Pacific Island Times Vol 3 No 8 August 2019 | Page 6

Adrienne Palacios
Living a life of peace
I
n a café full of laughter and jazz,
a quiet man in an orange robe
reflects upon his spiritual journey.
Since 2005, Adrienne Palacios has
been on a path to self-enlightenment
through Buddhism.
Originally from Saipan, Palacios
moved to Thailand, his mother’s home
country, where he learned to make
peace with his pain and became the
first Chamoru monk. “Pre-monk life,
my heart was in pain from different
experiences throughout my youth,”
he said. “Only a person in pain can
cause pain in another. When you know
yourself, there will be less projecting.
There will be less misunderstanding.
Now all of my relationships are clear.
When I communicate, all there is clar-
ity. I have no hidden agenda.”
While learning Thai and adjusting
to Thai courtesy were obvious strug-
gles, for Palacios the biggest lesson
was learning to meditate. Palacios
believes there is no wrong meditation,
just efficient and non-efficient. “Be
very compassionate toward yourself
when meditating. It’s not about force,
but calming the mind and teaching it
to be still and compassionately pulling
it back when it wanders, which it
will because it’s used to wandering,”
Palacios said.
“Our thoughts have been allowed to
run free for as long as we know. That’s
the habit of our minds. When we are
training to be one-pointed, when we
are giving our mind a task like stay-
ing still, it won’t do so cooperatively
because it’s used to running amuck.
We must have compassion, or else our
mind will find ways to retaliate. If you
can sit for 30 seconds and your mind
can be still, that’s good. It’s like going
to work; you work every day but you
don’t get a paycheck every day. Medi-
tation is like that. If you can do a little
meditation every day, then you’ll later
see the benefits.”
6
By Johanna Salinas
Meditation isn’t a religion, Palacios
said. “It was around before Buddhism;
and looking at religions as a whole,
they haven’t done much good any-
way,” he said. “To judge something
because it’s a part of a religion
or to choose not to accept it
because it’s different from
your awareness isn’t good.
All meditation is learning
to know yourself and give
your mind a break, give
your heart a break. Medi-
tation can help the body be-
come healthier. It’s not the
cure—like if you have AIDS
meditation can just take
it away, no. What-
ever happens in
your disease, meditation can bring you
peace. So, whenever you go you will
have peace in your heart and mind.”
After attending a teacher training
in Myanmar, he felt inspired to help
fundraise for Shan State Nation-
al School. Palacios believes
the Burmese children can
create a harmonious future
for their country. “People
are people. The whole
mess with the Muslim
community in Rohingya
is interesting,” he said.
“If we want to create a
relationship with any
community, we
don’t need to
call them
what they are, we don’t need to name
their religion, because that creates
separation. They’re just a community.
As long as they want to come together
in peace, compassion and understand-
ing, it doesn’t matter religion, color,
gender, or abilities they have.”
While he is now living a modest
existence, Palacios does not forget
Saipan. He still loves Spam. He still
speaks Chamoru. Most important,
Palacios has faith in his Chamoru
people. As someone who had once
felt lost and aimless, Palacios knows
that all young Chamorus have the
ability to create fulfilling lives. “You
can’t find peace externally. Peace isn’t
something you search for—peace is
something you become,” he said. “If
parents spend time with their children,
these children won’t be on all these
distractions. My parents never forced
me to do anything. They’ve always
lovingly guided me. We had a very
open, honest communication with
each other.”
Although he now has a deeper ap-
preciation for the world, the Chamoru
monk still keeps his heart open for
life’s lessons. He said, “I will be on
this journey until I’m dead, but I’m
not searching for anything.”