Cynthia Jurs visited Liberia in 2009. Years before she had asked a Buddhist monk what she could do to heal and protect the Earth, and he told her that she should bury so-called ‘Earth Treasure Vases‘ (ETV) in different places around the world. At that moment, she couldn’t imagine what a clay vase filled with prayers and symbolic gifts could do. But along the way it became clear to her that a humble clay pot can inspire creative solutions to some of the world’s most overwhelming problems. Despite its origins in Tibetan Buddhism, the ceremony is easily translated to any culture and tradition, according to Cynthia, because everyone recognizes that the earth is in danger, that the world is suffering and the vase provides a vehicle for all our prayers. When she visited Liberia to bury a vase participants wondered after the ceremony what to do next. The answer came from a former rebel.

When Cynthia first met Christian Bethelson he wanted to know more about meditation. He called her when she got back home to learn from her. She could hardly believe he meant it, but knowing how his life had already changed, she realized she had to work with him. Christian, like so many other former combatants when the war ended, was unemployed, ashamed, and alienated. He suffered from PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and had nowhere to turn and no money to put food on the table. So he decided to offer his services as a mercenary to the rebels in neighboring Ivory Coast.

He was on his way there when his car got stuck in the mud, where he happened to meet the peace group ‘the Everydaty Gandhis’, whose vehicle was also stuck. After he introduced himself, they started talking and soon invited him to join their team. Instead of going to Ivory Coast, he turned around completely and started a whole new life.

Work mindfully
It was several years after that that she began working with Bethelson. Slowly, over the last five years, Bethelson learned the practice of mindfulness – listening to the sound of the bell that invites him to stop, return to the present moment, and simply breathe. From this basic act of conscious breathing, he has been able to begin the work of transformation and healing that he so desperately desired.

Bethelson understood that building a traditional Palava Peace Hut in the same village where the ETV was buried would be a good way to involve the elders in keeping their prayers for peace alive. Today there is a peace hut in the heart of that community where the community comes together for training in conflict resolution, mindfulness practice and women’s empowerment.

Later, President Sirleaf’s government recommended the “Palava Hut Peacebuilding Mechanism” as the way to “promote peace and dialogue and mend broken relations for national reconciliation and healing, starting at the grassroots.”

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was elected as Africa’s first female president. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 together with the founder of the women’s peace movement, Leymah Gbowee. It was the women’s movement that played a crucial role in ending the civil war. Despite their religious differences, women took to the streets together to pray, fast and loudly demand the end of a 14-year civil war. Through their powerful nonviolent actions and sheer determination, they found the strength to stand up and change Liberia. (A movie that tells this story is “Pray the Devil Back to Hell”).

Cynthia’s organization, Alliance for the Earth, is working with several people to rebuild the traditional system of peacekeeping. Thanks to their work and commitment, there are now Palava Peace Huts in three provinces, and their vision is to build 15 more, one for each province.

Peace on the radio
In June 2014, the community of Christian was hit by a terrible flood due to unforeseen rainfall that destroyed everything. They were lucky to be alive. Less than two months later, the worst Ebola outbreak in world history has paralyzed Liberia, causing chaos and stoking new deadly fears among the population. Military bans and quarantines prevented Bethelson and his colleague from traveling domestically to meet their friends at the Peace Lodges. Instead, they started a national radio program to share their knowledge and invite listeners to join “Conversations Under the Peace Hut” – ringing the bell of mindfulness and sharing ways to respond to the crisis with clarity and calm with which they are confronted.

“If the women of Liberia can end a war and bring peace, so can we. If a former militant can become a peace worker, so can we.“

Cynthia Jurs concludes her story this way: Like the women of Liberia who prayed to end the war and succeeded, the Peace Huts are a tangible manifestation of the power of prayer. And if the women of Liberia can end a war and bring peace, so can we. If a former militant can become a peace worker, so can we. Collectively, we remember how to care for the Earth, each other and our communities. We are all like sacred vessels, filled with treasures for this earth, treasures of peace, healing and courage. May what the Liberians have done be a model for every corner of the world where violence destroys life. Conflict and illness can cross boundaries. Peace and reconciliation too.

For the whole story, see this article: Planting Seeds of Peace in Liberia, Kosmos Journal, 2014