“To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.” – Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Russell was a British Philosopher and proponent of peace. He spoke many times and was a prolific writer on the subject of social reform and anti nuclear proliferation. He was an outspoken opponent of the US Government.

Just a few Facts as we begin:

3,777 US war dead as of Sept 2007, 119 Great Britain war dead as of Sept 2007, 118 other countries war dead as of Sept 2007, with over 27,848 injuries sustained by Sept 2007.

Reported and published by the Brookings Institute on October 12, 2007: that approximately 655,000 people have died in Iraq as a result of the unprecedented invasion by the US and its allies in 2003.

The US and UK governments have both said the chaotic situation in Iraq makes it impossible to gather such information accurately, but do not deny the claim.

It is unfathomable for us to grasp the meaning behind these statistics. Our minds are unable to embrace the idea that nearly 660,000 people have lost their lives due to aggression and fear.

“Aggression and fear are weapons of mass destruction.” – BK

I would like to relate a little known story of violence vs. non-violence found in history in 402 AD. In ancient Rome the gladiator fights had been a part of the Roman life for over 7 centuries. We can imagine that Romans thought there would always be gladiator fights much like people today believe we will always have war.

Many Romans objected to the fights, leading to Emperor Honorius to close the gladiator schools. The fights however continued. By this time Rome had adopted Christianity as the formal religion.

A small Monk named Telemachus lived just outside Rome and was known to many as a very holy man. We can only assume that he may have prayed for an end to the killings and asked for a way to bring about that goal.

He took this opportunity to face his fear. We know that he walked into the gladiator ring and spoke about joy and love to the men who were about to fight. Telling them, ‘men were not born to fight but to love’, telling them they were ‘born to love’, he placed himself in peril. The crowd as you can imagine became furious. They began throwing things at the monk and shouting, wanting blood.

More than likely a guard pushed him away. However, he continued, saying these men who were slaves and trained to fight in the ring of death, were men like us all, ‘born to love’ and ‘not born to kill’. The spectators were riotous. “What right does this little monk have to stop the spectacle?”

According to history there are a few different accounts as to what happened next. In one account a soldier gave an order, a sword flashed and the monk lay dead; in another version the people stoned him.

What we know for certain is the monk Telemachus was killed that day. I can only imagine that after some time the crowd may have gone silent. Surely they must have wondered, “what just happened?” In front of their eyes a holy man lay dead in his own blood.

His message that all life was sacred and needed to be honored was slain with him.

Days like today and days out of history like those for Telemachus should inspire us. Individual acts of peace are often forgotten or may not be noticed at all. We should never abrogate our quest for peace to another, nor allow a chance for peace to slip through our fingers. Our duty to ourselves and others is to constantly ring the bell for every person in every land until peace exits without exception for each of us.

Peace is not a place or space in which we can bask in golden rays of tranquility. Peace is a mindset. It takes real effort and belief to bring about peace. Hatred is fueled by hatred. Peace is made long standing by acts of peace and a belief in peace.

There are many opportunities for us to judge a situation or person or event. The danger in judging is that judging anything, person, place or event allows you to categorize and label the object of your judgment. When you label you will assign good or bad, positive or negative condition to it. This activity is, in itself prejudicial. It is impossible to bring about inner peace when you have events, places and people categorized into happenings you will not attend, places you will not visit and people you wish to have nothing to do with.

Inner peace comes from the belief in the process of peace. Peace must first exist in our interior universe before we can imagine it in the exterior universe we live in. If we treat each other, without exception, with equanimity we are on the path to experiencing inner joy and peaceful co-existence.

Often we are asked to look at a glass as being half empty or half full.

What would happen if we do not apply a value to the contents? We would see the glass for what it is, simply a glass.

We must learn to observe. Pure observation is being able to watch any situation and not apply any need to classify, or attach positive or negatives, no measure of good or bad, and no right or wrong. It does not mean that these things do not exist. It means that observation is not the means used to affix them.

The attitude by which we view our world requires a subtle understanding of the social-economic, spiritual and political aspects and the forces that propel us into the present. It is unwise to look at any situation as black and white. We must also be mindful what has worked for us in the past and what has not. If we do not learn from the processes we have employed in the past we can effect no positive change to the present.

Our current political framework takes a simplistic view of good vs. evil, using terms like freedom vs. terror, traditional values vs. frightening realities. Rather than a simplistic black and white view, we need a pure and clear understanding of our of our world political climate, based on an honest reflection of the experience of the day.

There have to be more choices. Our response to situations we find ourselves in must be based on pure observation. The same positive and loving kindness standards we apply for our own actions must be applied to the actions of others, whether they be individuals or collective groups. We must not respond to aggression with aggression. “The fire of hatred is fueled by more hatred not quenched by it.”

Intellectually we know that uncertainty and fear created by an action can be frightening. We know we feel anxiety and frustration. But many times the anxiety we experience is created by our own lack of understanding.

In this instance, instead of looking for a source of blame we should be compelled to observe the events leading up to the action that is causing anxiety and frustration.

We do not need to place blame. We do not need to use fear nor respond with aggression. Fear and aggression while being primal are an impediment to rational thought and understanding brought forward by the process of pure observation.

Peace is a process by which we reconcile ourselves to the ideal that each of us without exception is sacred.

There is no person regardless of any means of measurement who has a value which is more or less than any other person. Life, all life, is sacred.

“We must develop a hunger for peace.” We must believe, like Telemachus, in the goodness of all people and that we are born to love and nurture. We must have faith in peace. We can only imagine that day in Rome some sixteen centuries ago. That when the dust settled, everyone had become quiet. I wonder what would be on our minds if we were in the same situation. We can be encouraged by individual acts of belief and faith in peace.

Our generation can make a difference much like Telemachus. We can take some of the needed steps to bring about the end of hostilities toward each other. There were no more gladiator fights ever held again after that day.

We can, by being a positive force in the universe, bring about a change for the better. We must believe that war and aggression are not human characteristics but are responses based in ignorance. We must develop a hunger for peace. We must have faith in peace.

It must develop like a seed within us. Our thoughts and daily actions must reflect our commitment to the ideals of peace.

Only then will we see peace as an alternative to fear and aggression.

“Fear and aggression are weapons of mass destruction.” We must never allow them be used in our name and against anyone for any reason. Individual acts of peace are often unheeded and ignored. There have been many people, Telemachus, Gandhi, Kennedy, King, and Mandela who have offered us a glimpse of faith in peace. Events like today’s forum should inspire us to move forward.

In years to come succeeding generations will look at us in the same way we look at those before us. How do we respond to the young people of tomorrow? We can be a people of peace. It is not enough to offer criticism without an offer of remedy.

We are the remedy, we can believe in the values of a peaceful people. It starts inside of us. Your mind can tell you that the values of peace are not only valuable but necessary. But you must feel the value of peace in your heart.

In all my talks at the temple and wherever I speak I always end my talk by offering a wish of peace.

Today is no different. As we spend the day in thought and reflection on the values of peace and a world without aggression, be mindful of the feelings that rise inside you. Become the vehicle for peace in your own life. Extend your peace and energy to all around you.

I ask you to simply believe, to have faith in your self, not to a power or ideal outside yourself, but to believe in your own power to bring about peace.

People may look at you, what you stand for, what you dream of, your interest in all living beings, and a world of peace and ask what sense does it make, what difference can you make.

The fact that you think about peace helps to bring it about. What you can think of in your mind your actions will help create. Others will watch and see and gain insight from your efforts, so never give up. Others may come to see their own faults and begin to let go. In so doing your faith in the peace process grows.

So let peace exist in a small way inside of you. Let peace exist in your mind. Let your mind, through your thoughts and intentions, create a better space for peace to grow and blossom like a lotus in your heart.

Let your actions speak convincingly of your determination to live a peaceful life, believe in your firmness of purpose and expect good things to flow from you.

Believe in the goodness that can be in all beings. But mostly, accept as true it exists in you. Peace and tranquility exist first as thoughts, then understandings, words and finally action. Others may not be able to read your thoughts or understand your thinking, and may not fully comprehend your words, but they will recognize your actions. Have courage to be the action. Have courage to be the vehicle of peace. Let us all begin anew, begin fresh, and begin each of our days with a simple prayer.

“There is going to be a time of peace,
so let it begin today with me.”

I Wish You Peace,

Bhante Kassapa

Bhante n. Kassapa Bhikkhu
bhante_kassapa@yahoo.com
Buu Mon Temple
Port Arthur, Texas, 77640
409.982.9319

United Nations International Peace Day, October 22, 2007
Keynote Address at the Peace and Faith Exploration Workshop
Sponsored by Southeast Texans for Peace, Beaumont, TX.