 Master's Words |
Enlightenment is the Key to Keeping Peace in the World |
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|
Master's Words |
Enlightenment is the Key to Keeping Peace in the World |
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Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Pusan, Korea, May 15, 1993 (Originally in English)
The
world is a big house and we have many rooms, and because we are very busy with
our daily lives, we do not have much chance to see each other. But if everyone
in this world realized that we are all brothers and sisters, then there would
not be any discrimination and war.
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Costa Rica, February 9, 1991 (Originally in English)
I
hope that one day the world will be without frontiers, so that neighbors can
come and go to neighboring countries, have a cup of tea, drink a cup of coffee,
talk together, and go back home on the same day or in the same week, without
any problems about documents, without any trouble, without any interference
from policemen, and all kinds of terrible bureaucracy. There should never be
any refugees at all, let alone people refusing them. Every person should have
the right to travel where he or she wants, and to make a living where it is
suitable and favorable to his or her condition. Until that day, our world will
remain in suffering, conflict and war. We should not bother to ask ourselves
why. The reason is very obvious. It's because we are possessive. We think this
is mine, this is ours, this belongs to us. We have forgotten to whom all these
things belong. We have forgotten that God is the only King. And we do not act
according to the rules of this almighty King. We never think in this life. Everyone
just takes care of him or herself. Even if people have too much to eat, and
too much to drink, they don't give it to their neighbors in need. Therefore,
war is inevitable.
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Berkeley University, California, U.S.A. October 13, 1989 (Originally in English)
If
we did not eat meat, no one would kill, no one would raise cattle. All the food
would stay where it was and they could eat it and become healthy and strong.
It'd be good for every nation, and it'd be good for our nation as well. We waste
a lot of money on arms and on raising animals. All the arable land is wasted
nowadays on raising cattle, pigs and the like, or most of it. So if we used
these areas to cultivate wholesome, healthy food, I think the nations would
benefit more and our nation would have more peace and no need for armed defense.
If
every nation lived according to the Bible, according to the Buddhist teachings,
"Thou shall not kill, Thou shall not steal", et cetera, then the world
would have no more need for peace conferences, and would not need to waste so
much coffee, champagne and cake at round table discussions that go nowhere.
The more we talk about peace, the more war we have. It is because we go about
it in an inconsistent manner. If everyone practiced meditation and ate a wholesome
diet without any killing involved, the world would have long since been in a
peaceful state and we'd have no hunger. There's no need to give away your property;
just give up the meat-based diet. That'd be enough to save the world, as well
as your own and the nation's health.
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Montreal, Canada April 17, 1993 (Originally in English)
Meat
is the cause of all wars and suffering in this world, as well as that of your
personal self. To refrain from eating meat is to contribute to peace on this
planet, because in this way we terminate the cause of killing. Therefore, we
will not reap the results of being killed, or being wounded.
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Panama, November 29, 1989 (Originally in English)
Nowadays
there are certain happenings, such as changes in the weather, famine and all
kinds of diseases inflicted upon our world. Some people with little faith blame
God again. Everywhere I lecture, people ask me, "If there is a God why
do such and such disasters happen?" But these people should remember it's
not God who does all these things. It is we who have made all these troubles.
For example, a few nations always test the atom bomb and hydrogen bomb, which
disturbs the structure of the atmosphere, shaking the stability of the Earth.
They think they can just shoot missiles into the air and it will create no problems,
or do it in the ocean and it will make no problems. These practices still make
problems, because the universe is constructed with many kinds of materials,
some with solid substances and some with invisible substance. So by disturbing
the invisible substances, they also disturb the stability of the universe, and
interfere with the natural evolution of nature.
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Costa Rica December 16, 1990 (Originally in English)
All
wars come from ignorance. If we are ignorant, we don't know how to stop hatred,
we don't know how to stop aggression and possessiveness. The higher the position
we're in, the more danger we may cause for humanity; so first, you'd better
be enlightened, and then serve the world with greater understanding.
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
California, U.S.A. November 30, 1993 (Originally in English)
Of
course war is inevitable, and I'm equally grateful if they protect the world
or they keep the peace, but to keep peace is better. It doesn't matter how big
the war is, it can not go on forever if no one fights. If only one side fights,
it gets fed up. It doesn't matter how aggressive a person is, if he continues
alone in a war, then he gets tired and the war ends even more quickly. Sometimes
we interfere with other people's wars, prolonging them and causing the loss
of many lives.
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
U.S.A. February 17, 1991 (Originally in English)
If
we read the Bible, the Buddhist texts, or any other religious scriptures, we
see that it is always stated that the Kingdom of God is within us, we are the
temple of God, or we have Buddha nature within us. Now why don't we make use
of this Buddha nature or the Kingdom of God within to deal with things, instead
of using just outer material power, which is unstable, unreliable, and causes
a lot of misery and the loss of the lives of many talented, young, beautiful,
creative, intelligent human beings, which is a waste.
It
takes tremendous creative power from God or the universal force to create a
human being. It takes a lot of intelligence, time, money and love to raise one
human being. Now, in just one second, it is destroyed, along with thousands
and millions of others in war. That is very, very miserable. It is very unfair
of us to do these things. It doesn't matter if we are right or wrong in war,
it always creates misery for both parties.
We
understand that even our enemies have souls, sentiments, intelligence, compassion
and understanding. It's just that we don't sit together and talk. We don't make
friends. We're not supposed to make friends with our enemies, so we sometimes
forget that they are also human like us. Therefore, it is easy to slay someone
whom we do not think much of or whom we don't hold in high esteem.
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Hong Kong, May 28, 1993 (Originally in English)
We
have always looked for peace in this world. Many nations and the United Nations,
et cetera, have tried their best to reconcile broken ties between the countries
that are having conflicts with each other - sometimes with success, sometimes
without. It's not because the United Nations has not tried its best; it's not
because many presidents or politicians are not pure in their motives; it is
because many of our brothers and sisters have not truly found peace within themselves,
and they are forever still searching for happiness and true peace outside. So
long as we still have these brothers and sisters who are trying to look for
peace and happiness outside of themselves, we will not have true and everlasting
peace in this world. Therefore, most of us know that despite all the finances,
all the time, all the energy spent in making world peace, we often fail. Even
if we succeed, the outcome is only temporary, or if we succeed in having peace
in one country, the next country will break out in war.
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Brisbane, Australia, March 20, 1993 (Originally in English)
People
make war with each other because they identify too much with their bodies with
the immediate needs of their bodies, with all the demands of their bodies. Therefore
they kill each other. The only solution to this problem is to find a way to
realize that we are not our bodies, and therefore no one opposes us and we are
in no danger economically or politically. Enlightenment is the true and lasting
answer; otherwise, we will continue to identify with our bodies and therefore
try to fulfill the needs of the body, out of worry that other people will come
and steal our crops, take our wives, or invade our nations. Some nations make
war with each other because they want to expand their economic power. In order
to feed their overpopulated countries, they fight to gain more land, to gain
more of the economic market, et cetera. It all has to do with the body. Even
though we say it is differences in ideals, it all amounts to bodily demands.
So if we become enlightened, these wars will stop by themselves. We will realize
truly the brotherhood of humankind.