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In a dimly-lit chapel, the smell of incense wafts through the air as Electronics Technician 1st Class Jeremy Harris sets up prayer bells and beads before taking a seat in the front of the room. Then, the mechanical roar, thump, and whoosh of a Super Hornet tearing down a catapult on the flight deck above - a noise and sensation that would cause anyone to instinctually duck for cover - shakes the lighting in the room. The Buddhist lay leader does not flinch.
Harris, from Chantilly, Virginia, is a leading petty officer in the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis’ (CVN 74) Reactor department’s reactor controls division, and has been the ship’s Buddhist lay leader since May 2017.
“I wasn’t born a Buddhist, I actually found the practice by accident,” said Harris. “One day while I was stationed in New Jersey as a recruiter, I was playing a cell phone game that inadvertently led me to the front door of a Buddhist temple. I was curious about the practice, so I knocked on the door and a monk inside taught me about meditation.”
Harris said the monk explained to him that Buddhism is not a religion, it is a practice, and that it does not add deities or go against any existing religion. One basis of the practice is the lotus mantra, which focuses on devoting yourself to being the best version of ‘you’ that you can be.
Merging the lotus mantra into his Navy career wasn’t simple, but it was imperative that he make a change.
“I wasn’t genuinely happy,” said Harris. “I had a negative outlook on life and thought that if I’m not happy where I am now, why would I be happy elsewhere? Happiness comes from within and meditating calms my mind, helping me interact with coworkers and strangers with sincerity and purpose.”
Anyone can meditate anywhere, even though the benefits might not be immediately apparent.
“[Meditation] is a lot like working out,” said Harris. “You may not see dividends right away, but the benefits happen over time. The more you meditate, the better you get at finding a sense of inner calmness and peacefulness.”
Approaching the practice with an open mind is essential and meditating often leaves those who try it with a desire to find out more.
"One of my shipmates recommended that I try meditating, and that’s what led me to the lay service,” said Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Dakota Livermore, from Apple Valley, California, a Weapons department Sailor on temporary assigned duty status from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). “I can’t believe how relaxed I feel and I look forward to coming back.”
Although images of seated monks in mountaintop monasteries often come to mind when thinking of Buddhism, finding inner peace knows no physical location. The mental trek for tranquility can be challenging even in the most serene locations, let alone with the clamor of daily shipboard life. Despite cacophony of life at sea, dedicated Sailors remain committed to the ancient practice with the goal of improving their mental health and interpersonal relationships.
The John C. Stennis is deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
For more news on John C. Stennis, visit www.stennis.navy.mil or follow along on Facebook at www.facebook.com/stennis74.
| Date Taken: | 01.31.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 02.05.2019 02:06 |
| Story ID: | 309509 |
| Location: | INDIAN OCEAN |
| Web Views: | 156 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Inner Peace in the Indian Ocean, by PO2 Jacob L. Greenberg, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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