20/08/2012

Peace

By 
Dhamma Rakkhita Bhikkhu
IMAP, M.A. 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, poets compose poems, speculative ones imagine inexpressible waves of effusion, beloved 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 (metta) and compassion (karuṇa) for others. One slays another very easily but loving-kindness and compassion are not an easy task and not a child’s play. And that is what mostly today witnessed occurring in our surroundings.[i] 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 (ādara). So loving-kindness and compassion which are positive qualities in man are essential for a peaceful world expected by peace-loving and scrupulous people.

The Buddha’s sublime teachings found numerous disciples and appealed to many men all over the world. He stood for peace, compassion for all beings and against animal sacrifice.[ii] For him all religions professed freedom and friendship to co-exist. He was against was. Pity! His disciple the great emperor Asoka who caused a huge destruction of millions of lives and even his hundreds of step-brothers could not flee to be slain from his cruel sword. He won a war but 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 up of disaster, distress, misery, 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. Having realized the reality he went back to his spiritual master, banned war, promoted peace, permitted religious pluralism and the right of everyone to his creed of happiness and development.

Of him H.G. Wells wrote:
For eight-and-twenty year’s great king Asoka worked sanely for the real needs of men. Amidst the tens of thousands of names of monarchs that crowd the columns of history, their majesties and graciousness and serenities and royal highnesses and the like, the name of Asoka shines, and shines almost alone, a star. From the Volga to Japan his name is still honored. China, Tibet, and even India, though it has left his doctrine, preserve the tradition of his greatness. More living men cherish the memory today than have ever heard the names of Constantine or Charlemagne.[iii]

What was the Asoka’s dhamma? He recognized the sanctity of life and condemned the slaughter of animals, whether as sacrifices or otherwise. At one time he said a large number of animals, killed in his kitchen for food for his household, but he had reduced the number of only two peacocks and one dear, and these were killed everyday. He further declared even these would not be killed in the future. He wanted the people to cultivate moral virtues, such as the observance of truth, restraint, kindness, charity, purity, gentleness, respect, obeisance to one’s elders and teachers liberally to friends, kinsmen, acquaintances and even servants and slaves, as advocated in a famous pāli sutta, the sigalovāda sutta of the dīganikāya.[iv] He was completely converted to the Buddhist ideas of kindness and peace to all created beings. 

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 living in our society always seek the ways to harm others for their won gain but fearful fatal beast never pretends to be friendly among us to cause damage. 

V.R. Krishna Iyer, said that, In my view, the finest man on earth ever born was Lord Buddha, a prince who abandoned his Kingdom seeing the suffering of his subjects, sought peace, truth and happiness for their fellowship.[v]

Of him Swami Vivekananda wrote:
The prophets of the world, with this single exception, may be divided into two sets, one set holding that they are incarnations of God come down to earth, and the other holding that they are only the messengers from God; and both draw their impetus for working from outside, however highly spiritual maybe the language they use. But Buddha is the only prophet who said, “I do not care to know your various theories about God. What is the use of discussing all the subtle doctrines about the soul? Do good and be good. And this will take you to freedom and to whatever truth there is.” He was, in the conduct of his life, absolutely without personal motives; and what man worked more than he?[vi]


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 are engrossed in creating new killing-weapons. The first atomic bomb burst in the sky over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 at 8:15 AM (The Little Boy bomb, dropped by the U.S. B-29 Enola Gay, exploded with the force of 15 kilotons of explosive) and raised the curtain on the tragedy of mankind's entrance into the Nuclear Age. It gave warning that the human race may destroy itself through war. It confronted us with the dilemma we are forced to resolve: "Which shall it be, War or Peace?"[vii]


“The flame of peace” was built in 1964 as 10,000 observers offered their silent prayers for peace. It is said that the flame will burn until the entire world if free from nuclear weapons.[viii] 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 are the teachings of the awakened one. Once he remarked ardently:      

“na hi verena verāni-sammanti’da kudācana
averena ca sammanti-esa dhammo sanantano”
[ix]

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

               
 The essence of what the Buddha taught throughout his entire life for 45 years sums up in a verse that contains a message of peace through one’s own action. He uttered thus:
              sabba pāpassa akaraa--- kusalassa upasampadā
              sacitta pariyodapana----etam buddhāna sāsana[x]

The meaning, “Not to do any evil, to cultivate good, to purify one’s mind, - this is the teachings of the Buddha’s”.

In this verse all his sayings about the peace, the word “nibbāna” mean “Supreme-peace” so Buddha’s whole teachings are nibbānic dhamma. He laid down five precepts for human all for peace, the four noble truth, eight fold path, dependent origination and his Tipitakas as (sutta) Discourse, (vinaya) Discipline and (abhidhamma) Buddhist psychology & philosophy all teachings for peace. The Buddha sacrificed his princedom to share suffering of all Creation. He was only the person who had fully compassion, loving-kindness, sympathetic joy and equanimity. He spent his entire life for all living beings as for their peace.  

              The Buddha and Swami Vivekananda reincarnated to evolve operation confluence of materialism and spirituality. The immortal words of Vivekananda by which he describes Buddha as the highest ideal of Karma-Yogi: Let me tell you a few words about one man who actually carried this teaching of Karma-Yogi into practice. That man is Buddha. He is the one man who ever carried this into perfect practice. All the prophets in the world, except Buddha, had external motives to move them to unselfish action. Show me in history one character who has soared so high above all.

              The whole human race has produced but one such character, such high philosophy, such wide sympathy, yet had the deepest sympathy for the lowest animals, and never put forth any claims for himself. He is the ideal Karma-Yogi, acting entirely without motive, and the history of humanity shows him to have been the greatest man ever born; beyond compare the greatest combination of heart and brain that ever existed, the greatest soul power that has ever been manifested. Buddha is the first great reformer the world has seen. Buddhism is now under eclipse, violence, alas, is rampant. The world needs a dynamic new Buddha.[xi]

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


“Shanta he, Mukta he, he Ananta Punya,
Karua Ghana Dharanital Karo Kalaka Sunya”.[xii]

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

              “If the term Religion is meant to be a 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 quote of the century prominent scientist Albert Einstein, the Buddha and his teachings is very much striking.[xiii]

“Cira tiṭṭhatu Buddha Sāsana

Referances:



[i] Nonviolence: An Introduction. Thomas Weber and Robert J. Burrowes,
 www.nonviolenceinternational.net/seasia/whatis/book.php -Thomas Weber and Robert J. Burr
                  [ii] Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2005a). In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications.

                  [iii] P.V. Bapat, 2500 Years of Buddhism. The publication Division Ministry of information and broadcasting Government of India: 1956. Pp.56-80.

      [iv] Dighanikāya, Sigalovāda Sutta

      [v] V.R. Krishna Iyer Locating the Rule of Law in Asia Volume 2, Issue 2, March 2011
      [vi] Swami Vivekananda, To My Brave Boys (written to Alasinga Perumal from New York on19th November, 1894).


                  [vii]  From Hiroshima Diary by Michihiko Hachiya.

      [ix] Dhammapada. yamakavagga , Verse No 5, khuddaka nikāya.
      [x] Dhammapada. Buddhavagga , Verse No 183, Vinaya Pitaka, Ovada Patimokkha.
      [xi] S wami Vivekananda, Karma Yoga, available at
      [xii] Rabindranath Tagore, (বুদ্ধজন্মোত্সব -Buddhajonmotshob) Buddha Birthday Celebration. http://tagoreweb.in/Render/ShowContent.aspx?ct=Verses&bi=FF66344F-BF40-405F-A85B-407E73D94158&ti=FF66344F-BF40-47CF-F85B-407E73D94158
      [xiii]  Albert Einstein, The world as I see it. See Amazon.com  

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