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There are lots of ideas about what a “Spiritual Warrior” might be; but what prompted me to write this post was that yesterday at Travis Air Force Base I got into a conversation with a U.S. Army Chaplain about his role as a spiritual person being in the military. Spiritual people are often thought of as people who embrace peace and the military, for the most part, is about war.

I think that it is great that we have Priests, Rabbi’s, and Ministers who want to serve in the military; the guy I was talking to was a Major and a Catholic Priest and I wondered if there was any conflict in his conscience about being a military warrior and a priest?

He told me that someone needed to be there on the battlefield to bring a spiritual ministry to soldiers, keep their morals in tact, offer spiritual guidance, and give comfort and last rites when needed. He said he saw himself as a priest first and a soldier second.

Like I said I think its’ great that there are military chaplains, but what I was told was that some military chaplains are often in forward operating bases in a combat zone and they have the option to carry a firearm; some choose to while I’m told others wouldn’t under any circumstance, but the majority of chaplains are not directly involved in military combat..

We always hear talk about acting in a spiritual way; is this or that considered spiritual, etc. I do understand that Saint Peter, upon whom the Catholic Church was founded, was a Roman soldier. It may also be considered a test of a person’s faith to minister in the worst possible circumstances.

To be a prison chaplain for instance; ministering to murderers, rapist, child molesters, etc., I would think that would also be difficult. I was a medic in the U.S. Army and I am grateful that I did not have to take life, but I do understand being in a kill or be killed situation. If I had to kill someone; no matter what the circumstance; it would weigh heavy on my conscience for the rest of my life.

I used to work with combat veterans who had PTSD and a lot of it was about taking life or seeing life taken; even today in their 60’s and 70’s there are World War II and Vietnam vets who still have bad dreams about this. One guy I was counseling told me how he saw the faces of those whom he had killed 40 years ago in crowds of people today when he walked down the street. Some of it is due to self imposed guilt; as I had one Christian guy tell me that he thought he was going to hell because of the lives he took while serving in a military combat situation. He was much older now and simply could not forgive himself. Can you forgive yourself for things you did in your youth? Many can not, and imagine if among those things was the taking of human life. Yes, I do understand how we need to let go and let God.

When I was in the military people were being drafted, and I remember people who were “conscientious objectors,” many who were pacifist that had been drafted. When they were put in a combat situation they gave up their pacifism. In a kill or be killed situation what are you suppose to do?

I talked to a Buddhist monk about this once and was simply told that it was that person’s karma to be in the military; take life, and suffer from the experience of having taken life. I guess it was also the karma of some to die in battle. As I’ve stated many times here before in this group I think that the origins of war in this world stem from the battle which rages inside of us.

Whether it is domestic violence within the home, a fist fight in a schoolyard, or gang violence on the streets, in my opinion, these are all remnants of killing people on the battlefield in some military conflict. But I will also say that peace is much more than just the absence of war; still I wonder if a person can be at peace while participating in a war?

There is a Zen Buddhist koan which says: “Love is harmony, even in discord.” Its meaning requires meditation and thought.