Peace Is Possible

"Without deep listening and gentle loving speech it is very difficult to move towards peace. Peace will only become a reality, says Thich Nhat Hanh, when world leaders come to negotiations with the ability to hear the suffering at the root of all conflicts." - Thich Nhat Hanh

War does not have to be a requirement of life, a necessary evil according to this Vietnamese Buddhist Teacher. According to him the root of all conflict is ignorance of that the fact that every human being has within him inherent goodness., which Buddhists call "Buddha Nature".

Countries go to war because they imagine that difference is evil, so if I like oranges and you don't there something inherently wrong with you. And I fear you because you are different, because you don't understand that below all the difference we are all the same, with only different personalities and desires and opinions and likes and dislikes, superficial stuff.

Exploitation would not be possible of one person by another if we knew how alike we all really are. When you meet the homeless, mentally ill or less fortunate, remind yourself that they too are "Buddhas". Then it won't be possible for you to abuse or exploit or hate them.

If leaders were aware of who they really are and they chose to speak gently with each other and really listen deeply, there would not be any wars.

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