Dear friends,
People reflect with gratitude each November on the ending of World War I in 1918.
Accurate figures are difficult to come by but it is believed that about 20 million people half of them civilians lost their lives in that terrible conflict.
The Great War,
As it was called was optimistically described as the war to end all wars.
Yet it is difficult to find any period since 1918 where there was no war or armed conflict taking place somewhere in the world.
We must work and pray so that finally the lessons will be learned.
The lesson that peace cannot be achieved through war.
How security cannot be obtained by force.
That peace can only be brought about by peaceful means.
How hatred only gives rise to more hatred.
And how the only remedy for hatred is love.
This teaching that love is the answer seems so simple,
So self-evident.
So why is it so difficult for us to learn this simple lesson?
We have everyday experiences to teach us.
Examining cause and effect we know that in order to achieve a different result we have to approach a problem differently.
How can we go on repeating the same actions and hope each time to secure a different outcome?
When will we ever learn?
In his visit to Ireland in 1979 Pope John Paul II made an appeal for peace to people who were at that time engaged in violence in Northern Ireland.
He said,
And he quoted the words of Jesus will perish by the sword.
The Pope described violence as the enemy of justice and said only peace can lead the way to true justice.
In the Buddhist tradition we have the Dhammapada a collection of sayings of the Buddha and in it there are several verses conveying a message of non-hatred and non-violence.
These verses demonstrate that hatred cannot be overcome by more hatred.
They tell us that hatred can only be brought to an end through the practice of love.
Some quotes from the Dhammapada Another One more And a last one Overcome the angry by non-anger Overcome the wicked by goodness Overcome the miser by generosity Overcome the liar by truth These verses show how important it is for us to respond to anger and hatred not with more of the same but with the opposite attitude with qualities such as non-anger goodness generosity and understanding.
Few of us will have the opportunity of applying these principles on a global scale in the case of disputes between nations but everyday life brings about the same problems on our very doorstep.
We have to contend with neighbourly rows workplace disputes and even falling out within families.
If we can manage to deal with our everyday disputes and differences by the application of kindness rather than the opposite we can send out ripples of goodwill.
These ripples will see the same principles applied in ever widening circles until hopefully one day and hopefully soon we can see peace established in more places on this beautiful earth.
Let's all work to give peace a chance.
Namaste
