Sumanapal
Bhikkhu (Subhasis Barua)
Abstract
[In
Buddhism peace is a combination of four factors namely happiness, peace,
freedom and security. According to Pali Buddhist canon, peace is the supreme
bliss or sublime happiness. But in order to find this peace we have to look
within ourselves and it can be achieved by overcoming the mental fetters. In
reality everyone desires to have peace but very few people know how and where
to get it. But it is true that peace is attainable though we have to strive for
it with a workable system. Peace is a combination of positive and negative
conditions. The negative condition means the absence of war and positive
condition of peace signifies fulfilling those requirements that lead to the
pleasantness of life.
PhraThepsophon
in his book ‘A Buddhist Worldview’ says, “Peace in positive sense means the
presence of unity, harmony, freedom and justice. Thus the concept of peace
encompasses within itself the absence of conflict as well as the presence of
harmony. Buddhism gives paramount importance to the idea of nonviolence. The
Buddha taught us a way of life that will help us in eliminating suffering by
promoting social well being. Many people think that peace means an absence of
war or social unrest. But this is not enough. If we want to establish real
peace, we have to develop a sense of contentment. At the same time we must
possess other qualities like four aspects of Brahmavihara(metta, karuna, mudita
and upekkha) , the absence of sakkayaditthi (wrong views) and the ten kinds of
attachments.Those who possess these qualities may be said to have attained
peace. In order to have peace, conflicts should be avoided and harmony should be
established in human society. Everyone wants to find peace in life and it is
within the reach of humanity. In reality we are responsible for our peace
because it originates by our own actions.]
In Buddhism peace means
a combination of four primary issues. They are happiness, peace, freedom and
security. The Pali Buddhist canon says that Nibbana is the highest or sublime
happiness. The Buddha teaches us that in order to attain peace we have to look
within ourselves and not in the pursuit of sensual pleasures. It is easy to
discuss peace but it is hard to achieve it. But if we endeavour systematically
we are sure to attain it. So peace is something we can pursue.
Actually peace lies in our heart and in order
to attain peace we have to overcome those problems that work against peace. This
include problems like hunger, illiteracy, distribution of wealth, human rights,
childe privilege, etc.1
Peace has two aspects namely negative and
positive. By negative we mean the absence of war, terrorism or any other act of
violence. On the other hand peace in its positive sense means the promotion of
a harmonious and a well integrated society.2
In Buddhism peace operates both in the
individual level and in the group level. Only when individuals have attained
peace, true peace can be established in society.3
The Buddha showed us
the way to eliminate suffering and establish peace in the social field. The
word peace conveys different meaning for different people. Some people think
that peace means a society where there is no war or social unrest. Some people
think that peace is the condition when people live in harmony with one another
and there is no discord or disagreement among them. But one thing is certain. We and our actions
ultimately decide whether there will be peace within us or in the society. That
is why pace is dependent on our actions. We are the maker of our own destiny.
In order to attain peace we should have a clear understanding of what causes
peace and what hampers it. The Buddha taught that purification of the mind is
essential for the attainment of peace. In the Dhammapada the Buddha says, “Mind
is the forerunner of all evil deeds or all good deeds. Mind is the chief. Mind
makes all things.” Mind is the root of all our suffering and peace, both
physical and mental. Our mind ultimately compels us to perform good or evil
actions.
So, real peace means
mental peace and not material peace. But the majority of people equate mental
peace with sensual pleasures. But sensual pleasures instead of leading to peace
ultimately lead to suffering. The Buddha exhorts us to become good persons by means
of good conduct, mental discipline and wisdom.4 In order to make our mind peaceful our conduct should
be good and we should be able to differentiate between good actions and bad
actions or wholesome actions and unwholesome actions. For this read mental
purification is needed for all of us. The Buddha advised us to avoid evil,
cultivate good and purify our minds.
Apart from mental purification, we have to
learn to be satisfied and contented with what we have. Without contentment and
mental satisfaction peace will continue
to elude us. Today many people are striving to attain more wealth than what is
really needed by them. They are blindly pursuing material comfort out of a
blind love for pleasure. But worldly
pleasure is not at all conducive to real happiness. It works only on the
superficial level and is short lived. Mental peace is the real peace by means
of which a man can live a simple life and never wants to get anything that is
beyond his reach. He does not wish to possess those things that cannot be
easily obtained. Such a person is not at all bothered by his wealth or poverty.
He knows to be peaceful in every situation.
Greed avarice and
covetousness have no bounds. Prosperity makes us desire more prosperity. This
sometimes leads a person to exploit others. Greed is the root cause for the
disruption of peace. If we cannot control our greed we shall forever remain
poor irrespective of our wealth. Anger and delusion are the other important
factors that prevent us from attaining peace. Supreme peace or Nibbana is the
ultimate aim of Buddhism. Nibbana is a state that is said to be deathless, absolutely
endless, non conditioned and incomparable. Here the extinction of greed, hatred
and delusion is finally attained. In reality true peace can be found only in
Nibbana. In the Visuddhimagga composed
by Buddhaghosa we find the path to purification. After attaining enlightenment the
Buddha delivered his first sermon called the Dhammachakkapavattana Sutta to his
first five disciples. The first sermon shows the way of avoiding the two
extremes of self mortification and addiction to sensual pleasures. Both
extremes are to be avoided in order to attain real peace of mind. The
Visuddhimagga is the interpretation of purification that is found in all the
Buddhist literature. It is considered as the principal non canonical authority
of the Theravada that provides us with detailed and practical instruction for
attaining purification in a very systematic way. According to thisthere are
three ways of attaining purification namely Sila, Samadhi and Panna. .A. Sila:
morality or the basic condition of peace, controlling of bodily and verbal and
mental actions. B. Concentration, the method of the controlling of the mind, C.
Panna: Wisdom, the insight knowledge. Of these Sila is the first stage. Without
sila there is no Samadhi. Samadhi is the second stage. Without Sila and Samadhi
there is no Panna. Panna is the last stage.5
Morality
or Sila: The function of Sila is to keep us from doing
bodily and verbal evils. It is not just morality or mental conduct, but is the
prerequisite for peace.6 It
is the stepping stone towards the attainment of the higher stages of
concentration (Samadhi) and (Panna). If a person desires to gain mental purity
for the achievement of the two higher stages he has to refrain from all sinful
deeds, words and thoughts and thus make himself perfect. We
ourselves are responsible for attaining peace of mind and following the
precepts. This is our guard against anxiety and fear. On the other hand there
are many people who break the moral precepts due to evil deeds and crime. The
Visuddhimagga says, “A wise man after establishing well in his virtue, /
Develops conscious consciousness and understanding.” According to the
Visuddhimagga one can be perfect only when one does not violate one’s speech and
body at any time or at any place. Thus a person can gain peace of mind by his
or her own effort. So whether that person would find peace or not depends
entirely on him or her.
The Buddha himself has
given a guideline regarding the observance of Sila and his advice should be
followed by us if we are to attain peace of mind. This moral code or Sila are
five in number and they are as follows. a. Not to kill any living being b. Not
to steal c. Not to indulge in sexual misconduct d. Not to tell lies. e. Not to
take intoxicating drinks or drugs. Moreover in order to gain peace we have to
abstain ourselves from committing ten kinds of evil deeds. They are a. Three
bodily misdeeds, namelythe first three featuring in the five precepts b.Four
verbal misdeeds viz. telling lies, criticizing others, abusive and rude speech,
frivolous and gossip talks; c. Three mental misdeeds viz. covetousness, ill
will and wrong view.7 So
we may say that Sila is the symbol of peace that can lead us to non violence
and therefore to peace.8
Concentration
or Samadhi: Apart from sila, concentration or Samadhi has a very important
role in Buddhism.9 It
means the focussing of the mind on a single object. By nature mind is fleeting
but if we can confine it on a single object it becomes very powerful and a
source of peace. The aim of concentration is to get rid of distraction. Without
Samadhi it is impossible to find stability. If stability is not attained, one pointedness
of mind cannot be attained as well. Only when the mind attains stability it can
see things as they really are. Morality
is the foundation of concentration and it is the basis of insight knowledge.
Panna:
Panna
is the highest form of knowledge that has an intimate relationship with moral
thought. It is the opposite of ignorance. It is based on Samadhi and Samadhi is
based on morality or Sila. It is the third category in Buddhist religious practice
that ultimately results in final liberation or arhantship. Sila, Samadhi and
Panna are elaborated in the noble eight fold path namely, right view, right
understanding, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort,
right mindfulness and right concentration. Right action means doing good deeds
and refraining from injuring or harming others or oneself. Right speechstands
for faultless, virtuous, truthful and balanced words. It also means refraining
from telling lies, talking ill of others, and avoiding injurious and frivolous
speech. Right livelihood means earning one’s living in a just honest and pure
way.
Peace originates within
our own mind and the Buddha himself has shown us the way to world peace. More
than 2500 years ago he taught the noble eight fold path that penetrated into
the world of human beings without any discrimination in nation, race, colour,
caste and creed etc.9It is obvious to almost everyone that the cause of nearly
all the problems that we are facing in the modern world like poverty, famine,
racial hatred, territorial dispute, terrorism, drug addiction, crimes, unemployment, AIDS, suicide, violence, military conflicts,
political, economic crisis, even religious conflicts is the lack of the spirit
of fellowship.10 The
world of ours is now passing through a very bad state. It is in need of peace
and harmony. We have not learned to control our thoughts and actions and that
is why there is not much difference between us and the barbarians if the
prehistoric age. That is why man quarrel, loot, fight and even kill. Instead of
acting on the basis of rationality and wisdom we act on our impulses. The
Buddha taught us to take the middle path and avoid the two extremes. This will
enable us to look, think, speak and act in the right way and direction. As a
result of this we shall be in a position to live a peaceful life guided by
moderation.11 In
order to establish a peaceful atmosphere in society petty quarrelling,
stubbornness, attachment to political, racial or ideological differences should
be eliminated. Everyone should try to unite and build the spirit of
cooperation. It is within our reach.12
The first step to
establish peace in the world is to establish in the mind of the individual so
that he can share that peace with others. The peace of the individual extends
and becomes the peace of villages, districts, countries and of the world.13
After the First World War, a peace conference
was held in Versailles in 1919 and demonstrated a concern for the protection of
the rights of the minority. During the Second World War, on 6th January 1941,
President Roosevelt presented his annual message for four freedoms namely a.
Freedom speech and expression everywhere in the world. b. Freedom of every
person to worship in his own way everywhere in the world. c. Freedom by
economic understanding which will secure for every nation the right to have
health and peace for its citizens. d. Freedom from fear by worldwide reduction
of armaments. 14
In order to promote peace all over the world
the U.N.O. was established. The way to attain peace is by way of compassion. We
should cultivate peaceby the application of the teaching of the Buddha in our
world.15 Here compassion
is of utmost importance. By being compassionate we can help others to attain
peace and become from trouble. Since the beginning of history people have
considered peace as a blessing and war as a curse. Therefore, for the sake of
the whole world we should make peace as our target.
In order to attain
peace and harmony and achieve freedom from illusions, ignorance,
hallucinations, etc. peace is of paramount importance. The world is full of
danger. There is danger on land, water and in the sky. There is no way of
escaping from them.
We live a life that is
unsafe and insecure. We are all afraid of danger. Even if we manage to find any
security any security from them that security will be only temporary in nature.16 The root cause of these
dangers is the mental defilements that arise from within us. Modern medicine
cannot cure these diseases. Ignorance is the root cause of all these problems.
In order to get rid of
these inner development and mental exercise play very important part. According
to the Buddha one who conquers himself is more powerful than one who conquers
one thousand men. Controlling the mind is the key to peace. Meditation
relaxation and other mental therapies are the most suitable way to get rid of
mental defilements. This is the method that the unwholesome thought and chaotic
feelings of our mind to mental peace and harmony.17 Greed and anger can
be eliminated by the use of these instruments. Meditation enables us to
perceive things beyond the normal limits.
We all long for peace but peace continue to
evade us. The world saw two great wars in the last century and it is our duty
to avoid a third world war. So we should try actively to do this and in order
to achieve this aim imparting peace education to the people is very much
important. The great teacher the Buddha taught us ways for inspiring love and
establishing peace in this world. Buddhism is a very effective vehicle for
promoting amity and friendship among
individuals and communities. The message of peace propagated by Buddhism
radiated all over the world and showed a new way of life to millions of its
followers. Though the Buddha is no more with us his teachings are still guiding
our lives. The messages of Buddha form the subject matter of Buddhist
education. These messages can be found in the Tipitaka which contain clear
guidelines for us that may ultimately lead us to emancipation and pace. The
purpose for introducing this education was to inspire people and the society as
a whole to live in peace and harmony. It emphasizes the fact that true
greatness originates from love and not from hatred. The Buddhist scriptures
teach us that one who serves the sick and the hungry is in effect serving the
Buddha himself. It means that unless we eradicate hunger from the world, peace
cannot be established. Hunger and poverty are the root cause of hunger and
theft, terrorism and discontent in our society. In Asokan edicts we find,
“Sabbamanusa mama paja.” or “All men are my children.” We learn from Buddhism
that victory is the root of enmity. We should not try to defeat others but
remember that self victory is the ultimate victory. Buddha wanted to avoid war
at all costs. According to Buddhism, war can never be noble. All war causes
suffering and its main victims ate the innocent people. So we
should train our minds to be able to refrain from greed hatred and violence.
Buddhism is a religion that is based on moral
code; it is a way of life. It is a scientific religion that does not depend on
dogmas. In order to achieve peace in the world the path of amity, non violence
and compassion should be followed. In order to eradicate poverty we have to
nurse the sick, feed the hungry and love the poor. If poverty can be
successfully eradicated the world will become a much safer place to live in.
A very important reason for the lack of peace
in the world is the fact that hatred has been propagandized and disseminated
under various forms.18 It
has been nourished by various kinds of conflicts like philosophical, political,
ideological and religious conflicts. Buddhism says that if hatred is not
removed suffering, danger and terrorism will grow. When the two WTO skyscrapers
buildings in the U.S.A. collapsed the whole world was terrified and everywhere
there was panic. Terrorism makes human beings victims and their suffering
increases. It has increased the fear of indiscriminate destruction, and
increased our vulnerability. Security has turned into a mirage. But all these
are the product of our own actions. This is the result of our willingness to
hurt others in the name of religion caste or creed. Two things namely our belief in the use of
force and our belief in our own self
interest are the root of the lack of peace in this world. Before building the
foundation of society based on peace these obstacles are to be removed at
first. We cannot expect to remain engaged in violence and gain peace of mind,
cannot expect to prosper by hurting others. At the same time we cannot harm the
environment and except humanity to survive on earth. Today’s world is full of
miseries, war weariness and violence. Human are in danger and are frightened by
arms race. There are many weapons for mass destruction which can kill many
human beings in the fraction of a second. The world is in real need of loving
kindness, compassionand forbearance. We should generate sincere love for our
enemies. In a strict sense we should follow the following steps for the
promotion and propagation of peace in the world:
1. Dedication
of life for the welfare of sentient beings.
2. Living
a frugal and contented life.
3. Abstinence
from any action that leads to war and disputes.
4. Respect
for life in all its forms.
5. Developing
peaceful coexistence, mutual understanding and cooperation in the world.
Only sympathy and forgiveness can establish a
peaceful and happy environment in life. If we all know how to follow the advice
of the Buddha by contemplating all strangers as our relatives or our close
friends then we will not kill, harm or injure one another.
Footnotes:
1.
1. Peter Kasser “Campaign for
Universal Peace,” Switzerland, 2001.
2. Glenn D. Paige, (Edit.) Buddhism
and Leadership for Peace, Hawaii, Dae Won Sa Buddhist Temple, 1984, p.13.
3. Ibid., p. 60.
4. David J. Kalupahana, Buddhist
Philosophy A Historical Analysis, Honolulu, the University press Hawaii, 1976,
p. 62.
5. Phra Maha Tuan, Buddhist Concept
of Karuna and World Peace, Varanasi, Banaras Hindu University, 1998, p.159. see
also, F.L. Woordward, tr., Kinderd Sayings, (Samyutta Nikaya), London,, PTS,
1993, Vols. IV. 235.
6. Ibid., p.160.
7. Ven. Kaba-aye Sayadaw, Baddanta
Pannadipa. Buddha Desana, Penang, Inward Path, 2003, p. 59.
1. Phra Maha Tuan, Buddhist Concept
of Karuna and World Peace, Varanasi, Banaras Hindu University, 1998, p.164. see
also, Nanamoli Bhikkhu, tr., The Path of Purification,(Visuddhimagga), Penang,
Penan Buddhist Association, 1999, p.84.
2. Phra Maha Tuan, Buddhist Concept
of Karuna and World Peace, Varanasi, Banaras Hindu University, 1998, pp.166,
212.
3. Ashin Thittila, Essential Themes
of Buddhist Lectures, Rangoon, Ministry of Religious Affairs, 1996,p56.
4. Suchitra Onkom, Creating
Sustainable World Peace, Bangkok, Sahadhammika Co., Ltd, 2003,p.13.
5. Ibid., p.15.
6. Phra Maha Tuan, Buddhist Concept
of Karuna and World Peace, Varanasi, Banaras Hindu University, 1998, p.215.
7. J.C.Johari, Human Rights and New
World Order, New Delhi, Anmol PublicationsPvt. Ltd., 1996, pp.116-117.
8. Phra Maha Tuan, Buddhist Concept
of Karuna and World Peace, Varanasi, Banaras Hindu University, 1998, p.252.
9. Ven. U Nanadicca Mahathera, The
38blessings, Singapore, Reprinted and Re-edited Burmese Buddhist Temple, 2001,
p.246.
1. Piyadassi Thera, Buddhist
Meditation, Taipei, The Buddhist Educational Foundation, 1978, p.21.
1 Ven. Prof.Dharmakosajarn, (Edit.)
Buddhist Contributions to World Peace and Sustinable Development, Thailand,
2006, pp.77-91.
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