Growing Up in the Shadow of The Troubles — Bearing Witness with Ryushin Paul Haller

In this episode of the Peacemakers Podcast, Zen teacher Paul Haller reflects on how the practice of Zen meets the realities of a divided world.

Paul grew up in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, a time when political conflict and religious identity shaped daily life. Neighborhoods, schools, and communities were divided, and the tensions between Catholic and Protestant communities formed the backdrop of his early years. Those experiences left deep impressions about fear, identity, and the ways people come to see one another as “other.”

In our conversation, Paul shares how Zen practice — and particularly the Zen Peacemakers’ emphasis on Bearing Witness — offered a way to meet these divisions without turning away. Rather than retreating from the world, the practice invites us to enter it more fully. To listen. To see suffering clearly. And to discover how compassion can arise when we stop holding tightly to fixed positions.

Paul’s reflections remind us that peacemaking is not abstract. It grows directly out of our lived experience — the places we come from, the histories we inherit, and the willingness to face them with an open heart.

This episode explores how practice moves from the meditation cushion into the streets, into communities, and into the complicated human realities we share.

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Show Credits:

* Speaker: Ryushin Paul Haller

* Recording Date: October 23, 2020

* Hosts: Geoff Shōun O’Keeffe, Jim Hōden Fricker

* Audio & Video Editing/Engineering: Jim Hōden Fricker

* Event Coordinators: Micka (妙心) Moto-Sanchez, Geoff Shōun O’Keeffe

* Related Video: HERE

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