LOS ANGELES — In high-stakes environments where community trauma, institutional authority, and public safety collide, finding a path toward constructive dialogue can seem nearly impossible. Across cities nationwide, local leaders are grappling with deeply polarized debates over policing, homelessness, and mental health crises.
Yet, for Dharma teacher Jitsujo T. Gauthier, co-spiritual director of the Zen Peacemakers Order (ZPO) and associate professor at the University of the West, the solution to gridlock does not start in policy debates. It begins within the individual mind.
Drawing from the foundational framework of the Zen Peacemakers Order—specifically the Three Tenets and a specialized devotional tool known as the Three Tenets Mala (TTMala)—practitioners are discovering a tactile, somatic method for transforming emotional reactivity into compassionate, actionable community leadership.
The Crucible: An Interfaith Meeting on Policing and Marginalization
The urgency of this practice was brought into sharp relief during a recent, tense interfaith gathering of local clergy and law enforcement officials. The meeting convened in the wake of a deeply troubling local incident: an unhoused, middle-aged woman struggling with severe mental health challenges had been shot with rubber bullets by local police.
The room was immediately charged with conflicting grievances and raw emotion. Some faith leaders expressed unvarnished outrage at what they condemned as excessive, violent police tactics against society’s most vulnerable populations. Others took a more measured tone, emphasizing the desperate need for appropriate mental health infrastructure, specialized crisis-response training, and clear operational boundaries for both law enforcement officers and unhoused residents.
The debate quickly devolved into competing anecdotes that highlighted the deep chasm in community perceptions. One clergy member stood to testify: "I’ve witnessed a police officer unnecessarily use force with a community member in the food pantry line." Moments later, another faith leader countered: "The police protect our congregation from bomb threats."
What began as an exploratory dialogue rapidly escalated into a polarized, highly emotional debate over a reductive binary: Are local police protectors, or are they perpetrators?
Feeling acutely caught between the visceral pain in the room and the conflicting, yet individually valid, truths being voiced by her peers, Gauthier recognized that standard debate formats would only deepen the divide. Seeking a different way to meet the complex reality of the situation, she turned inward to her training in the Three Tenets of the Zen Peacemaker Order: not-knowing, bearing witness, and taking action.
Chronology of Practice: Moving from Reaction to Resolution
Faced with a volatile social landscape, Gauthier applied a structured internal chronology to shift her relationship with the conflict:
- Resting in Not-Knowing: First, Gauthier deliberately released her own pre-established opinions, political biases, and immediate judgments about the police and the unhoused community. By quieting her cognitive need to "take a side," she was able to rest in a state of open-minded receptivity.
- Bearing Witness: Next, she expanded her awareness to the sensory reality of the present moment. Tuning out the internal noise of her own opinions, she heard the harsh sound of traffic filtering through the windows alongside the raised, anxious voices inside the room. Rather than fighting the discord, she opened herself fully to the multi-faceted suffering present in the space.
- Taking Action: Finally, operating from a grounded, centered, and unified internal state, Gauthier spoke her piece. Rather than feeding into the narrative of opposing factions, she reframed the room as a singular team—one uniquely enriched, and challenged, by diverse cultural experiences, systemic needs, and valid perspectives.
The Three Tenets and the Pure Precepts
The Three Tenets are foundational to the Rule of the Zen Peacemaker Order, established in 1997 by the late Roshi Bernie Glassman and fellow ZPO founders. Designed to be practiced in sequence, these tenets equip individuals to skillfully dismantle the personal and societal roots of suffering, fostering a more compassionate, just, and peaceful world.
The Evolution of the Tenets
- Not-Knowing: The practice invites individuals to relinquish fixed ideas, dogmas, and rigid constructs about themselves and the universe.
- Bearing Witness: By letting go of intellectual armor, practitioners open themselves directly to the unvarnished joy and suffering of the world.
- Taking Action: True, effective action does not stem from preconceived political agendas or calculated ego. Instead, it arises naturally and spontaneously from the open mind of not-knowing coupled with the clear perception forged through bearing witness.
Rooted in the Mahayana Tradition
The Three Tenets find their ethical bedrock in the Three Pure Precepts, which form part of the traditional sixteen bodhisattva vows of Mahayana Buddhism:
- Refraining from evil: In this context, "evil" is understood not as a cosmic moral force, but as the fundamental illusion of separation. Refraining from harm is the active practice of recognizing nonseparation. By letting go of the assumptions and prejudices that divide us from others, practitioners enter a space free of division and exclusion.
- Performing wholesome deeds: This precept finds expression through bearing witness. Deep listening to the complex facets of a crisis allows the psychological barrier between "self" and "other" to dissolve. When feeling overwhelmed by complexity, practitioners can anchor themselves in somatic awareness—noticing breath, bodily sensations, and immediate environmental cues.
- Cultivating an awakened mind: Mirroring the third tenet of taking action, a mind purified through the first two steps naturally generates simple, organic, and highly effective responses to societal challenges.
The Three Tenets Mala: A Somatic Tool for Social Engagement
To make these abstract philosophical tenets tangible in daily life, Roshi Wendy Egyoku Nakao—Gauthier’s teacher—developed the Three Tenets Mala (TTMala) in 2016.
In Buddhist traditions, a mala is traditionally a string of prayer beads used to anchor mantras, breaths, or contemplative recitations. The TTMala, however, is specifically engineered as a psychological and spiritual navigational tool for moments of acute personal stress, interpersonal conflict, institutional friction, or emotional burnout.
Structure of the TTMala
The TTMala is divided into five distinct operational sections, each anchored by a large head bead followed by a specific number of smaller contemplation beads:
- The Situation Bead: Establishes the parameters of the crisis, holding space for accountability and acknowledging the shared Buddha-nature of all involved parties.
- The Not-Knowing Bead: Facilitates the release of mental judgments, underlying fears, and emotional resentments.
- The Bearing-Witness Bead: Accompanied by a larger sequence of nine or more beads, this section invites the practitioner to name the diverse "ingredients" of the crisis (sensory inputs, emotional undercurrents, and observations).
- The Taking-Action Bead: Focuses the practitioner’s energy on service, addressing the specific needs of the situation, others, and self-care.
- The Love Bead: Concludes the cycle by affirming love as a primary life force, offering gratitude, and dedicating the merit of the practice outward.
Crafting Your Own Three Tenets Mala
For those interested in incorporating tactile mindfulness into their social justice or community-building work, creating a TTMala is an accessible DIY project. Materials can be sourced from local craft stores or by repurposing unused beaded jewelry.
Materials Needed
- Five large feature beads (representing the five structural sections: Situation, Not-Knowing, Bearing Witness, Taking Action, and Love).
- Smaller matching beads (three for most sections; nine or more for the Bearing Witness section).
- Spacer beads (optional).
- Durable string, beading wire, or cord.
- A thin needle or liquid nail polish (to stiffen string ends for easier threading).
- Material for a tassel.
Assembly Instructions
- Layout: Carefully select five distinct large beads that intuitively represent the emotional weight of each section (Situation, Not-Knowing, Bearing Witness, Taking Action, Love).
- Stringing the Situation Section: Thread the large Situation bead, followed by three identical smaller beads and optional spacers.
- Adding Not-Knowing: Thread the Not-Knowing bead, followed by three smaller beads.
- Expanding Bearing Witness: Thread the Bearing-Witness bead, followed by nine or more smaller beads to symbolize the multitude of systemic ingredients present in a crisis.
- Threading Taking Action & Love: Thread the Taking-Action bead with three smaller beads, followed by the Love bead and its three corresponding smaller beads.
- Securing the Mala: Tie the cord securely—ensuring it is not so tight that the beads lose mobility. Attach a handmade tassel to the knot ends.
Step-by-Step Guide to TTMala Practice
When life feels emotionally overwhelming or politically intractable, moving through the TTMala provides a structured somatic ritual to reclaim emotional equilibrium:
- Getting Started: Rub the mala between your palms while affirming: "I affirm the oneness of all life. All things coexist in relationship to each other."
- The Situation: Hold the large bead, call upon witnesses, and articulate the precise details of the conflict. Move through the three smaller beads acknowledging the awakened nature, dignity, and shared humanity of all participants.
- Not-Knowing: Hold the major bead, declare your commitment to not-knowing, and use the three smaller beads to systematically release your underlying beliefs, fears, and internal resistance.
- Bearing Witness: Move through the extended string of nine-plus beads, verbally identifying the raw data of the environment ("I notice that…", "I feel that…").
- Taking Action: State your committed, wholesome action on the major bead, then utilize the three smaller beads to specify how this action serves the situation, honors specific individuals, and incorporates healthy self-care.
- Love: Affirm love as a driving force on the major bead, then use the remaining three beads to offer explicit gratitude, dedicate your practice’s merit to others, and reaffirm your place in the broader circle of life.
- Conclusion: Conclude by rubbing the mala between your palms once more to ground the realization of interconnectedness.
Broader Implications for Modern Civil Discourse
As communities nationwide struggle to bridge ideological divides over policing, homelessness, and social equity, the methodology championed by Gauthier and the Zen Peacemakers Order offers a vital alternative to polarization.
By shifting the locus of conflict resolution from adversarial debate to internal mindfulness, practitioners argue that activists, law enforcement officers, and community leaders can bypass the ego-driven need to "win" arguments. Through the integration of radical inclusivity, somatic awareness, and tools like the Three Tenets Mala, modern changemakers may find that true systemic transformation begins not by policing the external world, but by first quieting, witnessing, and healing the internal landscape.
