The Human Family
A Modern Tibetan Buddhist Perspective
by
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We have no enemy. The real enemy is found within ourselves. The three-headed enemy found within the Buddhist tradition is greed, hatred, and ignorance. If we look back on the Bush Administration in America we can clearly see that these three poisons of greed, hatred, and ignorance fuelled George W. Bush and his administration.
This is the reason we desperately need wisdom in today’s precarious world.
What is the significance of viewing our brothers and sisters as divine beings? We automatically treat each other with respect. Respect is so crucial, we must understand that every life is sacred and precious. Naturally dialogue, and not aggression, will be the natural course to solve our problems and disagreements.
War cannot be justified by any of the teachings of Gotama Buddha. In the Dhammapada (Sayings of the Buddha) we find one of the most popular verses:
“Hate is not conquered by hate: Hate is conquered by love. This is a law eternal.” 37
Buddhism advocates the cultivation of compassion and loving kindness toward all beings. It is only by self-cultivation and developing our minds to a state of peace and tranquility that we can achieve our potential and therefore have a greater impact on the development of peace in the world around us.
Again we find in the Buddhist scripture, that reprisal does not lead to peace:
“A man is not a man because he is a warrior and kills other men; but because he hurts no living thing, he in truth is called a great man.”38
How often in our daily lives do we react with ill thoughts and anger when we think we have been treated unfairly? How often does one make a genuine sustained effort to contemplate, to think before re-acting?
Christianity and Buddhism teach us to love our enemy. Why is this so? Because our so-called ‘enemy’ in reality is our greatest teacher. Our ‘ enemy’ teaches us to practice patience and tolerance. Without our ‘enemy’ we could not practice genuinely, so we are grateful to our ‘enemy’.
However on the ultimate level Buddhism teaches us, in order to establish peace and harmony in the world, all of us must first learn the way leading to the eradication of the three-headed enemy of hatred, greed, and ignorance that are found within.
“If a man should conquer in battle a thousand and thousand more, and another should conquer himself, his would be the greater victory, because the greatest victories is the victory over oneself.”39
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About the Book
Our world is interdependant, there is only one race: The Human Race. The divisions, war, deception, injustice, pollution, poverty, racism,bigotry, human slavery, discrimination, and bullying we see from person to person, and nation to nation are totally human created. Looking at the world in a holistic way, our globe has no divisions, no lines separating one country from another. Nor is there an intrinsic label dividing one country from another; we have created these dvisions and labels. All the problems we are facing as a people, can be solved, because we are the creator of these problems. This book looks into the origins of of these problems, finds the source or root of the problem and tries to propel us in the 21st century with a more enlightened outlook on life. This book will empower you to solve your own problems and then gain wisdom and strength to help others conquer their fears and problems as well. After reading this book you will truly understand that we are all brothers and sisters and once and for all stop looking at our differences as a means to divide people but appreciate and celebrate our similarites. We all belong to the same human family. Lord Jesus Christ, Prophet Muhammad, Lord Buddha,Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and all saints and religious founders were members of the same human family as you and I.