Building the defences of peace
On Vesak Day we celebrate the birth, the enlightenment and the passing away (or Mahāparinibbāna) of the Buddha. Yet the celebration of Vesak is not merely to commemorate these important occasions. The true significance of Vesak lies in what the Buddha realised on the night of his Enlightenment and taught to the world for over 45 years, out of compassion for sentient beings. This is encapsulated in the Four Noble Truths:
- There is suffering or unsatisfactoriness in the world;
- There is the cause of suffering;
- There is the end of suffering;
- There is the path or way to complete cessation of suffering – the Noble Eightfold Path.
All the suffering in the world – from war and conflict to natural disasters – stems from three root causes: greed, hatred, and ignorance. Greed manifests as the grasping of desires; hatred encompasses anger, ill-will and aversion; and ignorance obscures the understanding of reality and the true nature of things. The teachings of the Buddha are directly aimed at the reduction and eradication of these root causes.
The Buddhist concept of the ‘world’ comprises the outer and inner world. The outer or external world refers to the environment and its inhabitants around us, and the inner world refers to our own minds and hearts. Without peace of mind within ourselves, it is difficult for us to live in harmony with others in the outer world.
As the preamble to the UNESCO constitution states:
Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.
All the wars in the world have resulted in enormous human suffering and misery. Killing or destroying our enemies does not solve the problem. The real enemies lie within our own minds.
The Buddhist concept of peace differs from that of conventional world peace. Peace is not merely the absence of war. While various measures may temporarily quell international and regional conflicts, lasting peace remains elusive without addressing the root causes of greed, hatred and ignorance in human hearts and minds. Unless these inner afflictions are addressed, war and conflict will continue to resurface – if not in the near future, then in our lives to come.
The Buddhist approach to building the defences of peace in one’s mind lies in the systematic development and purification of the mind through sīla (morality), samādhi (concentration) and paññā (wisdom) which constitute the Noble Eightfold Path – the way to the complete cessation of suffering.
This is where we, as individuals, have an important role to play. We have a responsibility, not only to ourselves, but to humanity, to take upon ourselves to put into practise the values taught and embodied by the Buddha: generosity, morality, renunciation, wisdom, effort, patience and endurance, truthfulness, determination, and compassionate love. These values are necessary for the promotion of peace, harmony and stability within the individual and the world we live in.
We may not able to change the world outside, but we can change our world within. If we, as individuals, transform ourselves, those around us and in the world at large will gradually be transformed.
How to do this on a practical level? The answer lies in the cultivation of mettā and mindfulness as taught by the Buddha more than 2,500 years ago. Mettā and mindfulness will reduce and eradicate the tendencies of greed, hatred and ignorance, and promote the development of wisdom, compassion and other humanistic values.
Through mettā and mindfulness, we will be able to put into practise the various path factors of the Noble Eightfold Path. The Noble Eightfold Path not only ensures peace and happiness in this lifetime, it also paves the way for the complete cessation of suffering or ultimate liberation – going beyond the saṃsāric cycle of birth, old age, sickness and death.
No matter what happens in the external world, we need to focus our efforts on cultivating inner peace and equanimity. This in turn will enable us to reach out to others and positively influence the world around us.
Excerpt from Venerable Mahinda’s message for the United Nations Day of Vesak 2025.
