Wars and Conflicts – Addressing the Root Causes
Student – Hi Lama La, I’ve been observing the current conflicts and wars, such as those between Israel and Gaza and Ukraine and Russia. In the 21st century, why are we still experiencing such primitive ways to resolve disputes? While ending wars is currently an unrealistic dream, are there ways that we can at least reduce the number of conflicts on the planet?
Master – Conflicts are complicated. One man’s attacker is another’s freedom fighter. Soldiers who are caught by their opponents are war criminals. Those who return home are heroes.
Yes, armed conflict is an extremely primitive way to resolve a dispute, and fortunately most countries don’t go down this road, but instead negotiate agreements. However, to enter into discussions requires a willingness to compromise that is rooted in an understanding of the phrase “There’s no winner in war”, which was coined by the former British PM, Neville Chamberlain.
How do negotiations begin? Both sides need to acknowledge the other’s point of view. As the 2001 documentary ‘Promises’ illustrated, a mutual understanding arises when people begin to see situations from another’s perspective and no longer view each other as bad, but as human beings with hopes for peace and happiness just like themselves.
In short, the conversations between young Israelis and Palestinians initiated by the documentary director brought realizations from both sides – the Israelis came to recognize that the Palestinians attacked them because they built walls that restricted their freedoms and frequently led armed forays into their settlements. Then, for their part, the youth from the West Bank came to understand that the Israelis built walls and restricted their movement because their feared attacks from Palestinian suicide bombers.
In the same way that the Palestinian and Israeli youth began to appreciate each other’s point of view, adversaries need to put themselves in their opponent’s shoes. This is a necessary first step to building a foundation of peace.
Among all the means that can be utilized to prevent war, conflict, and genocide, however, an understanding of interdependence is the most effective. Why is this so? Well, interdependence means that nothing arises from a single source, but is the result of many causes and conditions joining together.
As an example, take something simple like a piece of paper. It wasn’t always a piece of paper, but came into being due to the joining together of many conditions, such as wood, which in turn came from a tree that developed through the interaction of a seed with moisture, heat, and nutrition.
Conflicts and wars are the same, and common causes of local wars are historical land disputes and social upheaval. In addition, there are conflicts that are instigated by distant countries with the aim of exploiting resources, weakening rivals, or making profit from the sale of weapons.
Now, Buddhism is often cited as an agent of peace, and historically it has proven to be so. This reputation is not derived from some wishy-washy ideals of being kind and gentle or due to a self-righteous moral code of conduct, however, but as a result of having interdependence at the core of its philosophy.
Without understanding how everything is made up of components, we cannot realistically unravel the complex strands that bind the knots of war and conflict. Instead, we are likely to treat such incidents as an over-simplistic battle between good and evil.
While viewing a conflict in this way may bring it to an end, resentment and anger will remain, acting like burning coals that can suddenly reignite aggression. In this respect, such conclusions to a conflict are similar to chopping down weeds while leaving the roots firmly entrenched in the ground. The situation looks calm, but requires constant maintenance to ensure it doesn’t flare up again.
Now, of course, most wars have been brought to an end without any the influence from Buddhism, but as interdependence is an integral part of the Dharma, leaders who have deep insights into the teachings of the Buddha will naturally bring the cooling influence of wisdom and understanding to the heat of war, rather than moral indignation and over-simplistic ‘good and evil’ type judgements.
Not only is an understanding of interdependence instrumental in resolving conflicts, but it is also effective in preventing them from arising in the first place. Why is this? Well, in order for genocides or wars to break out we need an enemy – a race, nation, or group of people who are considered evil to the core with no redeeming characteristics.
As examples of this hated-filled ideology, we need only think of recent genocides, such Nazis and Jews in Europe, white and blacks in the US deep south, The Khmer Rouge and intellectuals in Cambodia, and Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda.
Now, with an understanding of interdependence, we recognize that even a single person cannot be a solid, permanent entity of badness, but is a being who possesses many traits and characteristics that change and adapt according to time and place. When we grasp this point with regard to an individual, how then can we condemn a whole race or nation of people as all possessing the same permanent negative traits, as if joined to a central brain system. It’s impossible.
In the same way that removing dark specs enables us to see everything in multicolour, rather than just black, so an understanding of interdependence allows us to view people and situations from a wide bird’s eye view, instead of from just one point of focus.
With a view that recognizes interdependence, we could never arouse the anger and hatred required to commit a genocide against a specific group of people as though they all possessed exactly the same permanent and inherent characteristics. It just would not make sense.
Furthermore, a Buddhist will be aware that every sentient being possesses basic goodness.
This understanding does not mean that criminals are allowed to continue destructive action, and those who harm others should definitely be isolated from society. Still, they are never condemned as inherently bad, and so we never give up on them. Instead, we recognize that like Milarepa, who killed his own family members but later became an awakened being who has been revered for generations, everyone has the potential to awaken to their basic goodness and become exemplary human beings.
In short, a Buddhist recognizes that all beings possess basic goodness, which is embodied in our Buddha nature, and that given the right conditions this quality can, like a diamond cleaned of mud, shine through.
This is a unique and empowering aspect of Buddhism, which differentiates it from most other religions and philosophies that consider beings as inherently bad, with the only possibility of salvation being divine intervention.
Finally, to return to your question, yes, the number of wars can be reduced. However, to accomplish this goal requires wisdom, understanding, and strong will.
Furthermore, as they house relics of awakened beings and represent enlightened activity, chortens and statues of Guru Rinpoche constructed at auspicious and prominent sites have the power to restore harmony to the elements and bring peace to people’s minds, and so are extremely beneficial in maintaining the planet’s health and wellbeing.