Amos Stevens
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Buddhism and the badge
By Debbie Howlett, USA TODAY
MADISON, Wis. — An internationally known Buddhist monk
who teaches non-violence will lead a five-day retreat
for police officers and others in public service here
to help them handle job-related stress.
At least 12 city police officers are among more than
500 workers and their families scheduled to attend the
retreat starting Monday. The retreat will include
meditation, silent meals and instruction in the
practice of "mindfulness," a basic tenet of Buddhism
to be aware of the consequences of one's actions. The
retreat will also offer golf, swimming and hiking.
Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh (pronounced tick-not-hawn)
will lead the retreat, which is called "Protecting and
Serving Without Stress or Fear." It is billed as a
health and wellness event for those in "community
service ... desiring a more peaceful, non-violent way
of life." (Related item: Chat with Thich Nhat Hanh on
Buddhism at 7 p.m ET on Wednesday, Aug. 20)
Capt. Cheri Maples, the Madison Police Department's
director of training and recruiting, organized the
retreat. She says it is non-sectarian. "This is not
about converting anyone," says Maples, a practicing
Buddhist. "This is just about giving people another
coping tool."
Madison police officials say the retreat is secular
and is not sanctioned by the city. Police officers
will be given leave to attend, but they must pay the
$600 cost.
Constitutional questions
Organizations such as Americans United for Separation
of Church and State have objected. "Just as the city
may not promote Christianity, Judaism or Islam, it may
not advance Buddhism," Barry Lynn, executive director
of Americans United, says in a letter to the city.
"Encouraging (officers) to go to a religious retreat
doesn't pass constitutional muster."
Maples says she has received hundreds of similar
letters and e-mails.
Nhat Hanh, an exiled Vietnamese monk, is among the
most respected Buddhist leaders and is nearly as
revered as the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of
Tibetan Buddhists. He was nominated for the Nobel
Peace Prize in the 1960s by the Rev. Martin Luther
King Jr.
The retreat is aimed at police and other
public-service workers in stressful jobs, such as
firefighters, prosecutors and paramedics, and their
families. "Together we will look deeply into the
challenging situation we face in serving our
communities, in our work places, as well as in our
families and our personal lives," a brochure for the
retreat says.
Police officers who have problems in their personal
lives often attribute them to the stress of their job.
Fewer than 100 police officers, on average, die yearly
in the line of duty nationwide, but as many as 300
commit suicide each year, according to a 1999 FBI
study. The study showed that the police suicide rate —
22.1 per 100,000 — is twice the rate in the general
population.
"Cops are taught to 'stuff' their feelings deep
inside. At some point that black hole gets full and
manifests itself in violence, alcohol, gambling or
other undesirable behaviors," says Renae Griggs, a
former South Florida police officer who runs the
National Police Family Violence Prevention Project.
Kevin Gilmartin, who has written extensively about
police stress and is a consultant to police
departments, says police officers work in a constant
state of "hyper-vigilance." In their off hours,
mundane chores such as mowing the lawn can't provide
the same intensity as their work.
"Police have to view the world as one big felony in
progress," Gilmartin says. "That's a tough way to
live."
Buddhism may seem an unlikely antidote to the stresses
of fighting crime. But Maples says stereotyping police
officers as tough and insensitive is part of the
problem, especially in Madison, a traditionally
liberal city of 214,000 that is the state capital and
home to the University of Wisconsin.
Few rank-and-file officers have objected to the
retreat, says Officer Scott Faber, the department's
union representative.
"We're a different kind of department," he says. "Most
of our officers have four-year degrees. And we have a
higher number of women (32%) than any other police
department."
The difference is clear for Maples, who has a law
degree and a master's degree in social work. Before
she became a police officer 19 years ago, at age 31,
she was an advocate for battered women.
"A lot of the skills that work so well in policing
don't work so well at home," she says. In searching
for ways to handle stress, she went to her first
Buddhist retreat in 1990, led by a follower of Nhat
Hanh.
Monastery visit
Last year, she spent three weeks at Nhat Hanh's
monastery, Plum Village near Bordeaux in the south of
France. During the visit, she reconciled the idea of
being a police officer with a respect for life that
includes not killing any living creature. "One of the
nuns said to me, 'Who else would we want to carry a
gun except someone who does it mindfully,' " Maples
recalls.
She says the idea was so powerful to her that she
invited Nhat Hanh to Wisconsin to talk about policing
and the principle of mindfulness. He is also scheduled
to lecture in Chicago; Denver; Boulder, Colo.; Estes
Park, Colo.; and Washington, D.C., where he will give
a talk and offer a retreat for members of Congress
titled "Leading With Courage and Compassion."
Mindfulness is essentially total awareness of what is
happening at each particular moment and deciding how
to respond in that moment, Maples says.
Responding to stress with compassion and kindness,
rather than cynicism, would allow a police officer to
do the job and go home at night without anger, Maples
says.
Lynn of Americans United still objects.
"Religion plays many positive roles," says Lynn, who
is an ordained minister. "But government is not
supposed to be the preacher of religious values,
whether Buddhist or fundamentalist Christian."
© Copyright 2003 USA TODAY
By Debbie Howlett, USA TODAY
MADISON, Wis. — An internationally known Buddhist monk
who teaches non-violence will lead a five-day retreat
for police officers and others in public service here
to help them handle job-related stress.
At least 12 city police officers are among more than
500 workers and their families scheduled to attend the
retreat starting Monday. The retreat will include
meditation, silent meals and instruction in the
practice of "mindfulness," a basic tenet of Buddhism
to be aware of the consequences of one's actions. The
retreat will also offer golf, swimming and hiking.
Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh (pronounced tick-not-hawn)
will lead the retreat, which is called "Protecting and
Serving Without Stress or Fear." It is billed as a
health and wellness event for those in "community
service ... desiring a more peaceful, non-violent way
of life." (Related item: Chat with Thich Nhat Hanh on
Buddhism at 7 p.m ET on Wednesday, Aug. 20)
Capt. Cheri Maples, the Madison Police Department's
director of training and recruiting, organized the
retreat. She says it is non-sectarian. "This is not
about converting anyone," says Maples, a practicing
Buddhist. "This is just about giving people another
coping tool."
Madison police officials say the retreat is secular
and is not sanctioned by the city. Police officers
will be given leave to attend, but they must pay the
$600 cost.
Constitutional questions
Organizations such as Americans United for Separation
of Church and State have objected. "Just as the city
may not promote Christianity, Judaism or Islam, it may
not advance Buddhism," Barry Lynn, executive director
of Americans United, says in a letter to the city.
"Encouraging (officers) to go to a religious retreat
doesn't pass constitutional muster."
Maples says she has received hundreds of similar
letters and e-mails.
Nhat Hanh, an exiled Vietnamese monk, is among the
most respected Buddhist leaders and is nearly as
revered as the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of
Tibetan Buddhists. He was nominated for the Nobel
Peace Prize in the 1960s by the Rev. Martin Luther
King Jr.
The retreat is aimed at police and other
public-service workers in stressful jobs, such as
firefighters, prosecutors and paramedics, and their
families. "Together we will look deeply into the
challenging situation we face in serving our
communities, in our work places, as well as in our
families and our personal lives," a brochure for the
retreat says.
Police officers who have problems in their personal
lives often attribute them to the stress of their job.
Fewer than 100 police officers, on average, die yearly
in the line of duty nationwide, but as many as 300
commit suicide each year, according to a 1999 FBI
study. The study showed that the police suicide rate —
22.1 per 100,000 — is twice the rate in the general
population.
"Cops are taught to 'stuff' their feelings deep
inside. At some point that black hole gets full and
manifests itself in violence, alcohol, gambling or
other undesirable behaviors," says Renae Griggs, a
former South Florida police officer who runs the
National Police Family Violence Prevention Project.
Kevin Gilmartin, who has written extensively about
police stress and is a consultant to police
departments, says police officers work in a constant
state of "hyper-vigilance." In their off hours,
mundane chores such as mowing the lawn can't provide
the same intensity as their work.
"Police have to view the world as one big felony in
progress," Gilmartin says. "That's a tough way to
live."
Buddhism may seem an unlikely antidote to the stresses
of fighting crime. But Maples says stereotyping police
officers as tough and insensitive is part of the
problem, especially in Madison, a traditionally
liberal city of 214,000 that is the state capital and
home to the University of Wisconsin.
Few rank-and-file officers have objected to the
retreat, says Officer Scott Faber, the department's
union representative.
"We're a different kind of department," he says. "Most
of our officers have four-year degrees. And we have a
higher number of women (32%) than any other police
department."
The difference is clear for Maples, who has a law
degree and a master's degree in social work. Before
she became a police officer 19 years ago, at age 31,
she was an advocate for battered women.
"A lot of the skills that work so well in policing
don't work so well at home," she says. In searching
for ways to handle stress, she went to her first
Buddhist retreat in 1990, led by a follower of Nhat
Hanh.
Monastery visit
Last year, she spent three weeks at Nhat Hanh's
monastery, Plum Village near Bordeaux in the south of
France. During the visit, she reconciled the idea of
being a police officer with a respect for life that
includes not killing any living creature. "One of the
nuns said to me, 'Who else would we want to carry a
gun except someone who does it mindfully,' " Maples
recalls.
She says the idea was so powerful to her that she
invited Nhat Hanh to Wisconsin to talk about policing
and the principle of mindfulness. He is also scheduled
to lecture in Chicago; Denver; Boulder, Colo.; Estes
Park, Colo.; and Washington, D.C., where he will give
a talk and offer a retreat for members of Congress
titled "Leading With Courage and Compassion."
Mindfulness is essentially total awareness of what is
happening at each particular moment and deciding how
to respond in that moment, Maples says.
Responding to stress with compassion and kindness,
rather than cynicism, would allow a police officer to
do the job and go home at night without anger, Maples
says.
Lynn of Americans United still objects.
"Religion plays many positive roles," says Lynn, who
is an ordained minister. "But government is not
supposed to be the preacher of religious values,
whether Buddhist or fundamentalist Christian."
© Copyright 2003 USA TODAY
