Ideology of Peace
PEACE IN DIFFERENT RELIGIONS
~ 118 ~
misery, he attached the greatest importance to the
fact that man should free himself from all kinds of
desires. For it is these desires that lead man into all
kinds of evils, including violence. The principles he
set forth to govern human life are as follows:
One must renounce all desires and all
thoughts of lust, bitterness, and cruelty. One
must harm no living creature. One must
abstain from all killing. One must work in an
occupation that benefits others and harms no
one.
In principle, there is no place for violence in
Buddhism. For the aim of Buddhism is basically
personal reform. And personal reform can come
about only by striving hard against one’s own self,
rather than by committing aggression against
others. It would be correct to say that violence is
something alien to the Buddhist scheme of things.
Ideologically, Buddhism has no direct relation with
violence.
