Addressing War and Global Warming Requires Immense Wisdom, Empathy, and Skill
Student – Hi Lama, I’m in my early 20s, and am scared for the future. Wars are spreading and global warming is becoming a reality. My friends say I think too much and should just enjoy life. Are they correct? Is there any hope? What do we need to pull us back from the brink of destruction? Is there anything our small kingdom can do to influence the situation? Are there any world leaders or influential people who are speaking out about the present situation, or are they all just following the US’ lead?
Master – Your friends are correct. You should enjoy life. While you are still young, I recommend that you travel and explore the world. Don’t be the 65-year-old guy who is full of regret about missed opportunities.
At the same time, not only you, but all of us should be very concerned for the future and not sleepwalk into an irreparable catastrophe.
Definitely, there is the potential for current conflicts to spiral out of control, dragging neighboring countries into the turmoil. The former Singaporean PM Lee Kuan Yew warned about issues in the Middle East sparking a regional dispute that could descend into a nuclear conflict.
What do we require to pull back from the brink of mass destruction? We need wisdom. Put in another way, it is essential to have world leaders who can view situations as part of the bigger picture, and not merely from the narrow view of traditional alliances and parochial concerns.
Of course, it is natural that countries prioritize their own interests, but they need to view situations in relation to what Buddhists identify as interdependence.
What does this mean? It means that nothing exists in isolation, but develops in relation to other things. So, while a country may gain temporary advantage due to the sale of weapons to a country at war and the weakening of a rival, it is not immune to the repercussions of conflicts, such as a rise in fuel and food prices, not to mention the flow of refugees escaping the horror of destruction.
However, even these hardships pale in comparison to the human tragedy that is inherent in warfare. In this respect, in addition to wisdom, leaders also require empathy. They need to feel the pain of a child in a bombed-out building, alone and crying for her dead parents, or a mother holding her baby tightly as he takes his final breath.
After watching daily news reports of conflicts, we all tend to become desensitized to the pain associated with violence. Bombings in Gaza or the killings in a kibbutz are merely met with a nod of disapproval and then we take sides, as if supporting a football team.
To instill the futility of war in the minds of world leaders, perhaps they should develop a daily routine of chanting these abbreviated words of former UK PM Neville Chamberlain, “In war, there are no winners, but all are losers.”
As for global warming, we again need to recall Chamberlain’s words, but this time extending the meaning from just a conflict between countries to war with nature. In this latter kind of war everyone loses. There are no hostages, only death.
Sadly, industrialists continue to find loopholes in laws and resolutions that place restraints on the use of fuel that emits greenhouse gasses, while marketing agents continue to encourage unbridled consumption.
However, when the world burns, we will all suffer the consequences of broken food chains, floods, famines, and refugee crises.
At present, industrialists and nations act like organs in a body that have forgotten that they exist interdependently with other organs and the body itself, with the heart refusing to share the blood that it produces and the kidneys allowing toxins to seep into the system – and the result, a sick and dying body, which ironically includes the organs themselves.
What can be done to save the planet? It will require a concerted effort by major industrial countries to commit to green energy. Will this happen? Probably, but sadly only after the effects of rising temperatures bite deeply into national economies and social structures begin to collapse under the strain of droughts and floods.
Am I being overly pessimistic? Perhaps, but until now world leaders have not expressed a will to address the causes of global warming in a way that really matters, nor have they shown genuine empathy with the people suffering the effects of war.
Instead, environmental destruction and loss of life are all too often just considered as nothing more than collateral damage in efforts to grow economies and to keep the wheels of consumerism turning.
Furthermore, the media in most major industrial countries are owned by the very people who benefit from the present economic systems, while leaders in so-called democratic countries require donations to run campaigns, and so are at the mercy of their wealthy patrons, who are often industrialists.
This combination of factors does not bode well for creating a strong framework that can effectively address global warming or prevent regional conflicts from arising.
As mentioned above, the Buddha taught that everything exists interdependently. From this teaching, we understand that in the same way that a flower not only requires a seed to develop, but also needs moisture, heat, and nutrition, so wars and environmental destruction likewise only occur when a number of factors join together.
Now, to untangle the complexity of threads that have created the fabric of destruction and harm requires a similar multifaceted response, and there is no single solution that can solve the causes of war and pacify the anger that follows in its wake. Similarly, vested interests that have created global warming cannot be addressed by a single stroke of a pen.
Are there any respected leaders and academics who are raising these issues at an international level? Yes, there are people like the PM of Barbados, Mia Mottley, and Professor Noam Chomsky who are unafraid to point out the failings and hypocrisy of the present world order. However, whether their words will make an impact and instigate positive change remains to be seen.
As for Bhutan, our greatest gift to the planet is undoubtedly being the custodian and protector of the timeless wisdom of tantric Buddhism, which Guru Rinpoche predicted will burn even brighter in the darkness of degenerate times.
If only our education system could teach the basics of the Dharma, not the ritual, but the philosophy, such as the Four Seals, our people who attend international conferences and who travel overseas for work and study would be like seeds of sanity and wisdom scattered in far lands.
Still, such initiatives require commitment and planning. Until then, as a carbon-negative nation, we can at least proudly promote ecologically based development. In addition, through the wise vision of our monarch, the nation will no doubt develop into a model of sustainability, harmony, and prosperity, which can inspire other countries and become an example that they can emulate.
