayer of Thanksgiving to the "
Music,
based on a
We gather together to ask the Lord's
blessing;
He chastens and hastens his will to make known;
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing,
Sing praises to his name: He forgets not his own.
Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining his kingdom divine;
So from the beginning the fight we were winning;
Thou, Lord, wast at our side, All glory be thine!
We all do extol thee, thou leader triumphant,
And pray that thou still our defender wilt be.
Let thy congregation escape tribulation;
Thy name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!
Amen
QUESTING
AND QUESTIONING
Remembrance and
Deep Listening
Deep Looking,
Transformation, and Healing
Questioning and
Questing
Wise and Compassionate Action
How did I learn
about Thanksgiving?
What
memories do I have of Thanksgiving?
What story of
Thanksgiving was I told?
From whose point
of view was the story of Thanksgiving that I heard told?
What does Thanksgiving mean to
different peoples?
What do I treasure about the Thanksgiving
holiday?
What is challenging for me about the
Thanksgiving holiday?
THE POWER OF DEEP
LOOKING
TRANSFORMATION
AND HEALING
WHO AM I?
WHAT IS MY
RELATIONSHIP TO THIS GATHERING?
WHAT IS MY NAME?
WHAT ARE THE NAMES
OF MY PARENTS,
GRANDPARENTS,
GREAT-GRANDPARENTS?
WHAT IS MY
CONNECTION TO THIS LAND?
WHERE DO I LIVE?
WHAT BRINGS ME HERE
TODAY?
WHAT ANCESTORS AND
DESCENDANTS
WOULD I LIKE TO
INVITE HERE TO BE PRESENT IN THIS GATHERING?
WHAT AM I THANKFUL
FOR?
THE POWER OF
REMEMBRANCE
AND DEEP LISTENING
from
what it was two centuries ago.
The grizzly bears, elks, bald eagles,
ospreys, antelopes, wolves, and condors have totally disappeared.
Introduced European annual grasses have
seized the meadowlands from the native bunchgrasses.
The widespread logging of trees for lumber,
tanning bark, firewood, railroad ties, and fence posts has
altered the forests.
Ponds and lakes have been drained, rivers
channelized, and thousands upon thousands of acres of marshes and
swamps have been destroyed.
The immense flocks of geese, ducks, and
pelicans, the great runs of salmon and steelhead, the enormous
schools of smelt, the once numberless seals and whales are now a
mere remnant of what they once were.
As for the Ohlonesforty or so
tribelets, some 10,000 people, indeed a whole way of lifethat
too is totally gone, replaced by a civilization technologically
more advanced than theirs, but in many respects ecologically,
socially, and spiritually more backward.
From:
The
By
Malcolm Margolin, 1978. pg. 169, Heyday Books,
THE POWER OF REMEMBERING THE LAND
Land
was central in the culture of the indigenous peoples.
The
Mayan bible of our grandparents tells us that we were made from
corn, writes Nobel Prize Winner Rigoberta Menchu
To
grow corn, land was necessary.
Without
corn, we feel lost; without corn we feel sad.
The
dream of every Maya
is
to have a piece of land on which to plant corn
because
corn gives us spiritual enrichment;
corn
gives us physical resistance;
corn
gives us strength and health.
Through
corn we sing.
Through
corn we laugh and sing and cry.
Through
corn our lives are formed and we are born.
To
strip us of our land for corn-planting
Means
to
kill our people and our culture.
THE
POWER OF GRATITUDEGIVING THANKS
Thanksgiving
Address of the Hotinonsionne Indian Tribal Group
Introduction
This is a Thanksgiving prayer offered by
Brad Bonaparte and John Khionhes Fadden, from the Mohawk Tribal
Group:
Every day we are aliveeven if
we are not feeling well or were in a bad mood or we have a
flat tirewe give thanks to all the elements of Creation. We
take comfort in knowing that, when we pass on, these things will
continue.
--John Kahionhes Fadden (Mohawk)
This is a prayer of thanksgiving that
we say at the beginning and ending of meetings, social events,
ceremonies, and whenever people are gathered together. We also
say it as a morning and evening prayer. When we say this prayer,
we change it according to how we feel at the moment. Sometimes we
thank all Creation together, and sometimes we give thanks
individually to elements of Creation. Most of the time, our
prayer is somewhere in the middle, just as long as all creation
is included. Brad Bonaparte (Mohawk)
Address
Each person
reads a paragraph, with a bell sounded after each paragraph
I ask everyone to
bring their minds together as one and to give thanks and
acknowledgement of the Creator for Mother Earth that she continue
to support all life forms. (bell)
As we look around
the Creation, we see different things. We see the waters. We
acknowledge their gift to us, from the smallest streams to the
largest rivers to the oceans. We give thanks to them that they
continue with their duties of refreshing us and cleansing us and
bringing life. We bring all of our minds together as one and give
thanks. (bell)
Now we turn our
minds to the plants that grow up on the Earth, from the smallest
grasses, to the berries, to the fruit plants to the medicine
plants, to the Three Sisterscorn, beans, and squashand
up to the trees, to the head of all the plants, to the maple
trees. We give thanks to them that they continue with their
duties of providing us with food, shelter, and beauty. We bring
all of our minds together as one and give thanks. (bell)
Now we turn our
minds to all of the creatures who walk or crawl on the Earth. We
give thanks to them that they continue with their duties of
providing us with food, clothing, and beauty. We bring all of our
minds together as one and give thanks. (bell)
Now we turn our
minds to all of the creatures who live in the water. We give
thanks to them that they continue with their duties of keeping
the water fresh and clean, and providing us with food. We bring
all of our minds together as one and give thanks. (bell)
Now we turn our
minds to all of the creatures who fly in the sky. We give thanks
to them that they continue with their duties of providing us with
food, songs, and beauty. We bring all of our minds together as
one and give thanks. (bell)
Now as we go
higher in the sky, we turn our minds To our Grandfathers the
Thunders. We give thanks to them that they continue with their
duties of bringing the rains that will help our gardens. We bring
all of our minds together as one and give thanks. (bell)
Now we turn our
minds to the Wind. We give thanks to the wind, that the wind
continues with the duty of bringing clean air for us to breathe.
We bring all of our minds together as one and give thanks. (bell)
Now we turn our
minds to the Four Skydwellers. We give thanks to you that you
continue with your duties of giving us our instructions on how we
treat one another and the world around us. We bring all of our
minds together as one and give thanks. (bell)
Now we turn our
minds to our Grandmother Moon. We give thanks to you that you
continue with your duties of controlling the life cycles of the
women that so that the Earth will continue in its cycle of life.
We bring all of our minds together as one and give thanks. (bell)
Now we turn our
minds to our Brother Sun. We give thanks to you that you continue
with your duties of providing us with light and warmth to help
our plants to grow. We bring all of our minds together as one and
give thanks. (bell)
Now we turn our
minds to our Cousins the Stars. We give thanks to you that you
continue with your duties of providing beauty and light in the
nighttime sky. We bring all of our minds together as one and give
thanks. (bell)
Now we turn our
minds to Handsome Lake. We give thanks to you for reminding our
people of their original instructions on how to work with one
another and how to give thanks. We bring all of our minds
together as one and give thanks. (bell)
Now we turn our
minds to the Creator. We give thanks to the creator for providing
all these different things that will help and sustain our lives.
We bring all of our minds together as one and give thanks. (bell)
Now we return
to the Earth, and we look at all the people who are gathered here
and we give thanks that we have all come together with good
thoughts and good minds, to share and learn from one another. We
bring all of our minds together as one and give thanks. (bell)
THE POWER OF POETRY
It
Is Important by Gail Tremblay
from
Dancing on the Rim of the World
reprinted
in Rethinking Columbus, p 49
On
dark nights, when thoughts fly like nightbirds
Looking
for prey, it is important to remember
To
bless with names every creature that comes
To
mind; to sing a thankful song and hold
The
magic of the whole creation close in the heart,
To
watch light dance and know the sacred is alive.
On
dark nights, when owls watch, their eyes
Gleaming
in the black expanse of starless sky,
It
is important to gather the medicine bones,
The
eagle feathers, the tobacco bundles, the braided
Sweetgrass,
the cedar, and the sage, and pray
The
world will heal and breath feed the plants
That
care for the nations keeping the circle whole.
On
dark nights, when those who think only of themselves
Conjure
over stones and sing spells to feed their wills
It
is important to give gifts and to love everything
That
shows itself as good. It is time to turn
To
the Great Mystery and know the Grandfathers have
mercy
on us that we may help the people to survive.
On
dark nights, when confusion makes those who envy,
Hate,
and curse the winds, face the four directions
And
mumble names, it is important to stand
And
see that our only work is to give what others
Need,
that everything that touches us is a holy
Gift
to teach us we are loved. When sun rises
And
light surrounds life making blessings grow,
It
is important to praise its coming, and exhale
Letting
all we hold inside our lungs travel east
And
mix its power with the air; it is important to praise
Dawns
power breathing in and know we live in good
Relation
to all creation and sing what must be sung.
I will tell you
something about stories,
[he said]
They aren't just for entertainment.
Don't be fooled
They are all we have, you see,
all we have to fight off illness and death.
You don't have anything
if you don't have the stories.
Their evil is mighty
but it can't stand up to our stories.
So they try to destroy the stories
let the stories be confused or forgotten
They would like that
They would be happy
Because we would be defenseless then.
The
Thanksgiving story as it is usually told celebrates and
perpetuates a myth, which has almost nothing to do with reality.
The myth is that the Pilgrims and Indians joined together for a
great feast celebrating the first year of the Plimoth colony. In
actual fact, these new arrivals on the shores of what came to be
called America, would not have had a hope of surviving without a
lot of help from the Native people, who taught them to hunt and
fish, and how to grow corn. Their reward for this was the theft
of their land and seed corn, near total destruction of their
whole way of life, and death from white mans diseases and
guns.
THE POWER OF
STORY: SIX RECOGNITIONS
First,
we recognize the power of story, told individually and
collectively,
in
informing and shaping our understanding
Second,
we recognize the necessity to tell many stories:
Stories
of the land: animals, plants, minerals, mountains and rivers
Stories
of Native Peoples, African Peoples,
European
Peoples, Immigrant Peoples
Stories
of grief
Stories
of ignorance
Stories
of greed and attachment to views
Stories
of empowerment
Stories
of wisdom
Stories
of compassion
Stories
of courage
Third,
we recognize that in the stories we have heard,
the
Told Stories or Founding Myths,
there
is much that has been said,
and
also much that has been left unsaid.
Looking
deeply, we ask,
Who
is telling the story?
Whose
voices are being heard in the story?
Whose
voices are not being heard?
Fourth,
we recognize that there are Untold Stories,
stories
that we have not been told,
and
we ask, Where do we begin our stories?
Where
is the true ending of this story?
Fifth,
we recognize that to deepen our understanding,
we
must tell the stories in many ways:
through
asking questions,
through
symbolic foods,
through
naming afflictions and seeds of possibility
through
drawing and poetry and song
Sixth,
we recognize that as we listen to the stories,
we
may find in ourselves reactions,
reactions
of outrage, grief, judgment, amazement, shame, confusion.
As we listen, we do our best to breathe deeply in the midst of suffering and confusion.
As we listen, we do our best to remember our shared humanity
in the midst of inhumanity and injustice.
As we listen, we do our best to listen with ears of compassion for all,
offering peace to ourselves and each other.
As we listen, we touch our deepest aspiration,
our aspiration for the healing of all beings,
so
that all may live in well-being.
You
have noticed that everything an Indian does
is in
a circle, and that is because the power of the world always works
in circles,
and
everything tries to be round.
In the old
days all our power came to us from the sacred hoop of the nation
and so long
as the hoop was unbroken
the
people flourished.
The
flowering tree was the living center of the hoop,
and
the circle of the four quarters nourished it.
The east
gave peace and light,
the south
gave warmth,
the west
gave rain,
and the
north with its cold and mighty wind
gave
strength and endurance.
This
knowledge came to us
from the
outer world with our religion.
Everything
the power of the world does
is done in
a circle
--Black Elk
THE
POWER OF TURNING
TO
THE FOUR DIRECTIONS
We
turn to the East
Gratitude
to the Elements
Earth,
Air, Fire, Water
We
turn to the South
Gratitude
to Ancestors and Descendants:
Land,
Spiritual, Blood, Adopted
We turn
to the West
Gratitude
to plants of this land
Gratitude
to animals of this land
Gratitude
to minerals of this land
Gratitude
to rivers and mountains of this land
We
turn to the North
Gratitude
to the Peoples of this Land:
Indigenous
Peoples
African
Peoples
Immigrant
Peoples
THE
POWER OF WATER
THE
POWER OF HANDS
THE
POWER OF HAND-WASHING
Water
flows from high in the mountains
Water
runs deep in the earth
Miraculously
water comes to us,
And
sustains all life.
Water
flows over these hands
May
I use them skillfully
To
preserve our precious planet.
--Thich Nhat Hanh
THE
GREAT TURNING
FOUR
CUPS
CRANBERRY
JUICE AND APPLE CIDER
First
Cup
The
Cup of Remembrance and Deep Listening
Pour
Cranberry Juice and Apple Cider in silence, but do not
drink.
This
cup of cranberry juice and apple cider is the cup of
Remembrance
and Deep Listening
The
mingling of the cranberry juice and the apple cider, the sour and
the sweet,
the
red and the gold, represents the interbeing of pain and gratitude
that are present
in
the stories of Thanksgiving and the stories of our countrys
history that we remember today.
(Drink in silence.)
Pour
Cranberry Juice and Apple Cider in silence, but do not
drink.
This
cup of cranberry juice and apple cider is the cup of
Deep
Looking, Transformation, and Healing
The
mingling of the cranberry juice and the apple cider, the sour and
the sweet,
the
red and the gold, represents the interbeing of pain and gratitude
that are present
in
the stories of Thanksgiving and the stories of our countrys
history that we remember today.
(Drink
in silence.)
Third
Cup
The
Cup of Questioning and Questing
Pour
Cranberry Juice and Apple Cider in silence, but do not
drink.
This
cup of cranberry juice and apple cider is the cup of
Questioning
and Questing
The
mingling of the cranberry juice and the apple cider, the sour and
the sweet,
the
red and the gold, represents the interbeing of pain and gratitude
that are present
in
the stories of Thanksgiving and the stories of our countrys
history that we remember today. (Drink in
silence.)
Fourth
Cup
The
Cup of Wise and Compassionate Action
Pour
Cranberry Juice and Apple Cider in silence, but do not
drink.
This
cup of cranberry juice and apple cider is the cup of
Wise
and Compassionate Action
The
mingling of the cranberry juice and the apple cider, the sour and
the sweet,
the
red and the gold, represents the interbeing of pain and gratitude
that are present
in
the stories of Thanksgiving and the stories of our countrys
history that we remember today.
(Drink in
silence.)
THE
GREAT TURNING
FOUR
SYMBOLIC FOODS
On
tables at the center of the gathering are foods in four color
groups
REDe.g.,
cranberries, radishes, red peppers, tomatoes
YELLOW/ORANGEe.g.,
corn, squash, pumpkin, carrot
BROWNe.g.,
lentils, chestnuts, brown rice, chocolate
GREENe.g.,
lettuce, green beans, peas, broccoli, spinach
Participants
are invited to share reflections, stories, songs, poems
Each
color/food represents an unskillful state of mind
which
can be transformed into a state of mind
that
manifests wisdom and compassion.
RED
FOODTURNING FROM DENIAL TO DEEP LISTENING AND
TRUTH-TELLING
Red-color
food reminds us of the blood that has been shed
And
also of the happiness that comes from transformation and
healing.
Cranberries
are often eaten at Thanksgiving dinners,
yet
they were not eaten as part of the feast of native peoples.
Cranberries
here represent the power of denial
which
allows partial stories to be accepted as the whole story.
Red
food symbolizes transformation and healing
Choosing
to turn away from denial towards deep listening and
truth-telling.
YELLOW
FOODTURNING FROM GREED TO GRATITUDE AND GENEROSITY
Yellow-color
food reminds us of gold and the greed for gold
which
motivated some Europeans who set out across the ocean
five
hundred years ago, greed which precipitated the massacres
of
people indigenous to this land. Corn is often eaten at
Thanksgiving.
Multicolored
corn is sacred to native peoples.
Yellow
food symbolizes transformation and healing
Choosing
to turn away from greed towards gratitude and generosity
BROWN
FOODTURNING FROM UNACKNOWLEDGED GRIEF AND SHAME
TO
MOURNING, ACKNOWLEDGED GRIEF AND THE RENUNCIATION OF VIOLENCE
Turkey
is often eaten at Thanksgiving.
Brown-color
food reminds us of the cooked turkey
that
we are refraining from eating tonight.
Brown-color
food represents the unacknowledged grief and shame
that
allows violence and oppression to continue.
Brown-color
food also represents the Earth and its abundance.
Brown-color
food symbolizes transformation and healing
Choosing
to allow the mourning process and release of strong emotion
Choosing
to turn away from unacknowledged grief and shame
towards
acknowledged grief and sorrow and the renunciation of violence
GREEN
FOODTURNING FROM ATTACHMENT TO VIEWS AND SEPARATE-SELF
TO
AWARENESS OF INTERBEING AND OPENNESS TO OTHERS VIEWPOINTS
Green-color food
represents the attachment to views which motivated some European
Christians when they encountered people indigenous to this land.
Green-color food
reminds us of our interbeing
with life-sustaining
plants and animals.
Green-color food
symbolizes transformation and healing
Choosing to turn away
from attachment to views and a separate-self mindstate
towards
awareness of interbeing and openness to others views
Naming
each affliction,
we
drop a drop of cranberry juice-apple cider
from
our cup onto a small plate.
Through
naming the sorrow, we remember to remember.
Through
naming the sorrow we embrace the pain.
Through
naming the sorrow we begin to begin anew,
transforming
and healing the pain of our collective story.
TWENTY
AFFLICTIONS
A
LEGACY OF TRAUMA AND GENOCIDE
Alcohol
Betrayal
Broken
Treaties
Boarding
School
Bureau
of Indian Affairs
Cultural
Appropriation
Destruction
of Traditional Fish and Animal Habitats
DiseaseSmallpox,
Syphilis, and others
Forced
Relocation
Invasion
Job
Discrimination
Land
Theft
Loss
of Religion and Language
Media
Stereotyping
Racism
Reservations
Smallpox
and Disease
Stolen
Children
Subjugation
Termination
Naming
each wholesome seed,
we
taste a drop of cranberry juice-apple cider.
Through
naming the wholesome seed, we remember to remember
Through
naming the wholesome seed, we embrace the whole
Through
naming the wholesome seed, we begin to begin anew
transforming
and healing the pain of our collective story,
being
peace: peace in ourselves, peace in the world
PAYING
ATTENTION
TO
TWENTY-FOUR WHOLESOME SEEDS
FOR
A FUTURE TO BE POSSIBLE
Awareness
Beauty
Calm
Clarity
Compassion
Courage
Creativity
Deep
Listening
Deep
Looking
Equanimity
Generosity
Goodness
Gratitude
Imagination
Joy
Kindness
Love
Mindfulness
Openness
Peace
Right
Action
Solidity
Understanding
Wisdom
THE POWER OF
CULTIVATING GENEROSITY
Aware
of the suffering caused by exploitation,
social
injustice, stealing, and oppression,
I
am committed to cultivating loving kindness
and
learning ways to work for the well-being
of
people, animals, plants, and minerals.
I
will practice generosity by sharing my time, energy, and material
resources with those who are in need.
I
will do my best to prevent profiting from human suffering or the
suffering of other species on Earth. (Bell)
--Thich
Nhat Hanh
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