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Kathmandu Wednesday May 09, 2001 Baishakh 26, 2058.
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For love
and peace
The 2545th Buddha Jayanti
should mean something more than a formal and customary celebration, especially at a time
when the country is besieged with the Maoist insurgency. In recent months, the insurgency
has taken an ugly turn, leaving a trail of blood across the country. This makes Lord
Buddha’s doctrine of peace and happiness all the more significant. But peace and
happiness are delicate and divine experiences. It is an ideal which human beings of all
walks of life crave for, consciously or unconsciously. But how many of us believe that
peace conquers greed, hatred and ignorance? Had we recognized the noble path of Lord
Buddha, whose gospels still remain as true and relevant as ever, we would not have
suffered from the flames of vices and vanity. Neither would the country have been torn
apart due to political differences, nor would we have come across so much hardship and
misery. Unfortunately, that has never been realized in our society. Instead we have
recognized hatred, greed for power and voracity, a painful practice that leads us to
violence and disorder. We have ignored His gospels at a cost to morality and wisdom. As a
result, the poor and the needy have raised arms to fight for justice and two meals a day.
In Buddhism, a point that begins the life is dukkha, the
realization that life is unsatisfactory and it drives every individual towards endless
desire and illusion. Suffering originates in human desire, greed for power or attachment
to things. Greed, hatred and ignorance are three fires which must be put out from our
society. Buddha saw old age, illness and death. He experienced a chain of life, from
childhood to adulthood to old age. This experience made him realize that everything in the
world is transitory. Many Buddhists, therefore, believe that everything is changing all
the time and all that we experience here is anitya. This realization led Buddha to teach
anatman, an unchanging essence in anyone or anything. For more than 25 centuries, this has
been the guiding principle for millions of human beings.
It is ironic that Buddha’s birthplace has been ravaged
due to internal unrest and insurgency. We have no respect for humanity, nor have we made
any remarkable progress in eradicating social evils. Sadly, the gospels and principles of
Lord Buddha have been ignored, giving way to more killings and violence within the
country. How far can we go on ignoring the teachings of Buddha that guide us towards
enlightenment? What needs to be blown out in this case, as Buddha says, are the flames of
greed, hatred and ignorance. The noble truth is that the path to happiness which involves
morality and wisdom does exist. We cannot undermine the pluralistic values that have been
in our society for years. Raising arms struggle against the establishment is not a
permanent solution. Love, affinity and cooperation speak louder than guns and bombs.
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