Friends,
the great anguish over thecoming new war (to grab most of the world's oil resources undervarious pretexts) is felt by millions of people with conscienceworldwide.
Largest mass demonstrations forpeace are taking place all over Europe, escpecially in Great Britain,where actually over 85% of the people oppose the war, includingPrince Charles.
Without addressing andresolving the root causes of today's problems, new violence will onlybring about more and more violence.
'Prophet, seer, tell me thefuture: I have sown thorn bushes -- will I harvest fragrant roses?',asks so poetically one of the great sages of our time, Swami Veda atthe beginning of the new Millennium only a couple of years ago...
Of course, most people do notlike to hear the prophecy:
"YOU WILL HARVEST ONLY THATWHAT YOU SOW - TODAY".
These are some recent thoughtsand words against violence by the Dalai Lama, Pope John Paul II,Swami Veda, Deepak Chopra, Mohandas Gandhi
http://www.meaus.com/call-for-peace-2003.htm
May we uproot the thorn bushesand start sowing roses - TODAY!!
In service,
John Zavrel
Dear Friends,
From the disaster that has struck New York andWashington we need to learn that violence is not a solution to anyproblem in the world.
Let us have special sessionsfor prayer and silence with additional japa of Saumya Mantra forpeace with prayer: May the minds prone to violence in all parts ofthe world learn the art of solving problems through non violence andmay there be mutual understanding among the different peoples ofdivergent views and interests everywhere.
May we all learn to forgive.
May we all learn to invokepeace in our own minds and thereby evoke it in the hearts of eventhose who are our opponents.
May the gurus of humanity continue to guide us inthis direction.
Blessings,
Swami Veda Bharati
Letter to the President of the United States ofAmerica
Your Excellency,
I am deeply shocked by the terrorist attacks thattook place involving four apparently hijacked aircrafts and theimmense devastation these caused.
It is a terrible tragedy that so many innocentlives have been lost and it seems unbelievable that anyone wouldchoose to target the World Trade Center in New York City and thePentagon in Washington D.C.
We are deeply saddened. On behalf of the Tibetanpeople I would like to convey our deepest condolence and solidaritywith the American people during this painful time.
Our prayers go out to the many who have lost theirlives, those who have been injured and the many more who have beentraumatized by this senseless act of violence.
I am at tending a special prayer for the UnitedStates and it's people at our main temple today.
I am confident that the United States as a greatand powerful nation will be able to overcome this present tragedy.
The American people have shown their resilience,courage and determination when faced with such difficult and sadsituation.
It may seem presumptuous on mypart, but I personally believe we need to think seriously whether aviolent action is the right thing to do and in the greater interestof the nation and people in the long run.
I believe violence will onlyincrease the cycle of violence. But how do we deal with hatred andanger, which are often the root causes of such senseless violence?
This is a very difficultquestion, especially when it concerns a nation and we have certainfixed conceptions of how to deal with such attacks. I am sure thatyou will make the right decision.
With my prayers and good wishes, The Dalai Lama
September 12, 2001, Dharamsala, India
Human affection can overcomeall difficulties, a glance through the eyes and smile.
There is a common message: All have the samepotential to serve humanity.
All religions have essentialteachings and carry the same message: love, compassion, forgiveness,tolerance, self-discipline, truth, honesty. . . and all have the samepotential to serve the community.
How to contribute to the betterment of the world:a good education and developing a good heart, a compassionateheart.
If you have 15 diamond rings, still, only 10fingers.
Our brains can get us intotrouble, but our hearts can get us out.
The path to world peace must begin with innerdisarmament.
The different faiths are sometimes not veryfaithful, and hurt where they should help. Religion is supposed tocool down and make peace. Instead, religions sometimes make moreconflict. That is unfortunate - like practicing medicine in a waywhich brings more illness then healing.
If possible, those of different faiths should praytogether. If not, join in silent meditation. Discuss. Makepilgrimages to the holy places of other religions. Differentphilosophies are necessary to meet the needs of the world's diversepeoples. Talk, discuss in an open way, and go to the core of your ownreligion. The Dalai Lama used a phrase from the Quran which wasoffered by Imam Makram Nu'man El-Amin: "If God wanted us to followthe same religion, he would have created us the same."
It is a person's right to not accept a religion.But once you accept a religion, you should look at religious teachingseriously, and then implement it in your daily life.
The whole world is one body.Philosophically, mentally, spiritually, we are all the same humanbeing.
Go to the core of your own religion.
The place for you to test your compassion is onyour enemy.
Compassion must be "unbiased" with respect andconcern for one's enemy as well as one's friend. "At the same time,compassion does not mean that you accept their wrongdoing. If thereis wrongdoing, it make necessary condemnation . . . . Butcondemnation does not mean revenge. The principle of forgiveness isthe ability to restrain oneself from harboring feelings of ill willtoward someone. Once there's forgiveness, then there's no place forrevenge.
The Dalai Lama told the story of a Tibetan monkwho had been a prisoner in a Chinese gulag for many, many years.After he was finally released, the Dalai Lama talked with him, andthe monk said that throughout his captivity he felt he was always indanger.
"In danger of what?" asked the DalaiLama.
"In danger of losing my compassion," the monkreplied.
Once you have established relationships, you can'thave the anger,
the aggression and the animosity. Human affectionoverrides all.
Perhaps when I see that my existence is of somebenefit to someone,
at that moment I feel more happy.
I am convinced that human nature is basicallygentle, not aggressive.
And everyone has a responsibility to act as if allour thoughts, words, and deeds matter;
for, really, they do.
Generally speaking, to have a sense of remorse isa positive thing. But one has to insure that the intensity does notget to the point of crippling. Then it becomes negative. Sometimespeople are so crippled with remorse and guilt, they becomeself-absorbed. It begins to eat them from within."
One thing we can do is, we can practiceforgiveness, and underlying forgiveness is the ability to distinguishbetween the individual and the act."
In one of my daily prayers, myfavorite daily prayers, it says,
"So long as sentient beingsremain, I will remain in order to serve."
For as long as spaceendures,
And for as long as livingbeings remain,
Until then, may I tooabide
To dispel the misery of theworld.
Tibetan Prayer
If we carry basic human spirit - human goodqualities -
then many problems we can reduce,eliminate.
"O God, Creator of theuniverse, Who extends Your paternal concern over every creature andguides the events of history to the goal of salvation, we acknowledgeYour fatherly love when You break the resistance of mankind and, in aworld torn by strife and discord, You make us ready forreconciliation.
Renew for us the wonders ofyour mercy: send forth Your Spirit that He may work in the intimacyof hearts, that enemies may begin to dialogue, that adversaries mayshake hands and peoples may encounter one another inharmony.
May all commit themselves tothe sincere search for true peace which will extinguish allarguments, for charity which overcomes hatred, for patience whichdisarms revenge."
The Deeper Wound from Deepak Chopra
As fate would have it, I was leaving New York on ajet flight that took off 45 minutes before the unthinkable happened.By the time we landed in Detroit, chaos had broken out. When Igrasped the fact that American security had broken down sotragically, I couldn't respond at first. My wife and son were also inthe air on separate flights, one to Los Angeles, one to San Diego. Mybody went absolutely rigid with fear. All I could think about wastheir safety, and it took several hours before I found out that theirflights had been diverted and both were safe.
Strangely, when the good news came, my body stillfelt that it had been hit by a truck. Of its own accord it seemed tofeel a far greater trauma that reached out to the thousands who wouldnot survive and the tens of thousands who would survive only to livethrough months and years of hell.
And I asked myself, Why didn't I feel this waylast week? Why didn't my body go stiff during the bombing of Iraq orBosnia? Around the world my horror and worry are experienced everyday. Mothers weep over horrendous loss, civilians are bombedmercilessly, refugees are ripped from any sense of home or homeland.Why did I not feel their anguish enough to call a halt toit?
As we hear the calls for tightened Americansecurity and a fierce military response to terrorism, it is obviousthat none of us has any answers.
However, we feel compelled toask some questions.
Everything has a cause, so wehave to ask, What was the root cause of this evil?
We must find out not superficially but at thedeepest level. There is no doubt that such evil is alive all aroundthe world and is even celebrated.
Does this evil grow from thesuffering and anguish felt by people we don't know and thereforeignore? Have they lived in this condition for a longtime?
One assumes that whoever did this attack feelsimplacable hatred for America.
Why were we selected to be the focus of sufferingaround the world?
All this hatred and anguish seems to have religionat its basis.
Isn't something terribly wrongwhen jihads and wars develop in the name of God?
Isn't God invoked with hatredin Ireland, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Israel, Palestine, and evenamong the intolerant sects of America?
Can any military response makethe slightest difference in the underlying cause?
Is there not a deep wound atthe heart of humanity?
If there is a deep wound,doesn't it affect everyone?
When generations of sufferingrespond with bombs, suicidal attacks, and biological warfare, whofirst developed these weapons?
Who sellsthem?
Who gave birth to the satanictechnologies now being turned against us?
If all of us are wounded, will revenge work?
Will punishment in any formtoward anyone solve the wound or aggravate it?
Will an eye for an eye, a toothfor a tooth, and limb for a limb, leave us all blind, toothless andcrippled?
Tribal warfare has been going on for two thousandyears and has now been
magnified globally. Can tribal warfare be broughtto an end?
Is patriotism and nationalism even relevantanymore, or is this another form of tribalism?
What are you and I as personsgoing to do about what is happening?
Can we afford to let the deeper wound fester anylonger?
Everyone is calling this an attack on America, butis it not a rift in our collective soul?
Isn't this an attack on civilization from withoutthat is also from within?
When we have secured our safety once more andcared for the wounded, after the period of shock and mourning isover, it will be time for soul searching.
I only hope that these questions are confrontedwith the deepest spiritual intent.
None of us will feel safe again behind the shieldof military might and stockpiled arsenals.
There can be no safety untilthe root cause is faced.
In this moment of shock I don't think anyone of ushas the answers.
It is imperative that we pray and offer solace andhelp to each other.
But if you and I are having a single thought ofviolence or hatred against anyone in the world at this moment, we arecontributing to the wounding of the world.
Love,
Deepak
there is underlying that changea living Power that is changeless,
that holds all together, thatcreates, dissolves and recreates . . . .
For I can see in the midst ofdeath, Life persists,
in the midst of untruth, Truthpersists,
in the midst of darkness Lightpersists.
All violence isinjustice.
Responding to violence withviolence is injustice, not only to the other person but also tooneself. Responding to violence with violence resolves nothing; itonly escalates violence, anger and hatred. It is only with compassion that we canembrace and disintegrate violence. This is true in relationshipsbetween individuals as well as in relationships betweennations.
Many people in America consider Jesus Christ astheir Lord, their spiritual ancestor and their teacher. We shouldheed His teachings especially during critical times like this. Jesusnever encourages us to respond to acts of violence with violence. Histeaching is, instead, to use compassion to deal with violence.
The teachings of Judaism go very much in the samedirection.
Spiritual leaders of this country are invited toraise their voices, to bring about the awareness of this teaching tothe American nation and people. What needs to be done right now is torecognize the suffering, to embrace it and to understand it.
We need calmness and lucidity so that we canlisten deeply to and understand our own suffering, the suffering ofthe nation and the suffering of others.
By understanding the nature andthe causes of the suffering, we will then know the right path tofollow. The violence and hatred we presently face has been created bymisunderstanding, injustice, discrimination and despair.
We are all co-responsible forthe making of violence and despair in the world by our way of living,of consuming and of handling the problems of the world.
Understanding why this violencehas been created, we will then know what to do and what not to do inorder to decrease the level of violence in ourselves and in theworld, to create and foster understanding, reconciliation andforgiveness.
I have the conviction that America possessesenough wisdom and courage to perform an act of forgiveness andcompassion, and I know that such an act can bring great relief toAmerica and to the world right away.