Ahimsa (Non-violence)

Good evening to the most respectable religious leaders, all dignitaries, ladies and gentle men:

It is great pleasure to be with you here today.  I am very much grateful to the organizers of this great event for giving me a chance to speak at this program.  I like to discuss about peace and non violence from Buddhist point of view on the occasion of 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  We can find the words referring to Non-violence and peace in the literature of Pali.  Ahimsa Pramo Dharmo, Non-violence is the excellence of all the Dharma.  The Buddha used this word (Ahimsa – nonviolence) several times on a number of occasions.  This word is more relevant today.  Today the whole humanity is fraught with conflicts generated by political, economic, social, religious and racial considerations.  There is not a single corner which is free from conflicts and turmoil.  Human rights issues have continuously and even more increasingly caused serious problems in international communities.  Frequent violations of human rights have repeatedly occurred not only in those traditional bound cultural areas but also in the most advanced societies as well.  Such acts of violations are not simply incurred by the lack of knowledge about the meaning of human rights and its universal validity, but more seriously by the lack of loving-kindness and compassion to guard its essential life and dignity.

Violations of human rights from time to time appeared due to lack of religious intolerance.  In fact, many people say that every religion is same in the essence, because no religion encourages violence.  Every religion teaches the doctrine of peace and harmony.  What is the purpose of our life?  The purpose of our life is to get peace.  Along with the purpose of our life, each and every religion taught us for peace.  There are two kind of people in the world: 1) The people who practice religious teaching properly, 2)  the people who make use of religion.  It is due to these people all religious intolerance occurs.  It is not the fault of religion: It is the fault of the followers of the faith.  Religion is not responsible; it is we, the people, who are responsible for all these immoral activities.  Therefore, promotion of peace and non-violence is an important task of the world today.  To establish peace building it is very much essential for all religions to have mutual respect and mutual understanding.  Without giving respect to others, how can I expect respects from others? That was the reason the Buddha started his religion with right understanding, which is called in Buddha''s word as Sammaditthi.  When we have right understanding and mutual respect, there will be no place for hatred and violence.   Where there is no hatred, there will be love.  Where there is love, there will be peace.

Besides, the Buddha taught us five precepts.  These five precepts are very popular among Buddhist communities.  But these five precepts are not only belonged to Buddhists but also belonged to every humanity, because these are the basic principals of human society.

What are they?

1)       Abstain from killing; abstain from killing any living beings.  Actually we have no rights to kill others.  Other living beings are also having the rights to live their lives.
2)       Abstain from stealing; abstain from stealing the things belonging to others.
3)       Abstain from sexual misconduct;
4)       Abstain from telling a lie;
5)       Abstain from intoxication

These are five precepts.  I think Dr. King''s and Mahathamagandhi''s non-violence philosophies are also based on these principals, because all human principals are same.  If we maintain these five precepts, we will definitely achieve peace in the family, in the religious communities, in the societies and so on.

With these a few words, I conclude my speech here.  Thank you very much.

Ven. Dr. Nando Batha
Bodhisukha Parahita Temple,
Badu, Barasat, Kolkata, W.B, India.

The Speech was presented at  St. Paul’s Cathedral on Friday, June 19 at 5:00 p.m.  The program was focused on peace building and non-violence  that are the bed rocks for all the religions of the world.  This program was being organized around an exhibit, “Journey Toward Freedom” that commemorates 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s visit to India (1959-2009).  The exhibit highlights Dr. King’s principles and philosophy and the influence of Mahatma Gandhi on him.