Follow the Buddha’s teachings in resolving conflict

(February 08, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Dr Walpola Piyananda Thera, Chief Sanganayaka of the United States, Chief incumbent of the Los Angeles Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Temple, Presidential advisor on International Buddhist Affairs

Interviewed by Prarthana Weerasinghe

It is not wrong to say that all of us are engaged in some form of conflict. Could you elaborate?

There have been various conflicts, disputes and uprisings in the world from the very inception. Man had to even fight against nature to survive and develop. This has brought about both beneficial and harmful results.

We can clearly see conflicts developing in families and in countries. These are between lovers, between parents and children, within a country and between countries. We even see these conflicts while on the road and via the media. There are instances when people engage in conflict when they are starving. This results in some of them stealing from others. Others engage in conflict out of lust for power or to move up the career ladder. Some will engage in conflict till their dying day! They will find some reason or the other to create some kind of conflict.

What are the reasons for these conflicts?

The main reason is that people are never satisfied. How many people are satisfied with what they have? People have a tendency to pursue unnecessary goals. The quality of being satisfied with what one has has now disappeared. As Buddhists, we don’t remember anyone else who has faced more conflict or conquered more challenges than Lord Buddha himself.

Can you give a few examples from the life of the Buddha?

The Buddha faced and conquered many challenges even on the road to Buddhahood. What is significant is that the Buddha did not cause any unnecessary physical or mental pain to anyone in the pursuit of his goals. Until the time of his death, he spent all of his time trying to resolve both the mental and the physical conflicts of all beings in this world.

After being unable to control the behaviour exhibited by monks led by Devadattha thera, Lord Buddha decided to move to the forest. Explaining his decision to Ananda thera, the Buddha said, “Ananda, there are people even a Buddha cannot control.”

Both humans and animals tried to insult and discredit the Buddha. There are many examples of this in the Buddha’s life. He was extremely careful when resolving conflict. He strove to gain a clear understanding of the problem and then took unbiased decisions.

Aren’t there far too many conflicts in today’s society, both in families and in the world? This has made the world a very difficult place to live in...

Yes. Some may say that they are prepared to live with their lover even if they had only rice and pol sambol to eat. But this notion quickly changes after the person is married and sometimes ends up in divorce. Being in ‘love’ and getting married many times has now become a sort of fashion. People get married without proper understanding of one another and conflict soon develops.

There is no such thing as mutual understanding anymore. The husband becomes suspicious if his wife goes out for some reason. The wife in turn becomes suspicious when she finds that her husband is going out. This suspicion leads to families being broken up and it is the children in the end who suffer.

Certain terrorist groups start conflicts within states which have elected governments out of a hunger for power. They kill thousands of people and destroy property. This is what has happened in our country and this has lasted for over 20 years. Meanwhile, terrorists too have suffered immensely during the conflict. However, we are confident the day will soon arrive when we will acheive peace.

Various discussions and agreements are taking place to resolve these conflicts. How could Lord Buddha’s teachings be used as a basis for peace in this conflict?

Various religious leaders and groups have tried to change the world according to their beliefs. One of the fundamental points in Buddhism is not to create conflict between oneself and others. Getting involved in conflict creates a lot of problems. We should also learn how to stear clear from these problems. Otherwise, we will simply get caught up in them forever.

The Arana Vibhanga sutra of the Majjima Nikaya, gives a number of reasons why conflicts occur. They are listed as wanting to only fulfil one’s desires, bringing on physical and mental pain on oneself, finding fault with others and believing one is always right. If we endeavour not to create conflict between ourselves and others then all of us can live in peace and harmony.

Courtesy- Lakbima News

-Sri Lanka Guardian