SANGHA--THE MEDITATIVE COMMUNITY

The meditative community is the peace program and the means we advocate and practice. It is not a community of individuals acting alone, but a community of meditators bonded by an attainable ideal. A good model is perhaps the Buddhist monastic community, or Sangha, which we call a Harmonious Society. The word harmonious encourages members to maintain a peaceful attitude toward others, to adjust their behavior to accommodate others, and to offer themselves for the benefit of others. Accepting the role of peacemaker is more direct than requiring that others wage peace. Following this harmonious model, a larger society can attempt to influence disharmonic elements in its midst through peaceful means.

History reveals that Buddhists, as a community, have never initiated a religious war. On many historical occasions Buddhists have worked to alleviate the pain and suffering of warfare. In the time of Shakyamuni Buddha, there were many warring factions in India. Many stories tell of the Buddha advising a king to govern his country with virtue and compassion; he admonished leaders to forswear force and to influence neighboring countries through virtue and compassion. This advice is as valuable today as it was then.

THE BUDDHIST PRACTICE OF PEACE: GRATITUDE AND COMPASSION