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Buddhism |
| Dalai
Lama's Prescription for Peace |
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The key to peace lies in non violence and tolerance,
which is a 7000 year old tradition in India.
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We
can have peace only if we are able to bring about an
attitude of respect for religions, faiths and belief
systems other than our own. There is an interesting
fact to be noted about the great world religions. At
the level of philosophy there are differences among
them. But at the level of practice there is no difference.
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Broadly
speaking, at the level of philosophy, world religions
may be divided into two main groups - those that believe
in a Creator and those that do not. The theists believe
that a Creator has manifested the universe. They believe
in God. These are the theistic traditions.
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On
the other side, there are atheistic traditions that
do not postulate a Creator. Buddhism is one such religion.
Even the Sankhya philosophy of the Hindus had both atheistic
and an atheistic tradition. When Buddhism tries to answer
the question as to why there is a universe, it postulates
this as something that happens in Nature. Why is consciousness
cognitive? It is its nature. Why does everything follow
the Law of Causation? It is Nature.
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Buddhist
have no God. Sakyamuni is considered to have been a
human being like any one of us. Over many births, through
intense practice, he had become a Bodhisattva and then
achieved enlightenment as the Buddha. Any one of us
can do the same and train ourselves to become the Buddha.
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So
if we try to bring about a harmony among different faiths
on the basis of their philosophy, we would not succeed,
as there are wide divergence among them. But when we
study the ethics or the practice advocated by the various
faiths, there is not much difference. They all believe
in certain core human values like truth, non - violence,
compassion, love and peace.
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One
of the important values is Truth. Truth lies in seeing
reality as it is. Reality can be seen as it actually
is, only if one harbours positive emotions and not negative
emotions.
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It
would not be correct to say that we should have no emotions.
A person without emotions is a person without feeling.
He is apt to be dry, distant, cold, friendless, negative
and vicious. The important thing is not to harbour negative
emotions.
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Negative
emotions are emotions that are immature, narrow and
cloudy. For example, attachment and hatred are two such
negative emotions. If you see a person through the prism
of attachment, you would conclude that whatever he does
is 100% right. If you look at someone through the prism
of hate, whatever he does would be 100% wrong. Nothing
in nature is 100% right or wrong. Such a perception
is merely a mental projection. It distorts our perception
of reality and creates more problems.
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Positive
emotions are mature emotions. Here emotion is combined
with intelligence. The application of intelligence leads
to analysis and investigation. Analysis leads to conviction.
Such training of emotion leads to a holistic vision
of reality. Reality is interdependent. Everything is
interconnected. If one fails to see the interconnectedness
and interdependence, then it is a distorted vision.
Example of positive emotions is faith and compassion,
which can be imbibed only through a training of emotions.
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Knowledge
leads to conviction. Conviction leads to determination.
Determination leads to familiarization. Familiarization
leads to change of emotion. The main attempt is to clear
the vision, so that we can see reality as it is. Only
then can we solve the problems of life.
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Cultivation
of positive and noble emotions leads one towards compassion,
contentment, forgiveness and self - discipline. This
leads to calmness of mind. When there are no ripples
in the mind, it remains clear its vision of reality.
It seems problem as it really is and is able to solve
it easily. Problems are thus unable to disturb your
peace of mind.
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But
if the inner being is weak, if it is assailed by fear
and doubt or too much of unbridled emotion, it would
find it difficult to face the arduous problems of life.
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Life
is bound to be full of problems. Even if there are no
other problems, one's own body suffers from the problems
of illness, decay and death. If problems are an integral
part of our existence, we have to be fully prepared
to face these with calmness, placidity and fortitude.
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In
this process of nurturing your inner self, it helps
if you continue to remain in the spiritual and religious
tradition in which you have been born. I am happy to
see that Sathya Sai Baba has said that his mission is
not to convert people to other traditions. He would
like a Buddhist to be a better Buddhist, a Muslim to
be a better Muslim and a Hindu to be a better Hindu.
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One
should be serious and sincere towards one's own faith.
This generates a calm atmosphere both in the individual
and the society. Our inner experiences reach a dipper
dimension.
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Quite
often, I get the feeling that I am reciting verses that
were taught to me by my mother and teacher in my childhood.
On certain days, it seems to me that I am reciting the
verses by rote and not with my full heart and soul in
it. The recitation then becomes something of a burden.
But later I realize that such daily practice, although
it appears to be monotonous and repetitive, it silently
and effortlessly builds my inner resources and strength
and help me to become a true follower of the Buddha.
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In
this audience there is a plurality of faiths. This reality
has to be accepted. India has always believed in ahimsa
in terms of acceptance of other faiths. Gandhiji is
a great example of inter - religious harmony. He was
a staunch Hindu, but he had a deep respect for other
faiths.
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Buddha
was also a true Indian in this sense. He studied the
faiths prevalent in India in his time and practiced
a number of Hindu paths. After his enlightenment, he
taught the four noble truths. Buddha's philosophy of
interdependence is his unique contribution to world
philosophy. The concept of interdependence is equally
true in the fields of economy, politics, defence and
so on. This gives a wider, holistic picture of any problem
and brings us closer to reality.
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Buddha
believed in the human value of truth. He exhorted his
followers to follow the truth. When he enunciated the
four noble truths, he also analyzed the cause of suffering.
His conclusion was that all suffering was due to ignorance.
He accepted the practice of samadhi. He also innovated
the vipassana system, which can be a very effective
method for deducing attachment. He had great respect
for the other traditions.
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This
ideal of religious tolerance is still alive in India
at the village level. There the followers of different
faiths have lived together in peace and harmony for
the last several centuries. Multi-culturalism and religious
tolerance is practiced in their daily lives.
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It
is only in recent times that some politicians have created
problems due to their low level of awareness. They have
too much attachment, which leads to narrowness of vision
and a kind of shortsightedness. It is important that
these few people are not allowed to destroy the rich
7000 - year- old tradition of tolerance and harmony.
We can all live together and work together at individual
and community levels.
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