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War and Peace via God and Buddha Teachings
The Soviet Union proposed a six-point plan regarding the withdrawal of troops from Kuwait, yet the rejection of this leads to continued violence and contradictory prayers for divine support from opposing nations. Jesus’s “Sermon on the Mount” shares profound similarities with the Buddhist “Discourse on Happiness.” “Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor” parallels the wisdom of knowing one does not know, preventing the blockage of insight. “Happy are those who mourn” reveals that suffering is the necessary base for happiness and learning. “Happy are those who are humble” highlights humility as a condition to overcome ignorance. “Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires” equates to bodhicitta, the vow to help living beings through understanding and love. “Happy are those who are merciful” reflects karuṇā, the capacity to remove suffering, which immediately transforms the practitioner. “Happy are the pure in heart” signifies Tự tịnh kỳ ý, purifying the mind to see reality and enter the Pure Land.
“Happy are those who work for peace” requires a peaceful heart, for one cannot overcome evil with evil. “Happy are those who are persecuted” relates to the practice of patience (kṣānti), maintaining peace even in prison. Practitioners are described as the “salt of the earth,” akin to the Sangha providing the taste of liberation, and the “light of the world,” emitting mindfulness that enlightens others. Jesus’s teaching that anger is equivalent to murder aligns with the Buddhist view that action by thought is the most basic action; soldiers practicing killing in their minds inflict deep, lasting wounds on their own consciousness and future generations. The instruction to reconcile with a brother before offering a gift at the altar teaches that God and the altar are found in one’s relationships; hugging meditation and bowing to ancestors are concrete ways to practice this reconciliation and recognize the spiritual nature of all beings.
The teaching on adultery emphasizes that wrongdoings spring from the mind (Tội tùng tâm khởi), and transforming the mind eliminates the transgression without the need for surgical removal of parts of oneself. “Love your enemies” is possible by perceiving the fear and suffering within the other person, transforming the concept of an enemy into an object of compassion. Prayer should not be a performance for others or a list of demands, but a sowing of good seeds of wisdom and happiness in the heart. The petition “Give us today the food we need” calls for living in the present moment and protecting the environment, as destroying nature is destroying the source of life and God. Finally, true forgiveness arises from awareness and understanding, a necessary practice in times of war and in countering the seeds of violence planted by society and media.