Buddhist Education for Ethnic Reconciliation

 Buddhist education represents the body of teachings that the Gautama Buddha taught to his disciples who came from all walks of life. Guatama Buddha’s life reveals that he was a prince called Siddhartha Gautama; later, he abandoned the life in royal palace and set off a spiritual journey by becoming an ascetic seeking an answer to the problem of suffering (dukkha). Finding the solution to the problem of suffering is known as the attaining enlightenment (Buddhatva). Since the particular realization of the nature of reality, ascetic Gautama came to be known as the Buddha, meaning ‘Enlightened one’ or ‘Awakened one.’

 Since the enlightenment, the Buddha spent his whole life in teaching people how to end suffering, psychological as well as physical through understanding the causes of pleasant, unpleasant and neutral experiences. The four noble truths (cattari ariya saccani) are recognized as the core teaching of the Buddha gave. The truth of suffering (dukkha sacca), the truth of the cause of suffering (dukkha samudaya sacca), truth of cessation of suffering (dukkha niradha sacca), and the truth of the path to ceasing suffering (dukkha niradha gamini patipada sacca). The practical path to follow for ending suffering is presented in the fourth truth. It is composed of eight factors, which is known as ‘ariya attangika magga’, the Noble eightfold path. It is also recognized as the middle path (majjhima patipada).

 One who follows the teaching of the Buddha, must practice eight-fold path leading to transform his or her entire personality including views, mental and physical conduct, and intellectual and emotive responses. The eight factors, are right view, right thought, right speech, right deed, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration culminates in blossoming compassion and wisdom (karuna and pragna). The Buddhism understands the transformation the individual should happen in the intellectual faculty and emotional faculty. Then the head and heart work in balance. On this, the renowned Buddhist monk and scholar Walpola Rahula’s words are illuminating:

       For a man to be perfect there are two qualities that he should develop equally:
       compassion (karuna)  on one side and wisdom (panna) on the other. 
      Here compassion represents love, charity, kindness,  
      tolerance and such noble qualities on the emotional side, or qualities of the heart,
      while wisdom would  stand for intellectual side of qualities of the mind.

 Further, wisdom means to adopt a correct worldview. The doctrine of paticasamuppada understands the ultimate reality of the existence is interdependence. The individual, community, and biosphere all cannot survive without the support from others. This sheds light to see for my existence I need the help of others, I cannot live in isolation, am also only a part of the whole, without the whole there is no being for anything. Adopting this worldview fundamentally changes the way of seeing things. Yet, it remains at intellectual level. In the practical level one must manifest this cognitive transformation. It is done through acting out of compassion. All the interactions the individual conducts need to be based on love, compassion, and affection.

 Having this Buddhist educational framework to be applied in dealing with persons, things, situations and issues, let us see what Buddhist education can offer to promote ethnic reconciliation. Ethnic reconciliation takes place in a context where two ethnicities undergo damaged relation with each other. As the psychologist, Daniel Bal-Tar defines (2000), ethnic reconciliation is a process through which the parties in conflict form new relations of peaceful coexistence based on mutual trust and acceptance, cooperation, and consideration of each other’s needs. According to this definition, ethnic reconciliation demands basic change in the way that one ethnicity treats the other. Adding an insight to discussion, the Sri Lankan human rights advocate Dr.Deepika Udagama terms the process of ethnic reconciliation as “a process that should address the psychological rather than the physical”- (2012).

 To produce a positive mindset among the parties who are in conflict and to build trust, the initial step is to forgive for the past. In conflicting parties, the dominant mentality is conquering each other and take revenge. In seeking the rebuilding positive relation, hatred cannot be allowed to play. Union among people is brought about by love, the opposite of hatred. The Dhammapada, a manual among Sri Lankan Buddhists for two millenniums, mentions as follows:

                 Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world.
                 By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased.
                 This is a law eternal.

 The implication of this teaching is that where distrust, feeling of subjugation or fear is present, such a situation has to be faced with compassionate attitude. The dichotomy of the winner and loser has to be eliminated from the minds. Either one ethnic party expresses triumphant attitude over the other, or the other party resort to planning retaliation, then the ethnic reconciliation becomes unachievable.

 Achieving the assurance of coexistence comes by allowing to live each other with dignity. Here, my view is to practice the Golden Rule the Buddha offered:

                       Comparing oneself to others in such terms as
                        "Just as I am so are they,  just as they are so am I,"
                        he should neither kill nor cause others to kill."

The adoption of this sort of attitude towards each and every sentient beings, eliminates the fear for existence in the fellow human beings as well as non-human beings.


 Thanks to the modern science and technology, human society is getting closer and closer to each other. We perceive whole humanity living as one community much more beneficial rather than living in isolation under the confinements such as caste, colour or religion. So, it is not exempt for ethnicities. Each has to get the support of the other, learn from other and evolve into future as a much richer communities in many respects. Interdependence is the ultimate reality to understand and to live. In the course towards building ethnic reconciliation, one of the key principle to be based on is to learn to see all are interconnected and thereby appreciate the existence of all diverse cultures, ethnicities and traditions.

 At the individual level, the transforming our intellectual and emotional aspects of personality in the direction of attaining wisdom and compassion, will change the biased thinking, fear and suspicion about each other instead cultivate understanding to value the existence of entire humanity with differences and embrace them with love and affection.

 The significance and direct relevance to the good governance and the role of a governing body and the citizens that we can learn from Buddhism is highly pragmatic. The set of seven principles, satta aparihaniya dhammas, met in the Buddhist canon as to be followed by a rule composed of public representative. Constant dialogue, ability to reach agreement, respect for the established laws, customs and traditions, listening to the public opinion, avoid abuse against female members of society, protecting places that public revere, and frequent visit and listening to spiritual leaders are the ones the Buddha taught to the republic rulers, called Vajjians during his time. In essence, these principles guarantee respect for public opinion, freedom of speech and opening the opportunity to participate in the decision making process to every category of a country, poor and rich, educated and uneducated, secular and religious. Both the rulers as well as the ruled need equally participate in bettering the country through participation.

 My tradition maintains that the ruler must be a bodhisattva, one who seeks Buddhahood. The thirteenth century Sri Lankan King Nissanka Malla said: In this land, who is not a Bodhisattva, would not rule the country (Nobohosathu Noraj Vanhai). The Bodhisattva, is the person who is practicing and perfecting love, compassion and wisdom. Today, we are to learn from our tradition and build the nation based on enlightened vision about humanity.
                                                                                   Wadinagala Pannaloka
                                                                                   wadinagala@gmail.com