| This study explored the differences between a culture of hatred and a culture of peace through the transformative stories of 5 primary research participants who discovered peace out of various experiences of hatred, abuse, and aversion. An autoethnographic method was used that recognized the interdependence of subject and object, the primacy of meaning over truth, and the value of artistic, literary work. Themes were identified with a coconstructed, reflexive interview process. The themes were presented as a methodological novel telling the transformative journeys of the research participants with the intention to stimulate an embodied response from readers. Academic interludes provide deeper discussions around the themes through Buddhist philosophies of mind. These common themes include compassion, gratitude, and release of self-fixation. The distinction of cultures of peace and hatred were found insignificant and cultures of captivity and freedom were proposed. |
