Kamala Sarup: With Love We Can Win The War

A peace loving Nepal genuinely wants peace. Buddha's birth place, Nepal today is facing with a host of political, social and economic problems. Nepal today fraught with tension and conflicts. For a successful and a peaceful Nepal, it is necessary to have a effective government and a people literate and educated.

Because of ubiquitous conflicting goals, incompetence, and selfishness, peace is not easy to maintain. If we study the histories of countries in South America and Europe, we will see many more violent countries.

Even if we see in the US, In the last half of the 19th century in the U.S., excessive wealth and power concentration associated with industrial development resulted in many bloody work stoppages and strikes that ultimately were reduced pressure applied to the government that produced labor law changes that resulted in more powerful labor unions and, consequently, a more equal distribution of U.S. wealth among its citizens. If these labor reforms had not taken place, then war might have broken out between the rich and poor classes and U.S. peace would have been threatened.

Even on the other side, we know, most wars are fought for wealth. The periodic incursions of Asian people into Europe before the Middle Ages was motivated by a desire for land and booty. Wars among nations in Europe was for mostly for land. In WW II (1939-1945), Germany, Italy, and Japan sought economic resources of other nations, land, oil, minerals, etc. Religious wars around the world were and are fought for the dominance, i.e., power, of one religion over others.

But, as Buddha believed that the edifice of peace could be erected only on the foundation of love, compassion, tolerance, co-existence and non-violence. Peace and non-violence are the only sane choices in a violent world. Buddhism offers practical methods to help us deal with a violent Nepal and to develop lasting peace. So, we can change our minds, views; and we can help to engender peace in Nepal.

Jan Willis said "It is not enough that we simply use the methods of Buddhism to find inner peace for ourselves (though that is a very important first step). Rather, having found such inner peace, we must share and spread it and this involves further effort and action".

We Nepali must work for peace. We should join hand for developing a consensus for peace. We have a lot of conflicting views within our different political ideologies and concepts, but they can be sorted out not by using violent means but by sitting together for negotiations and frank exchange of views.The Buddha taught that the first step on the path to peace is understanding the causality of peace.To resolve the current conflict and violence peacefully one must pay due attention to the Four Noble Truths propounded by Lord Buddha.

We must fallow from Buddha's message of love, compassion, tolerance,forgiveness and co-existence to guide itself to achieve a peaceful Nepal. Buddha gave the knowledge of an ultimate reality and a purpose of life. The essential message of Buddha's life is that each of us is capable and deserving of Nirvana. We should use a peaceful mind to act for peace in Nepal. Like Buddha said "If you plant the seeds of war, you get war; if you plant the seeds of peace, you get peace". But we all know, Buddha's compassion for suffering humanity, his love for rationalism, peace and non-violence have always been sources of inspiration.

Even, recently the second world Buddhist Summit concluded in Lumbini issuing the Lumbini Declaration. The declaration has also requested the government to take initiatives for the development of other religious sites in Lumbini to attract national and international visitors. Lumbini has been internationally recognised as an important centre of Buddhist worship.

Buddha said "Live and let live". Today we Nepali mourn the deaths of 12,000 people and pray for a lasting peace in Nepal.

(Kamala Sarup is editor of http://peacejournalism.com/ )

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