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1994-05-29
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BPS Newsletter Cover Essay #10 (Summer-Fall 1988)
A STATEMENT OF CONSCIENCE
by Bhikkhu Bodhi
"All beings tremble at the rod" says the Buddha, yet today the
ominous rod of terrorism has become one of the gravest problems that
we face. No longer is the terrorist threat reserved for the
vulnerable public figure or the outspoken adversary. With their
lightning speed and global reach, our modern media of communication
have given the terrorist cadres a tremendous new power to intimidate
whole populations. Far too often the victims of their hits are the
helpless and innocent, struck down in a symbolic show of hate.
This appalling increase in terrorist violence pierces the moral
consciousness at its core, leaving behind painful and persisting
wounds. For those of us who reside in Sri Lanka the problem becomes
ever more acute as we witness the tide of terrorism sweep across this
traditional homeland of the Dhamma. It is no longer possible for us
to immerse ourselves in the comfortable routines of our familiar
world. Instead we must struggle in anguish and hope to deal with this
frightful menace in our midst -- to understand it and to confront it
in a manner worthy of our Buddhist heritage.
It cannot be disputed that the worldwide rise of terrorism springs
from complex causes of a political, economic and social character,
which must be tackled by any adequate solution to the problem. At the
same time, however, we have to insist that terrorism also has a
deeper underlying human dimension that can only be ignored at our
peril. If we probe beneath the burning issues of political ideology
and ethnic grievances around which the terrorist forces rally, we
will discover at its epicenter those same malignant drives that, in
less virulent form, motivate so much ordinary human conduct.
As the vital dynamism from which terrorism springs we will find
//greed//, a rapacious lust for power and domination. We will find
//hate//, smoldering within as cold resentment or whipped up into a
frenzy of destruction. And we will find //delusion//, a collective
paranoia instilled by inflammatory ideologies or the blind
submergence of the individual in the group. These are the hidden
human roots of terrorism; fed by personal frustration and social
discontent, they yield as their fruits the violence that surrounds
us.
As we grapple with the problem of terrorism, asking ourselves what we
can contribute to stem its rising tide, we may find an answer closer
to home than we imagine. Let us first note that the spread of
terrorism is not so much a macabre deviation from prevailing norms as
an extreme manifestation of a wholesale decline in human fellow
feeling. This lack of empathy and sensitivity to others can already
be discerned in the everyday functioning of society -- in the
spreading disease of corruption, apathy and selfishness infecting the
social organism. Add to this a frantic search for a sense of
belonging through the rediscovery of ethnic roots, and the result is
a potentially very explosive mixture.
If this much is recognized, we may then see that one of the most
effective counter-measures we can apply in our individual capacity
against the growth of terrorism lies very much within our reach.
Simply put, it consists in reaffirming to ourselves -- and teaching
by precept and example -- those fundamental ethical values upon which
a harmonious and peaceful society is founded. This reaffirmation of
genuine moral values -- of compassion, honesty, truthfulness,
tolerance and respect for others -- will sound a thunderous statement
of conscience. Whether made audibly or privately to oneself, it will
raise a note of protest against the moral negligence from which
terrorism draws its sustenance, acclaiming our confidence in the
power of the good.
While we should not cherish unrealistic expectations about our
ability to reshape the world, we also should not lose sight of our
responsibility to counter prevalent trends. Nor should we discount
our ability to make an impact. The clear and decisive commitment to
ethical values has a quiet potency that can effect important changes
both outwardly and inwardly. While subtly altering the interpersonal
aspects of our lives, within our hearts it will fortify those two
mental factors that the Buddha called the guardians of the world --
shame and moral dread -- the former the innate repugnance towards
evil, the latter the fear of its consequences.
Above all, we must reaffirm the need to rise above the limiting
perspectives of the self-centered point of view in which so many
today have become entrenched. Recognizing that every community, and
the world as a whole, is ultimately harmed by the struggle of each
faction to secure its individual ends, we must stand up for the
development of a sense of humane responsibility that will transcend
divisive loyalties. The lesson that we must learn and teach is that
embedded in the ancient maxim taught by the Buddha: "Considering
others as oneself, do not hurt them or cause them harm." To recognize
others as being essentially the same as oneself and to feel their
wish for happiness as one's own, this is the only effective means we
can propose to build the peaceful society for which we yearn.
* * * * * * * *