Peace

                                          

By
Dhamma Rakkhita Bhikkhu

IMAP, Final Year Buddhist Studies.

Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University

How spectacular this sphere is! Affluent with fruitful woods, corns, grains, ferrule thicket haired, girt with rivers, streams, deserts and many others are lavishly magnificent and graceful gift of Mother Nature. Being overwhelmed with fascinating beauty of nature, poet composes poems, speculative one imagines inexpressible waves of effusion, beloveds ones being engrossed in erotic affairs fancy of imaginary world. This is the way variegated world goes on.

Man has no greater principle than having loving-kindness and compassion for others. One slays another very easily but loving-kindness and compassion is not an easy task and not a child’s play. And that is what mostly today witnessed occurring in our surroundings. As the fire cannot be put out by weapon, thus hatred can never be conquered by hatred. Aversion can only be discontinued by loving-kindness and affection. So loving-kindness and compassion which are positive qualities in man is essential for a peaceful world which is expected by peace-loving and scrupulous people.

The great emperor Asoka who caused a huge distraction of millions of lives and even his hundreds of step-brothers could not flee to be slain from his gigantic sword. Finally he realized that blood shading can never bring about peace and happiness, even though victory is achieved over a country. It causes only a plight made upon of unhappiness, brawl, malignancy, aversion and so on but spite cannot be ravaged. Only through loving-kindness for all the beings grudge can be brought to an end.

In spite of that people are engaged with hatred, barbarous massacre, world politics etc. disfiguring the value and purity of his won life. Rage (Dosa) is the most perilous foe of man. People sometimes commit wicked and unwholesome deeds being overwhelmed with this rage. It is said to have no beast in the forest as fierce and formidable as man. Concerning it an Iranian poet “Nizami” once quoted, “The being called human in the world is much more ferocious and terrific than the beast like leopard and bear. Certain people with amicable manner remaining in our society always seek the ways to harm others for their won gain but fearful fatal never pretends to be friendly among us to caused damage.  

The Buddha directed the erroneous and deluded people towards the right path of wisdom showing them the true realities of life by his words of compassion and loving-kindness. But having forgotten his principles of loving-kindness, people in the modernized world started engaging in inhumane and brutal acts. Inhumanity is entirely occupying us. As a result of that today people engrossed themselves in creating new killing-weapons. On the other hand self-seeking one is holding a mask like “message of peace” to get his sake done (evil motivation). Therefore today what is the most vital in this merciless, ruthless, aggressive and grudging world is the teachings of the awakened one. Once he remarked ardently:      

“Na hi verena verāni-Sammanti’da kudācanaṁ
Averena ca sammanti-esa Dhammo Sanantano”

 It means in this world hatred never ceases by hatred it ceases by love alone. This is en eternal law.

The eminent poet laureate in Bengali literature-Rabindranath Tagore once composed: 

“Shanta he, Mukta he, he Ananta Punya,

Karuṇa Ghana Dharanital Karo Kalaṅka Sunya”.

Herein, the meaning can be understood like this, his address to peace, liberation and boundless merits serves in keeping the sanctity of the world, is being stained and stigmatized.

It the term Religion is meant to be way towards the emancipation from enormous sufferings of worldly life and a path to the perfection of life, then the philosophy of Buddhism reaches the climax of it” the remarkable saying of the century prominent scientist Albert Einstein, with equal to the Buddha and his teachings is very much striking.

“Ciraṁ tiṭṭhatu Buddha Sāsanaṁ”