How to Wage Peace

What Buddhists do in War

Samsara itself is warfare. Why? Because sentient beings are set upon from all sides by their own afflictions. Thus, the Dharma is filled with martial metaphors. For example, bodhisatvas (corrected from bodhisattva following Tib. byang chub sems dpa’, literally, “warriors intent on awakening”). We speak of victory banners, defeating the host of Māra, etc.

But Buddhists do not wage war, at least, Buddhists who are following the principles of avihimsa, non-harming. Buddhists wage peace. Like any soldier, they go through basic training, adopting personal liberation restraints. They may then move on to advanced training, bodhisatva conduct, and some may even be interested in secret mantra, the special weapons and tactics division of the Buddha’s army. All of this training is dedicated to waging peace.

How does one wage peace? Can one wage peace with an afflicted mind, one filled with rage? No. Anger? No. Peace can only be waged when one’s mind is imbued with the four brahma viharas—loving kindness, compassion, empathy, and most importantly, equanimity. Equanimity (upekṣa) means to be free of partiality and aversion towards allies and enemies, partners and competitors, and so on. It is perhaps the most difficult of the four to apply consistently.

Based upon love and compassion, one then cultivates any of the three types of bodhicitta, aspiration for awakening—the aspiration to become an arhat, pratyekabuddha, or a buddha. Some people mistakenly assert arhats and pratyekabuddhas are selfish, but this is an error. They just do not have the imagination that allows them to think it is possible or desirable to attain complete buddhahood.

The bodhisatva is the frontline warrior in waging peace. But do not think that bodhisatvas are obvious or that one can know them through an overt commitment to Mahāyāna Buddhism. Many bodhisatvas have no knowledge of their past lives, many bodhisatvas are not even Buddhists. Until they reach the pure bhūmis, bodhisatvas forget all their realization and have to start over from the beginning every time. But like any learned skill, in each life time, they run through the stages more quickly, if they are lucky enough to meet the Dharma. Many do not for eons. Nevertheless, having taken bodhisatva vows in past lives, such bodhisatvas are motivated by compassion and aid sentient beings far better than many of us who call ourselves Buddhists. Candrakīrti states that there are no outer signs by which one can discern a bodhisatva. A bodhisatva can only be known through their acts of compassion.

Waging peace has nothing to do with social justice movements, but it could; it has nothing to do with addressing inequality; but it could, and so on. “Waging peace” first and foremost refers to defeating the enemy, self-grasping, which is the source of all misery and suffering in the world. If one cannot defeat self-grasping, one will always be defeated by everything else.

When we have begun to overcome our self-grasping, become free of the poison of the five afflictions, at that point, we can really be benefit to others. Until then, not so much. We need to recognize our limitations, and at the same time not abandon our aspiration to benefit sentient beings.

One of the most effective weapons in the arsenal of the warrior of awakening is generosity. In generosity, there are four types: material generosity, giving protection, giving love, and giving the Dharma. Giving the Dharma is the most effective way to wage peace. We try to understand where any given person is at and we educate them in a Dharma suitable for that person. We will not always succeed, especially in internet spaces. The internet attenuates communication, robs it of context. It’s not easy to wage peace in this medium. Still, no one said waging peace is easy.

There is much more that could be said on this topic. But for now, as Buddhists, let us always try to wage peace, and never war, refraining from violence in word and deed, as best we can. We are not perfect, so we will not always succeed, being subject to afflictions ourselves, but if we always try to do our best, then there is no fault.

In these trying Kali Yuga times, try to not spend that much time being outraged by the afflicted behavior of other sentient beings. Samsara is a madhouse and we should not expect to much, if anything, of others. There is not much point in outrage. It does not stop sentient beings from being sentient beings, i.e., dominated by the five poisons. Expecting other people to observe some defined ethical standard, even in the Buddhist community, is delusional, especially in a world filled with sociopathic leaders, both secular and religious. All we should expect of sentient beings is that they will invariably act out of self-interest, and when that competes with one’s own interests, they will choose themselves first. It is as rare as stars in daytime that sentient beings place the happiness of others before their own. Sadly, it is only when we put the happiness of others before our own that everyone will truly experience happiness. But, this is not possible in a modern, capitalist economy.

We cannot condition others, we can only observe ourselves. A Tibetan proverb holds, “For looking at others, you only need eyes; but for looking at yourself, you need a mirror.” The only way a bodhisatva can be honest is to use the mirror of mindfulness. In the Lojong teachings, there is a slogan, “Of the two judges, heed the principal one.” This means that when confronted with external judgments and self-reflection, heed the latter over the former.

Samsara is an unrelenting battle. It is never satisfactory and there are no satisfactory outcomes for those who wander in samsara. Samsara is the House, and the House always wins.

The warrior of awakening then should try to help sentient beings free themselves from the mire of samsara. It’s endless, but the warrior of awakening is undaunted.