As the arms race is brewing among many countries in East, South, and SouthEast Asia, let's revisit this familiar topic, and try to find the best solutions to the world's perpetual conflicts over limited resources.
First, let's see what the Dalai Lama said.
We should... remember that once we cultivate a compassionate attitude, non-violence comes automatically. Nonviolence is not a diplomatic word, it is compassion in action. If you have hatred in your heart, then very often your actions will be violent, whereas if you have compassion in your heart, your actions will be nonviolent. As long as human beings remain on this Earth there will always be disagreements and conflicting views. We can take that as given. If we use violence in order to reduce disagreements and conflict, then we must expect violence every day and ... the result of this is terrible. Furthermore, it is actually impossible to eliminate disagreements through violence. Violence only brings even more resentment and dissatisfaction.
Nonviolence, on the other hand, means dialogue, it means using language to communicate. And dialogue means compromise: listening to others’ views, and respecting others’ rights, in a spirit of reconciliation. Nobody will be a 100 percent winner, and nobody will be a 100 percent loser. That is the practical way. In fact, that is the only way.
Today, as the world becomes smaller and smaller, the concept of “us” and “them” is almost outdated. If our interests existed independently of those of others, then it would be possible to have a complete winner and a complete loser, but since in reality we all depend on one another, our interests and those of others are very interconnected. Without this approach, reconciliation is impossible. The reality of the world today means that we need to learn to think in this way. This is the basis of my own approach-the “middle way” approach.
Human rights violations and similar sorts of problems are symptoms. For instance, if there is some swelling or pimple on the surface of the skin, it is because something is wrong in the body. It is not sufficient to just treat the symptoms-you must look deeper and try to find the main cause. You should try to change the fundamental causes, so that the symptoms automatically disappear. Similarly, ... there is something wrong with our basic structure, especially in the field of international relations. .....You cherish democracy and freedom very much. Yet when you deal with foreign countries, nobody follows the principle of democracy, but rather you look to economic power or military force. Very often in international relations, people are more concerned with force or strength than with democratic principles.
We must do something about these beautiful but awful weapons. Arms and the military establishment are intended to kill. I think that mentally there’s something wrong with the concept of war and the military establishment. One way or another, we must make every attempt to reduce the military forces.
Source:
http://www.mcllo.com/Interviews%20Dalai%20Lama%20Dharamsala%20%5BMcllo%5D.html
