Recently, His Holiness the Dalaia Lama wrote an opinion editorial in The Washington Post, in collaboration with Arthur C. Brooks, Post columnist and president of the American Enterprise Institute. Here is an excerpt of this article on breaking the cycle of hatred in our world.
“Human beings have a deep longing to live together in harmony. People only feel completely alive when experiencing loving bonds with one another. Everyone, of all faiths and no faith, knows this truth, and most profess it openly. And yet people fight incessantly…. Often it is on the Internet—which was launched as a forum for unity—where people attack one another, under the cloak of anonymity. This state of constant conflict is a major source of stress and unhappiness for millions of people. Is there a solution? We believe that the answer is yes. Further, as is the case with all big problems, within this crisis lies an opportunity. Polarization contains the seeds for personal excellence and spiritual advancement… The solution—and the opportunity for each of us—lies not in disagreeing less, but in understanding the appropriate way to disagree with others, even when we are treated with hatred. A valuable clue can be found in the words of the 8th-century Indian Buddhist master Shantideva in his text ‘A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life’: ‘Unruly beings are as unlimited as space / They cannot possibly all be overcome, / But if I overcome thoughts of anger alone / This will be equivalent to vanquishing all foes.’” MORE
