Interview with Luke Henkel of Order of Interbeing Plum Village

The Apartheid-Free Communities movement is proud to represent a vibrant and diverse coalition of over 780 communities. Among the nearly 200 faith-based communities and congregations in our network, there are 15 Buddhist groups who are a part of our universal call to end Israeli apartheid. As Luke Henkel, an abbot in the Order of Interbeing Plum Village tradition, points out in his interview below, the Buddhist faith seeks to understand that “the sufferings of the world are deeply interconnected with each other.” This principle of “interbeing” is the very foundation of his community.

The Order of Interbeing was established in 1966 in Saigon by the renowned peace activist and Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. Founded in the midst of the Vietnam War, its origins are deeply rooted in engaged action to relieve suffering. The first six members were students and colleagues of Thich Nhat Hanh who were already risking their lives in humanitarian projects. By joining the Order, they dedicated themselves to a path of mindfulness, ethical behavior, and compassionate action in society—a commitment that directly aligns with the goals of the Apartheid-Free movement.

To read more Palestine resources from Buddhist communities, you can view the Palestine activist resource list that was put together for Plum Villages across the U.S. here as well as this Palestine Dharma toolkit and resource list for all Buddhist communities.

[Interview has been shortened and edited for clarity] 

Tell us about your community and why the Order of Interbeing Plum Village chose to become an Apartheid-Free Community? 

Luke: The [Order of Interbeing Plum Village] was founded by a Vietnamese Buddhist and peace warrior named Thich Nhat Hanh. He devoted his life to trying to end the Vietnam War. He had this idea of “interbeing” as a way to engage with social issues, with all the violence and crises of the world. He taught that you can’t personally take care of the genocide or other major issues if you aren’t able to manage your anger, rage, and destructive tendencies, which everybody has. Interbeing teaches us that not being able to manage those internal tendencies will translate into war and conflict on a global scale. And so interbeing is this idea that what we’re seeing outside in the world is connected with what’s happening inside our hearts, in our minds, in our interpersonal relationships. We train as practitioners to learn how to take care of anger, cultivate peace and loving kindness, and always work from a place of nonviolent communication and compassionate dialogue. 

So given our values and history, we’re always working on our inner selves, we’re always socially engaged and advocating to end the genocide in Gaza and other violent conflicts, and that’s why we signed the Apartheid-Free pledge.  

How does your community apply those values to your advocacy for Palestine? 

Luke: We train around mindfulness of body, and mindfulness of emotions, and how this all relates to how we engage with the genocide. Our mindfulness training is all about looking inward. What does activism actually mean? Am I working from a place of rage? Am I working from a place of fear? Some of our practices involve taking care of anger. The first one that we start with is reverence for life: I’m aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, or in my way of life. So this training offers a way for me to understand my activism, to understand my own source of strength in fighting against massive, painful, seemingly unending things like the genocide in Gaza.  

What are the biggest challenges that your community has faced in the past year and a half?   

Luke: Sometimes we’ve struggled with a sense of hopelessness and despair. Looking back to last March, one of the really immense challenges was dealing with misinformation. People were claiming that numbers were being fabricated, or were constantly having conversations around what counts as a genocide. I remember having many conversations with people about that specifically.  

Those arguments about numbers and definitions are just distractions from the real root of the problem, which is war and violence. Instead, the media cycles were just acting like a smokescreen. We can’t get to a point of nonviolence, loving speech, or compassionate listening, if we’re not able to break past the distractions and false information from the media and the news. All of that is meant to keep us from speaking and listening deeply. It’s a huge challenge, and I think it’s very purposeful. There are very real reasons why they want us to be distracted by this debate around accuracy, because it keeps us from making significant progress against the genocide.  

How has your Buddhist faith impacted your dedication to the Apartheid-Free Pledge?  

Luke: What resonates with me so deeply about the teachings of interbeing is this idea that all thec. When I initially started protesting with Palestinian American Youth Coalition for Justice in Chicago, it was because I was very moved by the connections between the genocide in Gaza and what’s happening in Myanmar. There’s war that’s been going on there for years, and it’s a conflict that’s very personal to me because I lived in Myanmar for some time and have very close friends there. 

So, for me, ending apartheid, ending the genocide, is just one example of the ways that we can work towards peace everywhere. That’s a very Buddhist concept, this idea that we’re working for peace, not just for one conflict, not just for one group of people, but that it’s all related.  

What motivates you specifically to keep doing your work? 

Luke: There’s many different layers to why I’m drawn into this work. I’ve always been strongly social justice oriented; before moving to the [Order of Interbeing Plum Village], I was working in Catholic and interfaith spaces, mobilizing communities to take action for the climate. But when I was living in Myanmar, and elsewhere in Asia, it helped me see that all these global issues are connected. I saw very clearly that many of these geopolitical conflicts are caused by the increasing climate disasters, and the reverse is also true that war creates climate disasters and destroys the environment. If we’re at war with each other, we’re at war with the planet. All these issues are connected.

What advice would you give to a young person wanting to take action on these issues?   

Luke: I would encourage activists of any age to consider that they might be going at this work with a lot of intensity, convinced that their personal actions are going to actually make the difference, bring peace, or stop the genocide. And it doesn’t work that way. It’s important to nourish yourself, understand why you’re doing this in the first place. Maybe take some time to understand why you’re feeling so strongly. Look at yourself, your reactions, and maintain a bigger picture. If you can remain aware that your actions might not actually have the effect you want, that there may be no discernible outcome from your work, and still be okay to keep working for peace, you’ll be able to maintain that inner clarity in your social justice work.