See totality 2

How to fight for non-violence? 

Non-violence is the only positive atmosphere in a mind-based society. But violence is supported by tradition, habit and easy access.

The simple model for the dynamics of spontaneous mind is the basis - reaction model. The basis is a situation, a fact, an idea, a concept or something we see as given. From this situation we react.

The basis is very important. In a school situation, for example, some might see the basis as education but some might see the basis as the enjoyment of destruction. As long as there are different bases, there will be no order. 

We can draw different conclusions from the same basis, but different bases give naturally different reactions.

On  the material level, the basis - reaction model is comparatively simple. If we are hungry we want food. If we are tired we want to sleep.

On mind level the model is quite open. Any basis can give many different reactions. And every basis can be questioned. 

If we limit our reactions to a certain basis we can make mistakes. The best way to avoid this is to see every basis as part of totality.

In a materially based situatioin we might think that a basis is absolute. In a mind reality, we know that a basis is relative. It can be very strong,  but it is always relative.

A basis can have a very strong attraction of its own, even when the basis is bad. For example in military activity.

The concept of non-violence is self-evident in a totality view, but alien in an isolated basis - reaction situation. 

Non violence 2

Why is it difficult to win the peace? It can be quite difficult, as we see in the Gaza, Iraq and Afghanistan.
It can also be easy, as we saw in southern Lebanon after the war between Hezbollah and Israel. As soon as the soldiers had left the area, the civilian population returned and the rebuilding started.
One reason for the difficulties in winning peace is the shamefulness of war. War is nowadays the same as organised unfairness. The strong beat the weak, and the weak use terror to kill anyone and in particular civilians who are not involved.
So the enemy is not the soldiers in the other kind of uniform, but we ourselves in our future role of modern, decent civilians. We fight for making difficulties for ourselves.
War is an old form of relating, and it might have been justified by lack. As the essential needs of food and housing could not be satisfied for all, conflict was used. These days the problem in food is abundance or surplus rather than lack, so war is obsolete by this reason also.

Almost poetry 2

The carnage revolution in Portugal 1974 ended the dictatorship. The weapons were defeated by reason and flowers - carnations. And so it is. History should be more of a poem about flowers and beautiful skies than about military campaigns and imprisonment.
It is a choice we can make. As all choices it should be supported by argument. The argument for non-violence is that it is true and nice.
The arguments against non-violence are in the genes, in our instincts, habits and history. So they merit a place in a museum.
The ideal of peace and solidarity is probably accepted and taken for granted by more individuals than before, but still there is under the surface a lot of insecurity.
The primary threat is in our own mind, in the form of conditioned concepts and unexamined assumptions.
We can dissolve them by analysis, but we can also make them stronger if we work for it.
There is a temporary attraction in conflict, but this attraction can be dissolved.

Optimism

Buddhist psychology is extremely optimistic, in its trust in the ability for mind to change. We can even turn into Buddhas. This is in contrast to Hinduism, which led to the caste system.
Among the eleven positive sides of the human mind, two are of particular importance. They are non-ignorance and equanimity.
One very optimistic side in Buddhist psychology is that it assumes that all problems are caused by ignorance, and that all ill will is an expression of ignorance.
To root out ignorance is not a simple thing, as mind from the beginning is contaminated not only by false information and prejudices, but also is the victim of a constant deception caused by the senses and the feelings. However, all ignorance is adventitious. Mind itself can never be polluted.
Equanimity is needed in order to withstand the storms that can appear in mind when we sort out the bad and dissolve it.
Non-violence is the outcome of the positive sides of the human mind.
Buddhist psychology can be studied in books like Mind in Buddhist Psychology by Herbert V. Guenther & Leslie S Kawamura or on Internet at Tibetan Library org

Something better 2

No one can see God and live, it says in the Christian Bible. ( "Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live." Exodus 33.20) In order to recognize the divine, you have to be almost divine yourself, it says in the Buddhist tradition.
This is a problem, as there are so many things to do and think about in the modern world. The essential might be missed out.
If we want to approach the important matters of life, we have to work for it. But why should we do that if we can get a lot of distractions so easy?
Of course, mind work is different from ordinary work. Some feel it is more difficult. Some would prefer to play ice hockey for two hours rather than meditate for two hours. For some it is the other way around.
So the word "work" is probably not the best when talking about mind practice. But it is hard. If we try to learn for example a poem in a new language by heart, we notice how hard it is to make new imprints in mind.
If we get annoyed and utter negative expressions while trying to learn the poem, we make new bad imprints in our mind. This is easy.
If we see the struggle between good and bad as technical matter - no God involved - we see why it is so difficult.
We live in a world which is partly brutal and evil. In order to protect us we learn to use violence.
A good world is non-violent. This non-violence is cultivated from a start of non-violence intention, through non-violent methods to the final non-violent harmonious society.
How can we possibly start this non-violent process while using violence to fight off the old brutality?
The answer is on mind level. The world of violence should not be defeated but deserted.

Alternative to anger 2

Non-violence is not very potent when a conflict has occurred. It should start much earlier, and thus the conflict should have been avoided.
This is an idealistic analysis in a world that is loaded with conflict. The focus is on winning rather than avoiding conflict. Sometimes conflict is even good-humored. We try to live with conflict. It is like an incurable, widespread mental disease with occasional eruptions.
Non-violence should be the starting point in everything we do. We start new things every second. We can start non-violence now.
Ideas are always true to their origin. If we start from non-violence, the end result will be non-violence. If we start from violence, the result will be violence, even if we say we seek peace and harmony. It is extremely difficult to change from violence to non-violence in the middle of a process.
A difficulty is that others might interfere. If the others use violence, we might look like a victim if we do not react in the same way. This is a primitive form of cooperation. It can be nasty as long as it lasts, but it is not eternal.
Another difficulty is the extreme attractiveness of non-violence. If a group trained in violence meets non-violence, the natural reaction is just to kill it out of pure raw attraction. The rational reaction is of course to learn non-violence.
When we meet external situations we use ready-made reactional patterns. If anger is such a pattern, we might find many uses for it.
To learn non-violence patterns is hard work. Why should we invest in this kind of work?
We know why when we have made it.