War. Just saw a powerful movie about war in Sri Lanka. It’s called Peck on the Cheek I don’t know much about the war in Sri Lanka, but all wars, whatever their specifics, cause misery.

I feel a need to see war firsthand. Not to fight in a war, but to see a war. To talk with the soldiers of each side. To see the wounded of each side. I think that maybe firsthand experience is necessary to understand war. But can war ever be understood? I wonder what is behind this desire… Possibly the romance of being in a war zone? Why is that romantic?

I had a thought about next semester: I could study in a Zen monastery. I’d study Tamil, History of Buddhism, Buddhism and Christianity, Liberation Theology, Meditation, and Peace and Buddhism. Then, in Latin America, I could do further studies in Liberation Theology and maybe even do a senior thesis comparing and contrasting Liberation Theology in Latin America and India.