What if the President were a Buddhist: A Direction Towards World Unity and Peace
By Michael Boyajian
With the Dalai Lama’s visit to the White House there is speculation that may lead us to wonder what the world would be like if the President were a Buddhist. He would surely realize that for the world to survive it must become unified so that world peace could therefore exist. This realization would be an awakening. When the Buddha was first asked what he was he replied I am awake.
For the President to reach this goal he would have to adhere to the basic tenants of Buddhism and this would in itself lead to the outcome of world unity and peace.
World unity begins with the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism. According to Huston Smith, first life is suffering. Second it is caused by egos. Third there is a way out. And fourth, there is a way out through the Eight Fold Path. Life is suffering because the world is not unified and can not enjoy the fruits that unity and world peace brings to all. If we put aside our nationalistic egos and join as one we soon realize that there is a way out of this suffering and the way out is through the Eight Fold Path.
Before we embark on the path there is a preliminary point that must be acknowledged and that is that we are all social animals. In order to optimize enlightenment and our social tendencies one must have a unified world where we all hold hands together.
Now considering Buddhism’s roots in Hinduism it must be stated that there are many paths to unity and peace. One can travel the roads of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam to name but a few religions and still attain unity and peace. We are merely using Buddhism here to show one of the many roads to the same outcome.
Step one of the Eight Fold Path says humans are rational beings. Therefore reason dictates we would want world peace and hence a unified world. Reason dictates peace over war. Step two tells us that our hearts must truly want to follow this path to its outcome. Step three is the importance of speech. We must speak about this path. Silence will not work. Step four is our conduct. We must avoid wronging one another so that we may live in peace sort of like the Ten Commandments. Fifth, you must have the right occupation. So it’s best to avoid being an assassin or a Ponzi scheme criminal. Sixth, in order to attain unity we must have the will to do so. Seven, we must understand what it is that we are doing. We must overcome ignorance and the fear that walks with it. Finally, eight, we must feel the approach of enlightenment, of world unity and the peace it brings.
So in conclusion, this is an outline of a spiritual route to world unity and peace that will guide the political course to the same outcome.
End.