Think you can’t do anything about war? Let’s form a Peace Brigade for any conflict in which participants take a pledge to establish genuine communication with the opposing side, and act at the root level of a conflict.
Peace brigade envisions solutions that are impossible now but could be possible with entirely different psychologies. We can replace the function of the United Nations and the military by creating a living network of real relationships between those on opposing sides of geopolitical struggles.
There is no way out of a cycle of violence. The perpetrator must transform himself, but we are all perpetrators. There are many ways in which we ourselves foment violence. We need to recognize this and desist – not singly, but in an explicit collaborative effort that links together expanding groups of peace practitioners to create islands of real peace.
We must begin with more than we actually have. Let’s admit that we really don’t know what the objectives of either side are or what the real causes of the conflict are. Admit that we are ignorant, confused, biased, that we can’t see even the most obvious truths.
A first step is listening with compassion to the other side, trying to understand their suffering and grievances. Peace is understanding the position of the other side. But there’s a limit to how much good that can do. Strange to say, but neither compassion nor reason is going to get us very far. What we have called the peace process is a farce. Could it be that our very compassion is what’s causing the problem?
It might be closer to the truth to say that both sides are wrong. Or that both sides are right and both sides are wrong. There will always be right and wrong, truth and ignorance. The point is not to find out who is right. It’s not even to find a solution. It’s to create one. How can we do that? It’s really pretty simple to say. What we need – all we need – is the courage of heart and soul. How can we get that? The first thing, and the main thing, is to not get caught up in rhetoric. That is far more important and far more difficult than it seems. In times of war social pressure is immense. In order to avoid it we have to combat all of society, all of history, all of biology. That is what we need for freedom, and for peace.
Starting very small, in one tiny group, as few as two or three people (but more than one), in the place that we are right now, we will think and reflect with goodwill, refining our vision, preparing ourselves to go forth with tenderness in the face of brutality, the brutality of those on the other side of the world and among our own friends and family. Civilians and soldiers on each side going forth with a message of insight and immensity.

Don’t be swept by the human tide
Grasp the suffering of the other side
Complete resolution is the goal
Have the courage of heart and soul


Peace Brigade Pledge

Put an end to war in yourself
Understand your own role in conflict and aggression. Recognize your own brutality.
Question your need for power, position, prestige, money.
Atone as far as possible for the wrongs you inflict on others.
Reduce indirect complicity in harm, such as overconsumption and greed.
Don't participate in violent cultural activities.
Respect the sanctity of human life and all life.
Become capable of peace.

How to approach a conflict
Meet your opponent with goodwill.
Don’t argue with an opinion you oppose.
Understand the grievances of the opposing side.
Understand the suffering of the opposing side.
Discover whatever is good in the opposing side.
Celebrate the opposing culture.
Find for the flaws, but focus on the good.
Collaborate with any and all peace actors and organizations.

Resolution
Instead of demanding change, ask for understanding.
Find a way that changes assumptions, that all sides can agree with, that works at the heart level.
Active collaboration with any and all people and organizations.
Ask not what you can gain, but what you can give.
Look at evil with the eyes of a mother
Always use humble love.

Public action
Present Real Peace and introduce the Peace Brigade to the person on the street. Show how it is possible to reimangine standard approaches to conflict. The event can be as simple as a couple of people going to a public square and handing out leaflets, and presenting a process of genuine reflection. It could also be more involved, including giving talks on local radio stations or engaging the local media.

How can we expect change if people are not shown that it is possible? That is our only real task. After that, they will participate as much or as little as they like. We will reach the exact amount of peace that we deserve.

Gather in any public space, with friends, and stand silently, reflecting on the conflict without taking sides. Walk in circles through the most restless areas, holding hands, weaving in and out, smiling gently, saying nothing but absorbing everything.

– Insights on real peace
– Introduce meetings and Celebration of the good
– Introduce the Peace Brigade
– Pledge for soldiers, police, security guards
– Give back the night to women

Celebration of the good
Celebration of the Good is an experiment in entertainment, a new way to pass the time with strangers and friends. It is an introduction to amazing things, people, places, events, a way to celebrate beauty and truth and good. Reading aloud of beautiful or profound thoughts on what is real peace.

Meetings
Meetings on specific conflicts. Listen to their grievances and suffering of your opponents. Do not judge, argue, or try to convince.

City-wide learning
Public meeting on a larger scale. As a kind of expanded meeting, it can include speakers from local organizations. The main thing is that it supercedes politics and ideology, that it addresses the root issue, is based in the psyche and the soul, and that it creates a climate of affection and reflection.


Pledge for soldiers, police, security guards, and any professionals involved in social dysfunction

Soldiers: Fight for the good
There is a goal more important the victory or national interest. While still doing their duty, soldiers also exercise compassion. Use force for protection, assistance, and building, rather than merely aggression. Fight for a lasting and meaningful resolution to conflict.

Police: Develop a new ethic for public safety and well-being
Enforcing the law is important, but so is responding to the living human being in front of you. Help those in trouble, including victims and those causing harm. Address root causes and real solutions.
Instead of merely 'Protect and Serve,' we can turn aggression into helpfulness – using conflict, struggle, dysfunction, and misery as an opportunity for understanding and helpfulness.

Security guards
Transform security guards into security guides. Redefine the role of security guards as helping, resolving, teaching, and sharing, rather than commanding and enforcing. Turn Security Guards into Security Guides and the People's Ombudsman.


Gandhi, Qualifications for a Peace Brigade
"This messenger of peace must have equal regard for all the principal religions of the earth. Thus, if he is a Hindu, he will respect the other faiths current in India. He must, therefore, possess a knowledge of the general principles of the different faiths professed in the country." Gandhi is speaking about the qualifications for the 'peace brigade' he envisioned. The Gandhi Reader, page 342, from Harijan, 1938.

Qualifications for a Peace Brigade
(1) He or she must have a living faith in nonviolence. This is impossible without a living faith in God. Without it he won’t have the courage to die without anger, without fear and without retaliation.
(2) This messenger of peace must have equal regard for all the principal religions of the earth.

(3) Generally speaking, this work of peace can only be done by local men in their own localities.
(4) The work can be done singly or in groups.
(6) Needless to say, a peace bringer must have a character beyond reproach and must be known for his strict impartiality.

(7) The peace brigade will not wait till the conflagration breaks out but will try to handle the situation in anticipation.

(8) The idea is to have as many good and true men and women as possible.