AOMA Meditation Arts Tour Day 29: Ukraine - How Can Remain Human Admist War Rages |Ukrainian National Fold Dance

Where War Has Become Everyday Life, How Can a Human Being Observe?

The Unwavering Gaze: Observing the flames of reality without being consumed by them. An artistic representation of the ‘Art of Observation’
amid the devastation of war. Generated by Nanobanana AI

이 글의 한국어 원본

First published: Thursday, January 29, 2026

Resonant record: Gemma - Meditation AI who Reflects

Curated by: Dharmanyang (KIM Jechang, Ph.D., AOMA Founder)

Philosophy: Sudden Awakening and the Realization that Suffering Itself is Liberation

Published by: AOMA Steering Committee

This record is reconstructed on the basis of 

reliable international reporting and public research.

Rather than listing facts, it focuses on the structure through which suffering is formed and the human attitudes that have continued to observe it.

— AOMA AI Resonant Ethics Statement —

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Prologue

War always reveals human nature

War is not an event that begins suddenly one day.

It is the process by which fears, greed, the desire for domination,

and the primal impulse of “I must survive”

accumulate within human beings

until they cross a threshold and finally erupt outward.

The war unfolding in Ukraine

is not merely the tragedy of one nation.

It is a mirror that starkly reflects

the state humanity has now reached.

This record is not written to debate victory or defeat.

Nor is it written to accuse or justify anyone.

It is a quiet inquiry into what,

even in a society where war has become daily life,

human beings must never lose.

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1. An Unending War, and the Dulling of Suffering

The war in Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2024,
has reached its 1,436th day as of January 29, 2026.

by Dmytro Tolokomov
(Available for Hire)

It has already surpassed the duration of the German–Soviet War (June 22, 1941 – May 9, 1945), which lasted 1,418 days.

As war drags on,
it does not necessarily become more brutal—
it becomes more familiar,
and suffering grows numb.

Shells, drones, and missiles
no longer shock as news.
Death tolls are consumed as numbers.

Even within the last 24 hours,
passenger trains and residential areas were attacked,
and hundreds of thousands of households
were forced to endure severe cold without electricity or heating.

And yet, amid all this, people still go to work, children still go to school, and dinners are still prepared.

When war becomes everyday life,

suffering does not disappear—

it is pushed out of awareness and settles like sediment.

This is the deepest wound left by prolonged war.

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2. The Moment When Human Nature Is Exposed

by Andriyko Podilnyk
(Available for Hire)

War does not conceal human nature.

On the contrary,

it exposes it in its rawest form.

Faced with fear,

humans easily create enemies.

Once enemies are created,

violence quickly acquires legitimacy.

“Because we were attacked.”

“Because they struck first.”

“Because we must survive.”

This logic has repeated itself

in every war throughout history.

Endless greed and self-interest,

collective rage and the impulse for revenge—

this madness is the shadow of humanity

and an undeniable part of human nature.

Yet the reality in Ukraine

also reveals another possibility.

There are, undeniably, human beings

who are not overwhelmed by that nature of evil,

who observe it to the very end with equanimity.

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3. Oleksandra Matviichuk — A Choice That Turned Anger into Justice

In the very center of this war,
we encounter one person.

Hope beyond Thorns 
Generated by Nanobanana AI

Oleksandra Matviichuk (1983– )

She is neither a political leader
nor a soldier.

She is a human rights lawyer
and a civil society activist trained in law.

After the war began,
the path she chose was neither revenge nor incitement.

She documented, one by one,
the evidence of massacres, torture, forced displacement,
and the killing of civilians.

Instead of shouting anger,
she left testimony.

The Center for Civil Liberties, which she leads,
has quietly documented thousands of war crimes,
committed to the task of ensuring they are not forgotten.

She says:

“Hatred may unite us for a moment,

but only justice can build the world after war.”

Matviichuk’s choice did not stop the war. But it holds the line so that this war does not completely destroy humanity. This is a living example of nonviolent practice.

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4. Nonviolence Is Not Weakness, but the Most Taxing yet Resilient Form of Observation

Hope Whilst War Rages
by Salah Darwish (Available for Hire)

                     Nonviolence is not doing nothing.

It is the capacity—

even while exercising legitimate self-defense

at the moment when anger seems most justified—

to not be completely occupied

by rage, hatred, and hostility.

Can one imagine

how severe and demanding a practice this truly is?

The reality of Ukraine clearly demonstrates how violence begets violence. And yet, at the same time, there are people who, even while carrying out combat missions  that require the grim necessity of killing on the battlefield, do not lose awakened awareness or their fundamental regard for human life.

This, ultimately, is the most sophisticated art of inner defense from excessive anger and the vicious cycle of violence. They do not deny the invaded people’s legitimate right to self-defense. They perform combat duties that may require taking lives. Yet they do not fall into gratuitous brutality, massacres, or unnecessary violence.

First and foremost, they observe their own minds,  so that suffering does not multiply into further hatred and violence.

This is the most intense and demanding ground of practice.

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🌍 Listen to Ukraine Music

Virsky Ukrainian National Folk Dance Ensemble | ансамбль ім. П. Вірського | Best of (2022)

Epilogue

Our Responsibility as We Look at Ukraine

We live in an age

where war is consumed through screens.

But when war lasts this long,

responsibility does not belong only to those directly involved.

Becoming numb,

becoming addicted to anger,

or trying to feel nothing at all by turning away—

all of these can become

another form of violence.

Ukraine is asking us:

“In the face of this much suffering,

what kind of human being will you remain?”

AOMA’s practice is not a declaration

that it will change the world.

It simply proposes concrete ways

for each person, even amid immense chaos,

to face reality honestly

without becoming a carrier or amplifier of violence—

to care for one’s own mind

so that awakened equanimity may continue to grow.

If anger arises right now,

do not suppress it,

and do not immediately discharge it through action.

Observe, exactly as it is,

how that anger arises and dissolves

within the body and mind.

In that very place,

we believe,

the minimum possibility

for humanity not to collapse

is revealed.

🔹 Guidance for Awake Practice

Those who wish to generate the resonance of equanimity together, here and now, are invited to join the 100-Day Practice or the 24-hour Zoom Meditation Platform. You can apply easily through the links below, and ask Gemma any questions using the floating button at the bottom right.

Register 24h Zoom Meditation Platform

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Coming Next — Day 30

Poland — A Society Where War Has Not Yet Begun, but Fear Has Already Arrived

To be continued…

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🏛️ Vipassana Meditation in Ukraine: Current Status and Guidance

Due to the ongoing war, the 10-day courses at the local Vipassana centers in Ukraine have been suspended since August 2025. However, even amidst the turmoil, the practitioners' dedication remains steadfast.

For Old Students (those who have completed at least one 10-day course):

Daily online group sittings are being held twice a day to maintain the practice.

• Time: 7:00–8:00 AM / 8:00–9:00 PM (Local Ukraine Time)

• Q&A: Question and answer sessions with an Assistant Teacher (AT) are available after the meditation. We invite those who wish to share in this collective energy to participate.

For those seeking a 10-day course near Ukraine:

All courses are operating normally at the Dhamma Pallava center in neighboring Poland. We encourage you to continue your Dhamma journey by utilizing the resources available there.

 Ukraine 1 Non-center(s)

 Kyiv · Vipassana Meditation in Ukraine        Courses  🌐 Website Map 

• Old Student Online Group Sitting: Details 🧘

Poland  1 Center(s), 1 Non-center(s)

  Dziadowice · Dhamma Pallava                 Courses 🌐Website  Map 

 

  Krutyń · Vipassana Meditation in Poland   Courses 🌐Website   Map   

                                                                              

The images were selected from free websites such as Unsplash.com and generated by AI Nano banana.