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October 16, 2005

Peace is more persuasive (Sivaraksa)

Peace is more persuasive by Sulak Sivaraksa

The September 11 terrorist attacks were shocking in their nature and

magnitude. They were rightly condemned by leaders around the world and

demand a response. However, by responding violently to the attacks the

USA and its allies, especially the UK , will only perpetuate and

escalate the cycle of violence that led to the attacks in the first

place.

If the USA and its allies truly want to lead the world they must

respond in a mature and nonviolent manner. Unfortunately some leading

politicians in the USA are under the control of the arms merchants

making such a response unlikely. However, if the USA chooses to act this

way it can ensure that it will have the moral authority to lead the

world for the foreseeable future.

The USA is now the world’s only superpower. Since the end of the

Second World War it has ruled the world with a combination of economic

and military power and since the collapse of the Soviet Union its role

has been unchallenged. It is a great empire like the British Empire was

before it, but unless it heeds the lessons of history it will soon go

into decline much as the British Empire did.

The US campaign against Iraq has gone on for over a decade now and

for what result? Saddam Hussein still remains in power and the Iraqi

people must endure untold suffering as a result of harsh trade

sanctions. However in the Iran-Iraq war Saddam was supported by the USA

and supplied with its arms.

The USA is now engaged in a war against the Taliban regime in

Afghanistan . In the 1980s the USA supported, funded and trained the

Mujahideen in the fight against the Soviet Union ’s invasion of

Afghanistan . Osama bin Laden was among those trained by the USA .

Subsequent political manouverings led to the birth of the Taliban regime

that the US is suddenly intent on destroying. Yet in supporting

violence in this way they have experienced the ultimate blowback, a term

coined by the CIA to refer to unintended consequences of policies that

were kept secret from the American people.

US foreign policy in the Middle East has apparently played a part in

the escalation of violence in that region. Former US Secretary of State

Madeleine Albright said that the death of 500,000 children as a result

of US economic sanctions was “a very hard choice” but “the price is

worth it.” This kind of attitude combined with ongoing conflicts and

poverty in the region has fostered the feelings of resentment that led

to the terrorist attacks against the USA .

If the USA wants to truly demonstrate its moral leadership of the

world it could begin by acknowledging its past failures. If it truly

examines its role in the region it will understand that its involvement

has been one disaster after the other. It also must remember the law of

karma. Violent actions have violent consequences as the people of the

USA so tragically saw on the 11 th of September.

A story from the life of the Buddha demonstrates the law of karma.

The King of Kosala wanted to be related to the Buddha, so he asked for a

princess from the royal Sakya family to be his queen. The Sakya, the

clan in which the Buddha was born, was very caste conscious and refused

to allow marriage outside their related clans. Although they regarded

Kosala as a mightier kingdom, they still did not wish to regard that

royal family, castewise, as equal to theirs. However, a compromise was

reached by sending a princess, born of a slave girl, to be the Queen of

Kosala. Vidhudhabha was the son of this queen. Neither he nor his father

knew that the Queen was an outcaste. When the young prince went to

visit his maternal grandfather and maternal relatives among the Sakya

clan, he accidentally found out that they all looked down upon him

behind his back because his mother was a slave girl, so the young prince

vowed to kill all members of the Sakya clan in revenge.

When Vidhudhabha succeeded his father to the throne of Kosala, he

marched his army northward. The Buddha knew of the situation. He went to

sit at the border of the two kingdoms thrice and was able to stop the

warlike king. Yet the Buddha could not convince the King to get rid of

his own hatred and desire for revenge. Eventually the King managed to

kill almost all members of the Sakya family. Yet on his return home

Vidhudhabha and his troops were drowned in the river.

One could draw many conclusions from this incident. However, if we

believe in the law of karma, we should realise that each individual,

each family, each nation will reap the benefits or otherwise of their

own deeds, speech and actions. Although the Sakya clan produced a

wonderful person who eventually became the Buddha and preached that

people should get rid of caste and class barriers, they held views in

opposition to his teaching. They also deceived the King of Kosala who

was much mightier than them. As for Vidhudhabha his bad thoughts lead

him to bad action and his life ended tragically.

So how does this story relate to armed conflict? For Buddhists the

law of karma reminds us that when faced with violence we must not react

against it violently. Not only Buddhists, but Christians, Jews and

Muslims—people of all religions—need to be mindful when confronted with

violence. Then they can find the skillful means to deal with the

situation nonviolently.

It is very important to understand that nonviolence is an effective

and very powerful response to conflict. It does not mean doing nothing.

It is actually a powerful force that can be acted upon. Peace is not

merely the absence of war. Peace is a proactive, comprehensive process

of finding ground through open communication and putting into practice a

philosophy of non-harm and sharing resources. Creating a culture of

peace is an active process.

When confronted with large-scale conflicts there is no question that

they demand a response. The problem is that many people believe that a

nonviolent response means doing nothing whereas responding with force or

violence means doing something. The Middle Way of Buddhism defines very

well how one should respond to violence. It is about avoiding extremes.

The extremes being doing nothing on the one hand or responding with

similar violence on the other.

Although the US and UK have already started bombing Afghanistan there

is still time to seek nonviolent alternatives. The rhetoric of a “just

war” cannot be taken seriously. The former Labor government in the UK

didn’t support the US in their involvement in Vietnam . The UK is in a

powerful position and can lead the rest of the world in seeking a

nonviolent response if it has the courage and support to do so.

I met with a representative of the US Embassy on Thursday and he told

me that the US had to attack Afghanistan and there was no alternative.

Many of the major media outlets also put forward the view that there is

no alternative and that the war is just. However, they are under control

of the multi-national corporations and their reporting is not

independent. They maintain the same “just war” rhetoric that we hear

from the leaders of the US and its allies.

In order to create a culture of peace, first we must make society

more just, more fair, and give equal rights to all people. The

imposition of so-called peace has, in fact, at times been used as a tool

of suppression. Look at the many programs for pacification taken

throughout history and the world. In many cases, the institutionalised

definition of peace is tantamount to the suppression of righteous

struggles for equal rights and justice. In other cases, the

institutionalisation of peace is really propaganda for maintaining the

status quo of an unjust government or system. Thus the development of a

culture of peace really begins at ground level.

If we act nonviolently and create a culture of peace then we can

ensure that we have long-term peace. The USA has the world’s largest

military, but nothing could protect it from what happened on the 11 th

of September. Only a nonviolent response can provide it with protection

against further attacks.

Sulak Sivaraksa received the Gandhi Millenium Award (read) for

upholding the principles of truth and nonviolence in India on 2 October

2001, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.