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------------------------------
The
Urban Dharma Newsletter... October 15, 2002
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In
This Issue:
1.
Meditation for Peace
2. In Quest of Peace Through Buddhism ...By Dr. Ashon Nayaka
3. Buddhist Ideas For Attaining World Peace ...Ron Epstein
4. Buddhism and Peace
5. Book Review: The Art of Forgiveness,
Lovingkindness, and Peace ...
Jack Kornfield
6. Temple/Center of the Week: Peace and
Conflict Research Centers, Institutes, Organizations & Networks.
-------------------------------
1.
Meditation for Peace
*
http://www.millenniumpeacesummit.org/buddha_description.html
All
beings tremble before violence.
All fear death.
All love life
See yourself in others.
Then whom can you hurt?
What harm can you do?
He who seeks happiness
By hurting those who seek happiness
Will
never find happiness.
For
your brother is like you.
He
wants to be happy.
Never
harm him
And when you leave this life
You
too will find happiness.
2.
In Quest of Peace Through Buddhism ...By
Dr. Ashon Nayaka
*
http://arakan.homestead.com/files/Flowers/In_Quest_of_Peace_Through_Buddhism.htm
Buddhism
is based on the cardinal principles of universal love and friendship.
Human welfare and a life module to work for human welfare and
peace are the supreme concerns of Buddhism.
The
people all over the world are now realizing that the world is
at the threshold of self-destruction through nuclear holocaust
and the methods of chemical and biological warfare can eliminate
life from the surface of the earth. Therefore, the need of Buddha’s
message of compassion and peace today is more then ever before.
The contribution of Buddhism lies in the form of love, compassion
and fraternity for all living beings, equality of man/woman
and principles of non-violence and also in the rational approach
in solving human problems.
Majority
of the society throughout the world is still suffering with
burning problems like poverty, starvation, ill health, ignorance,
and negligence to helpless, injustice, inequality and interference.
Industrialization and commercialization have come in the way
between nature and man hampering the ecological balance with
environmental pollution. The world today, is said to have progressed
in almost all fields i.e. in scientific discoveries and technical
inventions, in political, social and cultural thoughts and in
religious matters. In religious fields there have been many
approaches in finding truth and searching for peace.
Society,
science and religion/spirituality are interlinked and each of
them has its bearing on others as well as on the economy of
the time. Science and spirituality deal with the search for
the truth. Science has produced many wonders and its pageant
of endless discoveries has changed the course of life of mankind.
But it has failed to reveal the very purpose of life, which
is total freedom from miseries, and achievement of ultimate
bliss. This is the sole aim and object of all of our efforts
and all the religions aims at it. The spirituality that has
no bearing on everyday life of the society of the time is just
a showpiece; spiritual truth cannot be separated from social
realities. All religious teachers reflected all the solutions
to the problems of life here in this world and hereafter. The
moral lesson they conveyed to people was often related to the
eternal challenges of life and living. The real solution of
endless human miseries in ultimate analysis was and will be
spiritual.
Our
historical Buddha was deeply moved by human sufferings of birth
sickness, contact with unfavorable person and things, separation
from dear ones, old age and death. It was the agony of the inevitable
sufferings of human life that took him to quest for deliverance
from miseries through dispassionate conduct and view of the
worldly life vis-à-vis self-indulgence and self-mortification.
Buddhism
centers around the man and his sufferings. Its main purpose
is to release the human beings from their endless sufferings.
It “ satisfies the reason and the heart alike, insists
on self reliance coupled with tolerance for the other point
of view, embraces science, religion, philosophy, psychology,
ethics and arts, and points to man alone as the creator of his
present life and sole designer of his destiny.
Buddhism
as the most rational and pragmatic religion aims at the promotion
of all varied zests and interests of life values in the society.
It teaches how the individual and social life can be best as
the enlightened life; care freed, detached and released life
with full of far sights and insights. The descriptive analysis
of the application of Buddhism in the hurry-burry life of the
Lay-devotees and of the monastic life, would convince us of
its practical and the applied ethical values in social, economical,
political, intellectual, moral and spiritual. Its most tolerant,
philosophy would unfold its pure nature of how it influences
the members of our family, relatives, friends, associates and
community in a large perspective and help us to conquer all
obstacles for progress and to achieve the ideal goal of absolute
perfection of Nibbana-existence.
The
Buddha guided us to live a fully awakened life by practice of
moral precepts and remaining fully mindful about our own thoughts,
speeches, feelings and actions etc. and developing the habit
of keeping the mind present with the present moment instead
of allowing it to stroll in the past memories or future imaginations.
The Buddha has shown the path to one and all whoever cares to
follow it and enjoy it fruits rights here in these very life.
So it is now up to all of us what we follow, how and how much
we follow the shown by the Buddha for developing our own human
values to live a happy, peaceful, contended and fearless life.
Let
us examine, what the word ‘peace’ is actually meant
for? Generally speaking, ‘peace’ means, Harmony,
Concord, Tranquility, Undisturbed state of mind, Absence of
Mental conflict, Freedom from war and Civil strife, Quarrels
and Disagreement, etc. It reveals that, Peace has two-fold meaning
like inner-peace and outer peace or external peace. In other
words, peace means peace in the hearts of the people and peace
all around. Whatever be the impact of the word peace, every
human beings inclusive of all sentient beings are loving and
on one desire to live in sorrow and sufferings.
Because
of greed, hatred, delusion or ignorance and jealous, the scientific
developments, which are devoid of ethical codes and human values,
there arise inordinate race for love of power, distrust, antipathies
and the all possible evil motives in the human minds itself.
It may, therefore, be concluded that, such advancements of science
would be of no use for bestowing any enduring peace or happiness
and on the other hand, lead to competition, conflict violence
between man and man, men and nation and nation resulting in
turmoil, oppression and disasters etc. It is therefore experienced
that the human minds are the roots of all the evils. The
minds,
which govern good and bad activities, can operate beyond any
scientific measuring computers, are said to be the real friends
and the worst of the enemies of humanity.
Buddhism
can play the most significant role for ushering in peace and
harmony amongst the mankind. Because, Buddhism analysis the
root causes of the human problems and tackle them correctly,
advising the marvelous prescription of the Noble Eight Fold
Path based on morality, concentration and wisdom. It they are
suitable practiced and inculcated in every body’s life,
he is sure to remodel and reshape his philosophy of life endowed
with the spirit of qualitative virtues of loving kindness, compassion,
piety, understanding etc. the most scientific essentialities
of Buddhism, need to build up truly human being. By following
the path shown by the Buddha the Buddhist countries can play
a great role in promotion of peace and harmony in the world.
3.
BUDDHIST IDEAS FOR ATTAINING WORLD PEACE
...Ron Epstein ...(Lectures for the Global Peace Studies
Program, San Francisco State University, November 7 & 9,
1988)
http://online.sfsu.edu/%7Erone/OnlinePublications.htm#Buddhism
INTRODUCTION
Buddhism
teaches that whether we have global peace or global war is up
to us at every moment. The situation is not hopeless and out
of our hands. If we don't do anything, who will? Peace or war
is our decision. The fundamental goal of Buddhism is peace,
not only peace in this world but peace in all worlds. The Buddha
taught that the first step on the path to peace is understanding
the causality of peace. When we understand what causes peace,
we know where to direct our efforts. No matter how vigorously
we stir a boiling pot of soup on a fire, the soup will not cool.
When we remove the pot from the fire, it will cool on its own,
and our stirring will hasten the process. Stirring causes the
soup to cool, but only if we first remove the soup from the
fire. In other words, we can take many actions in our quest
for peace that may be helpful. But if we do not first address
the fundamental issues, all other actions will come to naught.
The
Buddha taught that peaceful minds lead to peaceful speech and
peaceful actions. If the minds of living beings are at peace,
the world will be at peace. Who has a mind at peace, you say?
The overwhelming majority of us live in the midst of mental
maelstroms that subside only for brief and treasured moments.
We could probably count on the fingers of both hands the number
of those rare, holy persons whose minds are truly, permanently
at peace. If we wait for all beings in the world to become sages,
what chance is there of a peaceful world for us? Even if our
minds are not completely peaceful, is there any possibility
of reducing the levels of violence in the world and of successfully
abating the winds of war?
To
answer these questions, let us look first at the Buddha's vision
of the world, including the causality of its operations. Then,
in that context, we can trace the causes of war. When the causes
are identified, the Buddha's suggestions for dealing with them
and eliminating them can be discussed. Finally, having developed
a Buddhist theoretical framework for understanding the nature
of the problem and its solution, we can try to apply the basic
principles in searching for concrete applications that we can
actually put into practice in our own daily lives.
SOME
ASPECTS OF THE BUDDHIST WORLD-VIEW
The
Buddha taught that all forms of life partake of the same fundamental
spiritual source, which he called the enlightened nature or
the Buddha-nature. He did not admit to any essential division
in the spiritual condition of human beings and other forms of
life. In fact, according to Buddhist teachings, after death
a human being is reborn, perhaps again as a human being or possibly
in the animal realms or in other realms. Likewise, animals can,
in certain circumstances, be reborn as human beings. All sentient
beings are seen as passing through the unending cycle of the
wheel of rebirth. They are born, they grow old, become sick,
and die. They are reborn, grow old, get sick and die, over and
over and over again.
KARMA:
THE NETWORK OF CAUSE AND EFFECT
What
determines how you are reborn is karma. Whether you obtain a
human body, whether male or female, or that of an animal or
some other life-form is karma. Whether you have a body that
is healthy or sickly, whether you are intelligent or stupid,
whether your family is rich or poor, whether your parents are
compassionate or hard-hearted--all that is karma. Karma is a
Sanskrit word that is derived from the semantic root meaning
'to do'. It refers to activity--mental, verbal, and physical--as
governed by complex patterns of cause and effect. There are
two basic kinds of karma--individual and shared.
Individual
karma is not limited to a single lifetime. What you did in your
past lives determines your situation in your present life. If
you did good deeds in past lives, the result will be an auspicious
rebirth. If your actions in past lives were predominantly bad,
your situation in the present will be inauspicious. If in this
life you act more like an animal than a human being, your next
rebirth will be as an animal.
Shared
karma refers to our net of inter-relationship with other people,
non-human beings, and our environment. A certain category of
beings live in a certain location and tend to perceive their
environment in much the same way, because that particular shared
situation is the fruition of their former actions.
The
doctrine of karma is not deterministic. Rather it is a doctrine
of radical personal responsibility. Although your present situation
in every moment is determined by your past actions, your action
in the present moment, in the present circumstances, can be
totally unconditioned and, therefore, totally free. It is true
that you may mindlessly react according to the strengths of
your various habit-patterns, but that need not be the case.
The potential for you to act mindfully and freely is always
there. It is up to you to realize that you have the choice and
to make it. This realization is the beginning of true spiritual
growth.
The
Buddha taught that the fundamental cause of all suffering is
ignorance. The basic ignorance is our failure to understand
that the self, which is at the center of all of our lives, which
determines the way in which we see the world, which directs
our actions for our own ease and benefit, is an illusion. The
illusion of the self is the cause of all our suffering. We want
to protect our self from the dangers of the constant flux of
life. We want to exempt our self from change, when nothing in
the world is exempt from change.
Life
centered on self naturally tends toward the selfish. Selfishness
poisons us with desire and greed. When they are not fulfilled,
we tend to become angry and hateful. These basic emotional conditions
cover the luminous depths of our minds and cut us off from our
own intuitive wisdom and compassion; our thoughts and actions
then emanate from deluded and superficial views.
THE
CAUSES OF WAR
The
causes of war are too numerous even to list, let alone discuss
intelligently. What we discuss here are what the Buddha considered
the most fundamental, the fire under the boiling pot of soup.
War
is not something abstract. War is waged between one group of
individuals and another. The reasons for war are also not abstract.
[We have not yet had a war started and directed according to
logical paradigms programmed into a computer.] It is individuals
who decide to wage war. Even if the war is global, its beginning
can be traced back to the decisions of individuals. And so before
we talk about global war, let us first talk about war on the
level of the individual.
Wars
begin because the people of one country, or at least their rulers,
have unfulfilled desires--they are greedy for benefits or wealth
(i.e., economic greed) or power, or they are angry or hateful.
Either their desires have been thwarted or their pride, their
sense of self, has been offended. This can also manifest as
racial or national arrogance. They wrongly feel that the answer
to problems, which are essentially within their own minds, a
matter of attitudes, can be sought externally, through the use
of force.
THE
STORY OF THE WATER WAR
Four
years after his [the Buddha's] attainment of enlightenment,
a war took place between the city-state of Kapilavastu and that
of Kilivastu over the use of water. Being told of this, [the
Buddha] Sakyamuni hastened back to Kapilavastu and stood between
the two great armies about to start fighting. At the sight of
Sakyamuni, there was a great commotion among the warriors, who
said, "Now that we see the World-Honored One, we cannot
shoot the arrows at our enemies," and they threw down their
weapons. Summoning the chiefs of the two armies, he asked them,
"Why are you gathered here like this?" "To fight,"
was their reply. "For what cause do you fight?" he
queried. "To get water for irrigation." Then, asked
Sakyamuni again, "How much value do you think water has
in comparison with the lives of men?" "The value of
water is very slight" was the reply. "Why do you destroy
lives which are valuable for valueless water?" he asked.
Then, giving some allegories, Sakyamuni taught them as follows:
"Since people cause war through misunderstanding, thereby
harming and killing each other, they should try to understand
each other in the right manner." In other words, misunderstanding
will lead all people to a tragic end, and Sakyamuni exhorted
them to pay attention to this. Thus the armies of the two city-states
were dissuaded from fighting each other.
The
doctrine of karma teaches that force and violence, even to the
level of killing, never solves anything. Killing generates fear
and anger, which generates more killing, more fear, and more
anger, in a vicious cycle without end. If you kill your enemy
in this life, he is reborn, seeks revenge, and kills you in
the next life. When the people of one nation invade and kill
or subjugate the people of another nation, sooner or later the
opportunity will present itself for the people of the conquered
nation to wreak their revenge upon the conquerors. Has there
ever been a war that has, in the long run, really resolved any
problem in a positive manner? In modern times the so-called
'war to end all wars' has only led to progressively larger and
more destructive wars.
The
emotions of killing translate into more and more deaths as the
weapons of killing become more and more sophisticated. In prehistoric
times, a caveman could explode with anger, take up his club,
and bludgeon a few people to death. Nowadays, if, for example,
the President of the United States loses his temper, who can
tell how many will lose their lives as the result of the employment
of our modern weaponry. And in the present we are on the brink
of a global war that threatens to extinguish permanently all
life on the planet. When will that happen? Perhaps when the
collective selfishness of individuals to pursue their own desires--greed
for sex, wealth and power; the venting of frustrations through
anger, hatred and brutal self-assertion--overcomes the collective
compassion of individuals for others, overcomes their respect
for the lives and aspirations of others. Then the unseen collective
pressure of mind on mind will tip the precarious balance, causing
the finger, controlled ostensibly by an individual mind, to
press the button that will bring about nuclear Armageddon. When
the individual minds of all living beings are weighted, if peaceful
minds are more predominant, the world will tend to be at peace;
if violent minds are more predominant, the world will tend to
be at war.
BUDDHIST
PRESCRIPTIONS
Providing
people with physical well-being and wealth does not necessarily
lead to peace. Lewis Lapham recently wrote:
Apparently
it is not poverty that causes crime, but rather the resentment
of poverty. This latter condition is as likely to embitter the
'subjectively deprived' in a rich society as the 'objectively
deprived' in a poor society.
Mental
attitudes and the actions to which they lead are the key.
Buddhists
believe that the minds of all living beings are totally interconnected
and interrelated, whether they are consciously aware of it or
not. To use a simple analogy for the interconnection, each being
has his or her own transmitting and receiving station and is
constantly broadcasting to all others his or her state of mind
and is constantly receiving broadcasts from all others. Even
the most insignificant thoughts in our minds have some effect
on all other beings. How much the more so do our strong negative
emotions and our acting out of them in direct or indirect forms
of physical violence! In other words, each thought in the mind
of each and every one of us brings the world either a little
closer to the brink of global disaster or helps to move the
world a little farther away from the brink. If each time we
feel irritated, annoyed, thwarted, outraged, or just plain frustrated,
we reflect on the consequences of our thoughts, words and actions,
perhaps that reflection in itself will help to lead us to behave
in a way that will contribute to global peace. If every time
we get angry at our wife or husband, girl friend or boy friend,
parents or children, we are aware that we are driving the entire
world toward the brink of war, maybe we will think twice and
wonder whether our anger is worth the consequences. Even if
we feel our cause is just, if we in thought, word, and deed
make war against injustice, we are still part of the problem
and not contributing to the solution. On the other hand, if
we concentrate on putting our own minds at peace, then we can
broadcast peace mentally and generate peace through our actions.
We should use a peaceful mind to act for peace in the world.
As
to the interrelations between the minds of beings, the being
we may be about to harm or even kill, from a Buddhist point
of view, may well be our own parents, children, wives or husbands,
or dearest friends from former lives.
Because
Buddhists see the problem of war as a karmic one, the solution
is seen as the practicing and teaching of correct ethical behavior.
Good deeds lead to good consequences, bad deeds to bad. If you
plant bean seeds, you get beans; if you plant melon seeds, you
get melons. If you plant the seeds of war, you get war; if you
plant the seeds of peace, you get peace.
The
most fundamental moral precept in Buddhist teaching is respect
for life and the prohibition against taking life. Generally
speaking, all living beings want to live and are afraid of death.
The strongest desire is for life, and when that desire is thwarted,
the response is unbelievably powerful anger. Unlike almost all
other religions, Buddhism teaches that there are no exceptions
to this prohibition and no expedient arguments are admitted.
The taking of life not only covers human life but all sentient
beings. Reducing the karma of killing is equivalent to putting
out the fire under the pot of boiling soup. If we end killing,
the world will be at peace.
The
prohibition against stealing says, more literally, that one
must not take what is not given. Stealing, whether it is by
individuals, corporations, or nations, occurs because of selfish
greed. From the time of the Trojan War, sexual misconduct has
also been a cause of war, as has been lying. National leaders
whose minds have been clouded by drugs are not rare in history
either--their conduct is rarely just and peaceful. The international
drug trade in itself has become a major impediment to peace
in most parts of the world. The taking of intoxicating substances
is also prohibited by fundamental Buddhist teachings.
The
Buddhist vision is a world in which all life is sacred, in which
selfishness, in the guise of greed, anger and foolishness, does
not interfere with the basic interconnectedness of all living
beings. That interconnectedness, when freed from the distortion
of selfishness, is based upon the potential for enlightenment
that every being shares.
PRACTICAL
APPLICATIONS
A
beautiful vision, some might say. But how can such a peace be
realized in a world such as ours? Isn't it mere impractical
fantasy? No, it is not. Now the time has come to outline some
concrete and practical steps that can be taken towards making
it a reality. As a beginning, here are three steps.
Step
One
If
the karma of killing is the flame beneath the soup pot, by reducing
it, we directly affect the boiling turmoil of violence and war.
We need to reduce the atmosphere of killing and violence, both
in our society and in our own lives. Each one of us can reduce
the level of killing in our own lives by the very simple act
of becoming vegetarian. An ancient sage once said:
For
hundreds of thousands of years
The
stew in the pot
Has
brewed hatred and resentment
That
is difficult to stop.
If
you wish to know why there are disasters
Of
armies and weapons in the world,
Listen
to the piteous cries
From
the slaughterhouse at midnight.
In
a more contemporary vein George Bernard Shaw wrote a "Song
of Peace:"
We
are the living graves of murdered beasts,
Slaughtered
to satisfy our appetites.
We
never pause to wonder at our feasts
If
animals, like men, can possibly have rights.
We
pray on Sundays that we may have light,
To
guide our footsteps on the paths we tread.
We're
sick of war, we do not want to fight,
The
thought of it now fills our hearts with dread
And
yet we gorge ourselves upon the dead.
Like
carrion crows, we live and feed on meat,
Regardless
of the suffering and pain
We
cause by doing so. If thus we treat
Defenseless
animals for sport or gain,
How
can we hope in this world to attain
The
Peace we say we are so anxious for?
We
pray for it, o'r hecatombs of slain,
To
God, while outraging the moral law,
Thus
cruelty begets its offspring--War.
For
those who still do not see the logical relationships, I shall
try to spell them out more clearly. Non-human life is not qualitatively
different than human life, according to Buddhist teachings.
Just as when a human is killed, an animal too most often responds
to its death with thoughts of resentment, hatred and revenge.
While it is dying, these thoughts or emotions poison its flesh.
After it is dead, its disembodied consciousness continues to
broadcast thoughts of resentment, hatred and revenge to the
minds of its killers and those for whom it was killed. Think
of the billions of cows, pigs, chickens and sheep that are killed
for consumption each year in the United States alone. Those
of you who have passed the slaughter yards on the interstate
highway near Coalinga, California, have probably noticed not
only the stench but also the dark cloud of fear and violence
that hangs over the place. The general mental atmosphere of
that entire county is thick with thoughts of violence with which
such thoughts within our own minds can all too easily resonate.
One
of the problems of modern society is that the karma we generate
is often indirect and not immediately obvious to us, even though
it can be quite powerful. We are no less responsible for the
death of the animals when we buy meat wrapped in plastic in
the supermarket than if we had killed them ourselves. We are
no less responsible for the environmental poisoning of people
by chemicals that we pour down our drains or by industries we
work for or whose products we buy, than if we had personally
added the poison to their food. So too we may not be directly
aware of the ways in which we may be providing support for many
conflicts and wars around the world. Of course, it is much worse
to do something wrong, clearly knowing that it is wrong than
to do it in ignorance. Yet ignorance does not absolve us of
blame.
Step
Two
Since
war can come about when the general level of violence in the
population reaches the boiling point and can either manifest
in civil war or be channeled into foreign wars, anything we
can do to reduce the general level of violence in the population
will certainly be most helpful. One of the major teachers of
violence in our society is television. Turn off your TV--permanently.
Michael Nagler has written:
*
96 percent of American homes have at least one television set.
The
average home has a set going six hours a day.
*
In 'ordinary' viewing, there are 8 violent episodes an hour.
*
Between the ages of five and fifteen the average American child
has watched the killing of 13,000 people. By age eighteen he
or she will have logged more than 15,000 hours of this kind
of exposure and taken in more than 20,000 acts of violence.
. . .
*
97 percent of cartoons intended for children include acts of
violence. By the criteria of the Media Action Research Center,
an act of aggression occurs every three and a half minutes during
children's Saturday morning programs. Dr. George Gerbner counts
one every two minutes by similar criteria.
*
In a typical recent year "children . . . witness, on prime
time television, 5,000 murders, rapes, beatings and stabbings,
1,300 acts of adultery, and 2,700 sexually aggressive comments,"
according to a group of concerned mothers.
How
can all this be helping the cause of world peace? From an early
age our citizens are learning that violence the best solution
to their problems, that violence is a socially acceptable and
socially approved way of dealing with problems both personal
and interpersonal. Turn off the TV!
Step
Three
By
constantly being mindful of your own thoughts, words and actions
and by constantly trying to purify them, we can become part
of the force for peace rather than part of the force for war.
Teachings about karma indicate to us that no matter how just
our cause, no matter how right our ideas, if they are accompanied
by anger and hate, they will merely generate more anger and
hate. If our minds are inundated with the emotions of war, we
aid the cause of war, no matter how noble our cause. Buddhist
teachings about karma indicate unequivocally that a fundamentally
moral life is a necessary prerequisite for ridding our minds
of negative emotions, for transforming them into selfless compassion
for all. There are many selfless endeavors that we can take
upon ourselves to stir the soup and help cool the pot. But we
should remember to be constantly mindful of our own mental attitudes.
If we are not, no matter how hard we stir, we may also be unconsciously
helping to turn up the flames.
How
do we change our own mental attitudes; how do we rid our minds
of those strong negative emotions that cause turbidity in our
minds? Part of the Bodhisattva Path consists of the practice
of giving as an antidote to desire, greed, stinginess, and craving;
the practice of patience as an antidote for anger; and the practice
of wisdom as an antidote for foolishness.
Step
Four
We
should work on the systematic extension of compassion towards
others. From the level of our own minds, to our speech and then
our actions, we can work on generating compassion to those who
are closest to us, the members of our own familes, and then
progressively extend our compassion to our communities, countries,
and the entire world.
Many
of you may be disappointed in these suggestions. Perhaps you
are looking for something more exciting or stimulating. However,
I hope that you will realize that there is some indication that
these Buddhist ideas do really work. King Asoka, the Mauryan
emperor of India who was coronated in 268 BCE, was converted
to Buddhism after experiencing personal revulsion in the aftermath
of his bloody conquest of Kalinga. Thereafter he prohibited
any form of killing and encouraged humane treatment of all peoples
and also animals. The Tibetans were bloodthirsty and warlike
before conversion to Buddhism. Likewise, their neighbors the
Mongols, particularly the armies of Ghengis Khan, terrorized
many peoples, from China to the gates of Vienna. It would be
hard to find people more fierce and bloodthirsty. Buddhist missionaries
subsequently transformed the Mongols into one of the most peaceful
peoples of Asia. Buddhists have never advocated war and have
never sanctioned the idea of religious war. The ideal of the
Bodhisattva (an enlightened being who devotes himself or herself
to the enlightenment of all beings) is to voluntarily return,
life after life, to our world of suffering to teach the Way
to permanent inner peace, which is the only way to true peace
in the world. Whether for us or for the great sages of the world,
peace can only be brought to the world one thought at a time
in the minds of each one of us. Only on that basis, can our
actions for peace, also performed one at a time, be truly effective.
4.
Buddhism and Peace ...What
people have said about Buddhism and Peace.
*
http://www.inet.co.th/cyberclub/toom/people/people_peace.html
Tolerance
for Universal Good
The
world today is riddled with awful misunderstandings racial,
international, communal, economic and ideological. To effectively
dissolve these, to begin with is needed the spirit of benevolent
tolerance towards the view point of others. And, this can be
best cultivated under the guidance of Buddhism, which inculcates
ethic-moral co-operation for universal good. (Dr. Sony)
To
Win Peace
The
question that inevitably suggests itself is, how far can the
great message of the Buddha apply to the present-day world?
Perhaps it may apply, perhaps it may not; but if we follow the
principles enunciated by the Buddha, we will ultimately win
peace and tranquillity for the world. (Nehru)
The
Buddha's Way of Loving Kindness
For
example, the Jains taught the Doctrine of Non-injury; the doctrine,
that it is a wicked thing to injure man, animal, or plant. But
this doctrine, noble as it is, they carried to what was perhaps
a logical, but for all that, quite absurd extreme. The Buddha
also taught the Doctrine of Non-injury, but took pains to confine
it within reasonable limits. He condemned the killing of animals
even for food, but did not altogether forbid the eating of flesh
and fish. But he was not satisfied merely to condemn the injuring
and killing of living creatures; he taught no such merely negative
doctrine. Instead he taught the most sublime doctrine that ever
fell from the lips of a human being; the doctrine, namely, of
love for all living creatures without respect of kind or person
and for the whole visible creation. A man must love his fellow-man
as himself, returning good for evil and love for hatred. But
this is not all. He must extend his love to the fishes of the
sea and the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air. A
man must not kill his fellow-man even in self-defence. All war
is unholy. (Eugene Watson Burlingame, "Buddhist Legends")
Pioneering
Lover
lt
is in virtue of this characteristic of the master that Buddhism
is the only one of the great religions of the world that is
consciously and frankly based on a systematic rational analysis
of the problem of life, and of the way to its solution. Buddha
was a pioneering lover of men, and a philosophic genius, rolled
into a single vigorous and radiant personality. (E. A. Burtt,
"The Compassionate Buddha")
One
Sword and One Enemy
Not
a single page of Buddhist history has ever been lurid with the
light of inquisitorial fires, or darkened with the smoke of
heretic or heathen cities ablaze, or red with blood of the guiltless
victims of religious hatred. Buddhism wields only one sword,
the sword of Wisdom, and recognizes only one enemy ignorance.
This is the testimony of history, and is not to be gainsaid.
("2500 Years of Buddhism", edited by Prof. Bapat)
No
Unkind Word
There
was never an occasion when the Buddha flamed forth in anger,
never an incident when an unkind word escaped his lips. (Dr.
S. Radhakrishnan)
Loving
Kindness
The
doctrine of loving-kindness, or "Metta" is the glory
of Buddhism-- The sentiment of sympathy for animal life pervades
the inscriptions of Asoka, who seems to have grasped this first
among Buddhist principles. (Bishop Copleston)
Peace
If
we were asked what religion has best promoted peace in the world,
I am quite sure that a candid survey of history would compel
us to answer "Buddhism". Indeed it seems to be true.
(A Universal Ethics)
Buddhism
Teaches to Face the World
Of
all religions, Buddhism is best in this crisis to restore our
peace of mind, and to help us to face calmly whatever changes
the future may have in store. (Capt. C. M. Enqioeq)
Buddhism
Secured Peace More than Any Other Religion
Buddhism
has taught peace more strongly among its followers, more effectively,
during all its history, than has any other great religious faith
known to the world. The people then were more spiritual minded,
unlike the materialists of today, and placed character, service,
love and peace above fame, wealth, supremacy and war, and Buddhism
flourished in full bloom at that time because Buddhism is the
only religion with no blood-shed or violence. (Rev. J. T. Sunderland)
All-Embracing
Love
In
the history of the world before the Buddha, do we hear of any
'teacher of religion who was ever filled with such an all- absorbing
sympathy and love for the suffering humanity? (Dr. S. N. Dasgupta)
Practice
of Wisdom and Compassion
It
seemed that the kindly aesthetic, eternally young. seated cross-legged
on the lotus of purity with his right hand raised in admonition,
answered in these two words: 'if you wish to escape from suffering
from fear, practise wisdom and compassion." (Anatole France)
Abhorrence
of Violence
To
change existing conditions by violence must appear to all Buddhists
completely opposed to the Teaching of the master. For any exercise
of brute force is alien to the merciful spirit of the pure doctrine.
(Prof. Dr. Von Glasenapp, "Buddhism and Christianity")
Religion
of Love
Buddhism
succeeded so well because it was a religion of love, giving
voice to all inarticulate forces which were working against
the established order and ceremonial religion, addressing itself
to the poor, the lowly, and the disinherited. (Dr. S. Radhakrishnan,
"Indian Philosophy")
No
Persecution
There
is no record known to me in the whole of the long history of
Buddhism throughout the many centuries where its followers have
been for such lengthened periods supreme, of any persecution
by the Buddhists of the followers of any other faith. (Prof.
Rhys Davids)
Spiritual
Maturity
Buddhists
find encouragement only to peace, harmony and loving kindness
towards their fellow-creatures. Neither the Buddha nor the Great
Sages who have followed Him have taught persecution by religious
wars, burning at the stake, massacres, forced conversions etc.
It is an outward sign of the spiritual maturity of Buddhism,
marking it off from teachings both dogma-bound and harm producing.
(Phra Khantipalo, "Tolerance")
5.
The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace
... Jack Kornfield
*
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553802054/wwwkusalaorg-20/
Editorial
Reviews ...Amazon.com
Bestselling
author Jack Kornfield has put together a how-to book--his most
ambitious work yet--to encourage the best side of humanity.
In The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace, Kornfield
uses the evocative power of aphorisms to spark feelings and
thoughts that can germinate and grow. After a chapter of aphorisms
and quotations on each of the title's three topics, Kornfield
offers a related series of meditations that show how to cultivate
what the aphorisms have prepared. Whereas essays tend to be
read through and forgotten, this book invites a deliberate pace,
with the reader filling in the blanks, taking time away for
meditation, then coming back for more inspiration. Never descending
into triteness, Kornfield is realistic on tough issues, encouraging
awareness and persistence over resignation and indifference.
If you yearn to open your heart, open the pages of Kornfield's
latest. --Brian Bruya
Book
Description ...You hold in your hand an invitation:
To
remember the transforming power of forgiveness and lovingkindness.
To remember that no matter where you are and what you face,
within your heart peace is possible.
In
this beautiful and graceful little book, internationally renowned
Buddhist teacher and meditation master Jack Kornfield has collected
age-old teachings, modern stories, and time-honored practices
for bringing healing, peace, and compassion into our daily lives.
Just to read these pages offers calm and comfort. The practices
contained here offer meditations for you to discover a new way
to meet life’s greatest challenges with acceptance, joy,
and hope.
6.
Peace and Conflict Research Centers, Institutes, Organizations
& Networks
*
http://csf.colorado.edu/peace/orgs1.html
Last
Updated: Thursday, 26-Sep-2002 16:22:10 MDT Includes:
University-Affiliated
Centers, Institutes and Programs Associations, Consortiums,
and Organizations Virtual Networks Relevant Organizations, NGOs,
and Networks
A
Action
Without Borders and Idealist
The
African Peace Research Association (AFPRA)
The
Albert Einstein Institution,
Harvard
University (Cambridge, MA, USA)
American
Friends Service Committee (AFSC), (Philadelphia, PA, USA)
Amnesty
International, (London, UK)
The
ARIA Group, The McGregor School, Antioch University (Yellow
Springs, OH, USA)
The
Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress (San Jose, Costa
Rica) The Asia-Pacific Peace Research Association (APPRA)
The
Atrium Society
B
Berghof
Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management (Berlin,
Germany)
C
The
Canadian Centres for Teaching Peace, (Okotoks, AB, CA)
The
Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, (New York,
NY, USA)
The
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, (Washington, D.C.,
USA)
The
Carter Center, Emory University (Atlanta, GA, USA)
Center
for Conflict Studies, University of Marburg (Marburg, Germany)
The
Center for Defense Information (CDI)
The
Center for Global Peace, American University (Washington, D.C.,
USA)
Centre
for Peace and Security Studies, Free University of Brussels
(Brussels, Belgium)
Centre
for World Dialogue (Nicosia, Cyprus)
Centro
Studi per la Pace (Ferrara, Italy)
Coalition
to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT) (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
Coalition
to Reduce Nuclear Dangers
The
Commission on Global Governance
Conciliation
Resources (London, UK)
Concours
Jean-Pictet Competition(Pleadings & Simulation in International
Humanitarian Law)
The
Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado (Boulder,
CO, USA)
Conflict
Research Unit, Netherlands Institute of International Relations
'Clingendael' (The Hague)
Consortium
on Peace Research, Education, & Development (COPRED)
The
Cyprus Peace Center
D
DFAX
News Digests and Reports
Dialogue
Webpage for Conflicts Worldwide
Directory
of Organizations for Conflict Prevention in Asia and the Pacific
E
End
the Arms Race
Equipo
Interdisciplinario Capacitador en Mediación Educativa (Resistencia,
Chaco, Argentina)
European
Platform for Conflict Prevention and Transformation (Utrecht,
The Netherlands)
Exploring
Global Conflict: An Internet Guide to the Study of Conflict
F
Fellowship
of Reconciliation (FOR)
The
Foundation for Prevention & Early Resolution of Conflict
(PERC) Freedom, Democracy, Peace; Power, Democide, and War (by
R.J. Rummel)
G
Gandhi
Net: (Reviews of WWW pages on Gandhi)
German
Association for Peace and Conflict Research (Arbeitsgemeischaft
fuer Friedens- und
Konfliktforschung
AFK) (Cologne, Germany)
Global
Exchange
The
Global Site
Global
Volunteers
Growing
Communities for Peace
H
Hague
Appeal For Peace Conference
Human
Rights Resource Center
Human
Rights Watch
I
Idealist
Information
Unit Peace Research Bonn
Arbeitsstelle
Friedensforschung Bonn (AFB), (Bonn, Germany)
Initiative
for Social Action and Renewal in Eurasia (ISAR)
Initiative
for Violence-Free Families
Initiative
on Conflict Resolution and Ethnicity (INCORE), University of
Ulster, UK Peace Agreements (full texts),
INCORE's
Conflict Data Service
Internet
Resources on Peace, Conflicts and International Women's Human
Rights, Phyllis Holman Weisbard
Institute
for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (ICAR), George Mason University
(Fairfax, VA, USA)
Institute
for Global Communications (IGC): ConflictNet, EcoNet, PeaceNet,
etc.
Institute
for International Mediation and Conflict
Resolution
(IIMCR) (Washington, DC, USA)
Institute
for Peace Science, Hiroshima
University
(IPSHU) (Hiroshima, Japan)
Institute
for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) (London, UK)
Institute
of Peace & Conflict Studies, Conrad Grebel College University
of Waterloo (Waterloo, Canada)
Institute
on Global Conflict & Cooperation (IGCC), University of California,
(San Diego, CA, USA)
International
Association for Conflict Management (IACM), Washington University
(St.Louis, MO, USA)
International
Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life, Brandeis University
(Waltham, MA, USA)
International
Center for Peace and Development (Napa, CA, USA)
International
Directory of Conflict Prevention Organisations (European Platform
for Conflict Prevention and Transformation)
Institute
for International Mediation and Conflict Resolution (Washington,
DC, USA)
International
Peace Bureau (IPB)
International
Peace Research Association (IPRA)
International
Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO)
International
Relations and Security Network (ISN)
International
Studies Association Network (ISA) (Links to) Italian Peace Research
websites (by Giovanni Scotto)
J
The
Japan Center for Preventive Diplomacy (Tokyo, Japan)
The
Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University
of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN, USA)
K
Center
for Applied Conflict Management (CACM), Kent State University
(Kent, OH, USA)
L
Lombard
Mennonite Peace Center
M
Mahatma
Gandhi Research and Media Service (GandhiServe)
Institute
for Media, Peace and Security, University for Peace (Paris,
France)
Millennium
Form
Minnesota
Center Against Violence and Abuse
N
Nation
Planet (a link site on nationalism by Paul Treanor)
National
Institute for Dispute Resolution (NIDR)
The
Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael
The
Nobel Prize Internet Archive and Nobel Peace Prize Winners
Nonviolence
International
The
Nonviolence Web
Nuclear
Age Peace Foundation
The
Nuclear Files
P
Un
Patchwork pour la Paix " (A Patchwork for Peace) (Ivry-sur-Seine,
France)
Pax
Christi International (Brussels, Belgium)
Peace
Agreements (full texts),
INCORE's
Conflict Data Service, University of Ulster, UK
Peace
Brigades International (PBI)
Peace
Education Commission (PEC) of IPRA
Peace
Pledge Union
Peace
Research Institute -
Dundas
(Dundas, ON, CA)
Peace
Research Institute,
International
Christian University (Tokyo, Japan)
Peace
Resource Center
The
Peace
Studies
Association (PSA)
The
Peace Studies Association of Japan
PeaceWeb
(formerly known as NCPCR)
Peacewire
The
Program on Negotiation, Harvard University,
Harvard
Law School (Cambridge, MA, USA)
The
Program on Nonviolent Sanctions and Cultural Survival, Harvard
University (Cambridge, MA, USA)
The
Protocol for the Assessement of Nonviolent Direct Action (PANDA)
The
Project on Environmental Scarcities, State
Capacity,
and Civil Violence, Peace & Conflict Studies Program, University
of Toronto
Project
Ploughshares
Public
Education for Peace Society
R
Radio
for Peace International (El Rodeo, Costa Rica)
RESOLVE
(Washington, D.C., USA)
S
S.
Brian Willson's Web Page
Search
For Common Ground
Social
Science Research Council (SSRC)
Global
Security and Cooperation Program(GSC)
Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
"The
Strange War: Stories for a Culture of Peace" (by Martin
Auer)
T
Tabula
Rasa Institute
Taiwan
Security Research
Tampere
Peace Research Institute (TAPRI), University of
Tampere
(Finland)
TOC
For Education (a nonprofit
foundation
which donates conflict resolution workshops to educators)
Toda
Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research (Tokyo, Japan
& Honolulu ,HI)
Training
for Change
Transparency
International (Berlin, Germany)
Tribuna
de la Mediterrània
U
United
Nations (UN) homepage
United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
UNESCO's
Transdisciplinary Project Towards a Culture of Peace
The
United Nations University (UNU) (Headquarters: Tokyo, JAPAN)
U.S.
Insitute of Peace (USIP) (Washington, DC, USA)
University
of Minnesota Human Rights Center and Peace Resource Center
UVI.net
V
Victim
Offender Mediation Association
Volunteers
for Peace International Workcamps
W
Women
Waging Peace, Women & Public Policy Program, Kennedy School
of Government, Harvard University (Cambridge, MA)
Women's
International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
The
WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs
Resources:
Peace, Conflict Resolution, and International Security Relevant
Organizations, NGOs, and Networks:
American
Refugee Committee International
Humanitarian
Resource Institute
The
Loka Institute "Making Science and Technology Responsive
to Democratically Decided Social and Environmental Concerns.
The Loka Institute is a non-profit research and advocacy
organization
concerned with the social, political, and environmental repercussions
of
science
and technology."
Relief
Web
Second
Nature (Education for Sustainability)
Seeds
of Peace
Together
Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) (Paris, France)
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