Is Mindfulness a Religion? “It is easy to imagine the benefits of a Buddhist police force: wiser, cooler heads to

keep the peace in America’s embattled streets, or perhaps a kinder, gentler traffic

cop. But in Madison, Wisconsin, police captain Cheri Maples argues that the most

compelling reason to teach police officers the Buddhist practice of mindfulness is

to better equip them to deal with the emotional and mental stress that comes with

the job. A nineteen-year police veteran who has participated in several retreats with

famed Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh, Maples has experienced for herself the

benefits of mindfulness practice. Determined to bring the practice to her

colleagues, she organized a visit by Thich Nhat Hanh, who led a five-day

nonsectarian retreat for civil servants and their families at Green Lake Conference

Center outside of Madison.

But not all are so pleased with the idea of police officers and other civil servants

attending retreats. Americans United for the Separation Between Church and State

(AU) has expressed its view that offering such a retreat is a violation of the First

Amendment’s proscription against state-sponsored religion. AU claims that it is

unconstitutional for the government to encourage its employees to attend a

religious retreat, and notes that eyebrows would be raised if officers were

encouraged to attend Bible study groups or an Islamic retreat. AU demanded the

retreat’s cancellation.” —Tricycle