Article on Last Week's Army Vesak Service!

Congratulations Chaplain Malasri for a wonderful Vesak service!

‘It’s good to be different’JBLM Soldier is the first and only active-duty Buddhist chaplain in the U.S. Army
Marisa Petrich/Northwest GuardianPublished: 04:06PM May 12th, 2011
Ingrid Barrentine

Chaplain (Capt.) Somya Malasri, 593rd Sust. Bde., was a monk in Thailand before disrobing to join the Army. Malasri is the first and only active- duty Buddhist chaplain in the Army.

Of all the branch insignia on uniforms at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, one stands out for a unique reason.

Chaplain (Capt.) Somya Malasri’s dharma wheel is one of the most uncommon symbols in the military. He is the first — and currently, the only — active-duty Buddhist chaplain in the Army.

Now with the 593rd Sustainment Brigade at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Malasri is facing the challenges of being a good Soldier, a good Buddhist and a good leader to the Soldiers he came to help.

“It’s good to be different ... We can all connect to each other,” he said.

Originally from Thailand, Malasri entered a Theravada Buddhist temple near Phuket when he was 17 to study Buddhism and meditation. At 21, he became a fully ordained monk, and entered Mahachula Buddhist University to earn his bachelor’s degree.

While he was there, he taught Buddhist philosophy and history to students, and did missionary work in China and India. He eventually became interested in a missionary program that sent monks further abroad.

He applied and was selected from among 200 candidates to go to the United States, serving at temples in Colorado, Utah and Las Vegas. This was where he encountered his first American Soldier.

While working at a temple near Salt Lake City, a Buddhist Soldier came to Malasri for a blessing before he deployed. Later, while he was working at a temple in Las Vegas, Malasri met another Soldier who told him there were no Buddhist services available on base. From there, the decision was made. “OK, I want to be a chaplain,” Malasri said of his thoughts at the time.

In 2005, Malasri applied to be a chaplain. Though he had to wait for an endorsement from the Buddhist Churches of America for his application to be accepted, he didn’t wait to jump into Army life.

Instead he disrobed as a monk (in the Theravada tradition, one cannot be a monk and a Soldier at the same time) and enlisted to get an idea of what it was like to be a Soldier.

In 2006 his application was accepted and he went on to earn his master’s degree and become an ordained Buddhist minister in Los Angeles.

Now that he’s a fully-fledged chaplain at JBLM, he doesn’t regret his decision to leave life as a monk.

“Now I’m happy because I can serve more people,” Malasri said.

Part of his service to others includes providing weekly Buddhist services on base. Spc. Lawrence Ross, 593rd Sust. Bde., attends regularly.

“(It gives me) a sense of belonging, where a group can connect without any animosity of judging,” he said.

Ross, who became a Buddhist in 2008, says that it has helped him become a better Soldier and that having a Buddhist presence on base helps people see another side of the Army.

“It’s not all about kicking down doors and killing people,” he said. “It’s all about helping people. Bottom line.”

This is a sentiment Malasri agrees with. He says he gets asked a lot how he balances being a leader of a famously peaceful religion and being in the armed services. For him, even the least aggressive of people must be able to defend themselves, their property and their rights.

“If you don’t have a Soldier ... you don’t have freedom to practice your own religion,” he said.

Protecting this diversity is important to Malasri.

“We cannot have only one religion,” he said. “For example, we have five fingers. They’re all different (but they all work together).”

Chaplains by the numbers

Active-duty chaplains:

1,653: total

1,532: Protestant

98: Catholic

10: Jewish

6: Eastern Orthodox

6: Muslim

1: Buddhist

A surprise wedding

Every couple wants their wedding day to be one to remember, and Pfc. Jon Ruh, 593rd Sust. Bde., and Sheena Scott’s was one for the record books.

The couple was married at JBLM’s first annual Vesak Day celebration at Lewis North Chapel Saturday — and the best part? No one attending the event knew it was coming.

“Every wedding should be unique in its own way,” Scott said.

After a ceremony celebrating the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha and several traditional Cambodian and Thai dances, an unannounced guest (Ruh) was invited to the front. He was followed by Scott, wearing a wedding dress and holding a bouquet.

No one outside the Ruh and Scott’s small group of family and friends and Chaplain (Capt.) Somya Malasri, 593rd Sust. Bde., knew they’d be going to a wedding that day.

The couple is not Buddhist, but were happy to be married as part of the Vesak celebrations.

“We thought it would be kind of special because of that,” Ruh said.

If you go: Buddhist services are held every Sunday from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Lewis North Chapel. For information, contact Chaplain Somya Malasri at 967-4046 or somya.malasri@us.army.mil

News Article on Army Vesak Celebration

A nice writeup in the Northwest Guardian (newspaper for Joint Base Lewis-McChord) this week!

Vesak celebration special part of Buddhist tradition
Marisa Petrich/Northwest Guardian
Published: 09:25PM May 5th, 2011 Marisa Petrich: marisa.petrich@nwguardian.com
The birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha will be celebrated at Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s first ever Vesak Day celebration at Lewis North Chapel on Saturday.

“The event is very special in the Buddhist calendar,” said Chaplain Somya Malasri, who is coordinating the day’s activities.

In fact, it’s the most important day of the year in Theravada Buddhism, the primary denomination in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka. But this event isn’t just for the Buddhist community on base. Everyone is invited to come learn and celebrate.

Malasri’s choosing to hold the celebrations a little earlier than usual — Vesak falls on May 17 this year, but the event on Saturday will allow community members and local monks to get involved.

“I’d like to invite the monks from off post to celebrate together,” he said.

The free event will include traditional Buddhist chanting, blessings and food. Cambodian, Thai and Vietnamese dance groups have been invited to perform.

There will also be a five-minute meditation session.

“They can find peace of mind while they’re here, so they get something,” Malasri said.

In the end, the event will give the whole base community the chance to get to know their neighbors and get a taste of what Buddhism is all about.

Vesak Day will be at Lewis North Chapel Saturday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. For more information contact Chaplain Somya Malasri at somya.malasri@us.army.mil or at 365-8753.

Current Buddhist Military Chaplains

Noticed erroneous information in a NY Times article today, which stated that there is only one Buddhist chaplain in the U.S. Armed Forces. This is incorrect: We have THREE commissioned Chaplains who have served or are serving on Active Duty: myself, Chaplain Somya Malasri, and Chaplain Thomas Dyer. We are all endorsed by the Buddhist Churches of America, which is (yes) a religious organization.

Soldier 360°

There is growing interest in meditation in the U.S. Armed Forces: From Army Times:

Soldier 360° teaches holistic healing
By John Ryan - Staff editor
Posted : Saturday Apr 23, 2011 8:20:12 EDT
An Army program has adopted some old Eastern practices to help allay modern post-combat stress. The Soldier 360° program in Germany is teaching soldiers and their spouses how to deal with trauma and rebuild relationships using holistic tactics, including yoga, acupuncture and meditation.

“This course has taught me that you do not have to know all the answers or be perfect — just be open-minded, forgiving, and respectful of each other’s individual differences,” Chief Warrant Officer Wendy King, who recently completed the course, said in an April 7 news release.

THE DETAILS

Learn more about Soldier 360°

Here’s what you need to know about Soldier 360°:

360° AWARENESS
Like the Army-wide Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program, a holistic plan to help improve the physical, social, spiritual, emotional and familial aspects of troops’ lives, Soldier 360° also offers soldiers tools to help regain physical health and “psychological readiness” before the onset of more serious post-deployment problems.

BREAKING THE CYCLE
Through a series of seminars and activities led by instructors and experts, the program ushers noncommissioned officers and spouses through a six-phase, behavior-modifying process called “learn, do, practice, model, teach, and change,” according to the Combined Arms Training Center in Grafenwoehr, Germany, which offers the course.

PUSH THE PAUSE BUTTON
The program strives to derail soldiers from well-traveled paths toward addiction and depression after surviving combat. It highlights methods to manage stress, anger, pain and booze, and relays techniques to relax, eat right and express oneself in journals and through humor. Soldiers are also encouraged to push pause during life to reduce stress and refocus.

RIPPLE EFFECT
Back at their units, graduates of the program are expected to pass on coping techniques to subordinates and peers struggling with stress or anxiety, or guide them to get help.

“Every community is unique and soldiers need to be familiar with the agencies available to provide them support,” said Col. Mary S. Lopez, director of strategic initiatives for a medical command in Germany.

BROADER REACH
The year-old program has been targeted at staff sergeants, the rank of most squad leaders, because its organizers believe they have the “greatest impact on the health and wellness of the unit.” But, according to the Combined Arms Training Center, the program can be expanded to other Army groups.

Hanamatsuri 2011

A Happy Hanamatsuri to all our blog readers! May we all recommit ourselves to the Dharma teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha in this year.

Namu Kie Butsu (I take refuge in Buddha)
Namu Kie Ho (I take refuge in Dharma)
Namu Kie So (I take refuge in Sangha)

Operation Tomodachi

From the San Diego Union-Tribune:

BY JEANETTE STEELE, UNION-TRIBUNE
THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2011 AT 9:09 P.M.


Marines from Camp Pendleton’s 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment clear debris piled up on Oshima Island in Japan. U.S. Marines

The Marines taught Cpl. Adam Shatarsky to use his field shovel to dig fighting holes.

In Japan, however, the Camp Pendleton Marine found himself using it to rescue photographs and family heirlooms from piles of rubble.

Shatarsky knew nothing would be quite normal after arriving in Oshima, the Japanese island where 300 Marines spent the past week righting boats and clearing away homes toppled by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

“One of the things that struck me right off the bat, there was a car flipped upside down on top of a tree,” said the 29-year-old Marine from Camp Pendleton’s 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.

“I’ve never seen anything like that before. The very first thing that stuck out in my mind was — there’s a lot to be done here.”

The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit was dispatched as part of the U.S. military’s recovery effort in Japan, called Operation Tomodachi or Operation Friends.

With it went about 1,200 San Diego County Marines who supply the unit’s infantry contingent.

The San Diego-based aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan and its support ships were among the first American ships on the scene along Japan’s damaged northeast coast. After three weeks of assistance, the Reagan group departed this week.

A 7.1-magnitude aftershock that hit Thursday did not damage any U.S. military assets or harm American troops, the Pentagon said.

About 45 miles from earthquake’s epicenter, Oshima got a wallop from the March 11 tsunami waves. Passenger ferries that service the island’s towns washed ashore, landing 400 feet up the beach, according to the Marines.

The island became a snarl of destruction. The Japanese forces couldn’t dock to help the 3,000 townspeople; there was too much debris in the water.

Enter the Marines.

They arrived in landing craft that are intended to deliver boots onto beaches. Dating to World War II, these vessels put down a ramp and Marines troop out.

Cpl. Seth McConville, a 22-year-old from Murrieta, said it was immediately clear to him that the hand of friendship would need a sturdy working glove.

“Anything you could see was destroyed and pulled toward the water, or in the water. Definitely, no one was landing there besides us,” he said.

“That’s when a couple of us were like, ‘Oh, man, this place is wrecked.’ ”

Arriving Saturday, the Marines dug in. They began clearing roads and bays.

It was cold work, with snow fluttering down some days. They slept in tents and ate prepackaged meals.

Initially, the shellshocked Oshima citizens watched from a respectful distance, waving and offering thank-yous in shaky English.

But as the Marines attacked the mess with shovels, rakes, even garden hoes, the Japanese residents started coming around.

“When they got used to us being there, and seeing what we were all about, they started coming down with personal requests,” said Shatarsky, who lives in Huntington Beach.

The residents had belongings in the homes that were now, quite literally, upside down. Before the bulldozers turned the houses into piles, the owners hoped to retrieve their irreplaceables.

“The people didn’t have the strength to get in there and pull that stuff out,” said unit spokesman Capt. Caleb Eames, in a telephone interview from the amphibious assault ship Essex.

“It took the Marines to climb in there and pull stuff out of the way, and to lift up corners of broken roofs to get in there and pull the stuff out,” he said.

“I personally watched one lady just in tears, thanking these guys for saving a family heirloom, a big tub for making sushi,” Eames said.

It was five days of elbow grease.

In addition to the troops on the ground, Marine helicopters delivered supplies to the shore and flew reconnaissance missions.

In recent days, American troops arrived with portable hot shower units. The delivery meant the first hot showers for residents in weeks.

Schooled as a mortar man, Shatarsky said none of his training as a Marine really applied to this situation.

But, he added, it didn’t matter.

“Toward the end, it wasn’t like the Japanese and the Marines were separated. It was kind of like everyone coming together,” he said.

“And I don’t think people need training for that. I think in a time of need, people just come together.”

Operation Tomodachi

Since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, U.S. military forces have been providing humanitarian assistance under Operation Tomodachi, or Operation Friends.

U.S. 7th Fleet forces have delivered more than 260 tons of relief supplies and flown more than 160 aerial reconnaissance and search sorties.

Involved in the effort

• Four ships – the Essex, Tortuga, Blue Ridge and Safeguard

• 54 aircraft

• 4,295 personnel, including about 1,200 Marines from a Camp Pendleton infantry battalion serving with a unit assigned to the Essex

Previously involved

The San Diego-based Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group, which includes the Chancellorsville, Preble, Shiloh and Curtis Wilbur, ended active support this week.

Vesak Day at Ft Lewis

From Chaplain Somya Malasri: Vesak Day Celebration at Ft. Lewis, Washington. Time/Date: 7 May 2011 1400-1600.