Be the change you want to see in the world
There was a deadly terrorist attack recently that killed dozens and injured hundreds, and no, this did not happen in Paris. ISIS suicide bombers, the same group of militants responsible for the Paris attack, detonated themselves in the southern part of Beirut killing 43 people and wounding 239.
Journalist Tamara Quiblawi described the aftermath of the previously bustling open-air market in the Bourj al-Barajneh district to CNN: “There’s a lot of shattered glass on the street, a lot of blood,” she said, “And it’s really just a scene of chaos and carnage.”Yet the world seemed almost silent about it until an Indian blogger KarunaEzara Parikh responded to this with a poem that has since then gone viral—
“It is not Paris we should pray for. It is the world. It is a world in which Beirut, reeling from bombings two days before Paris, is not covered in the press. A world in which a bomb goes off at a funeral in Bagdad and not one person’s status update says “Bagdad”…”
I must admit that as soon as I heard about the Paris attack, I changed my profile picture to tour de Eiffel. By next morning, most of my contacts had changed their profiles to the French tricolour. As I read in horror of what had happened in Beirut and Bagdad, I had no idea who to choose in spite of my fascination and love for the City of Love. Karuna’s lines resonated the emotions that seemed to flood through my heart and mind. While my mind was so full of questions such as what had the world come to, my heart was filled with mixed feelings at the lack of attention Beirut and Bagdad had got. Are we humans even capable of discriminating in grief? Had the world media failed?
Since last July, more than a 100 Egyptians have been killed in ISIS attacks. Last month, a hundred more were killed from a bombing in Ankara, Turkey. This was followed by Beirut and now Paris. As President Obama said after the Paris attacks, “This is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values we share.” The threat of global terrorism is now real, omnipresent and it is in our backyards. Some thinkers are even calling this “bedroom jihad” where, even family members are unaware of workings of these extremists. We cannot choose who we pray for anymore, as the entire humankind is under attack.
In the meanwhile, it is heartening to hear of reports from people who are continuing to support their Muslim brothers around the world. The story of the Muslim taxi driver, who broke into tears of joy when a non-Muslim passenger drove with him has gone viral. It was heartening to read a white man’s post saying that Mr Khan from the Dairy down the road “was not in Paris and is not related to anyone who was even near Paris”. If these attacks are acts of hatred, I am glad that there are enough sensible people around the world who realise that the answer to hatred can never be hatred. Muslims from around the world are raising their voices condemning these acts of terror being committed in the name of religion.
The following is a letter by Alexis from Wake Up Montréal in response to losing a family member in the Paris attacks. It is a poignant reminder that we have the power to break the cycle of violence by taking time to breathe and remain open to each other:
Dear friends from around the world,
I am writing to you from Montréal. On Friday, I lost my cousin during the attacks in France. Faced with this terrible news, I cried. Eric was the father of a little girl and his partner is due to give birth in two months. So many things are jostling in my mind.
I will pay homage to you by being joyful and mindful to offer joy to others. Today, I wish to carry that joy into this violence, this nameless suffering. You are an example and I will follow your lead on this path of joy and openness of spirit.
I have not given into the anger or the desire for revenge. Because it is anger and revenge that brought on these odious acts. Today, I wish only to hold those dear to me, and those whom I don’t know, in my arms and tell them that I love them. Only love will get us out of this circle of suffering.
In losing a loved one, I am aware of what people go through daily, whether they are from Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, but also the United States. Every day, people around the world are killed by gunfire. Today, I have the opportunity to join them, their loved ones, and send them my compassion (excerpt taken from www.upliftconnect.com).
A Buddhist thinker and scholar Dr Daisaku Ikeda writes, “It is impossible not to be outraged at the senseless loss of so many lives. And yet it is not the numbers that make this tragedy so horrific. Every single person lost was irreplaceable and immensely precious—a much-loved sister, father, son, mother or friend. Each individual's life contained infinite possibilities waiting to be realised. In the most terrible manner imaginable, we have been reminded of the immense value of human life.
In all its teachings, Buddhism stresses how sacred and precious life—especially human life—is. One scripture reads: "A single day of life is worth more than all the treasures of the universe." Terrorism, which so cruelly robs people of life, can never be excused or justified by any reason or cause. It is an absolute evil. When such acts are committed in the name of religion, it demonstrates the utter spiritual bankruptcy of the perpetrators.
As human beings sharing a common home, we have all been impacted by this terrible deed. In the words of Dr Martin Luther King Jr., "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." We must unite across differences of nationality and faith in order to create a world free of injustice, violence and terror.
While it is vitally important that all efforts be made to identify responsibility for this heinous act and bring those involved to justice, international cooperation against terrorism cannot be limited to the short-term. At a deeper level, it requires a profound re-examination of the nature of human civilisation. For much of our history, humanity has been trapped in vicious cycles of hatred and reprisal. We must redouble our efforts to break this cycle and transform distrust into trust. I believe that this is the most effective and fundamental antidote to terrorism and its repugnant worship of violence.
For those of us who wish to help bring greater peace to the world, it is important to stay balanced, mindful, calm and grounded. Especially in chaotic times such as these, especially in the light of the tragic and terrible recent events in Paris, in Syria, in Beirut and elsewhere, we need to make our own inner peace a top priority.
Feelings of hopelessness or helplessness are inevitable, and it is natural to feel that one alone may not be able to make the difference. At such times, it is important to remind ourselves that it takes only one to create a ripple. If each of us is united in our effort to achieve a more peaceful and tolerant world, it is not impossible to achieve it.
For more than 2,000 years, the dominant paradigm of the most powerful civilisations has been that of materialism, conquest, greed, militarism, war, injustice, inequality, violence and dualistic thinking. This paradigm now needs to change; mindsets need to shift. We can be a part of something new that is more in tune with the ways of nature, more balanced, holistic, compassionate, creative, loving and wise.
We are the seeds of the future, but it is up to each of us to make the change. How we respond to terrible incidents matters. It matters because we have an opportunity to break the cycle of violence, to help one another to wake up. By keeping our hearts open, we model how not to walk blindly down paths that lead towards only more hate and revenge.
Be the peace you want to see in the world. It starts within the hearts of each one of us and spreads out from there.
There was a deadly terrorist attack recently that killed dozens and injured hundreds, and no, this did not happen in Paris. ISIS suicide bombers, the same group of militants responsible for the Paris attack, detonated themselves in the southern part of Beirut killing 43 people and wounding 239. ...
There was a deadly terrorist attack recently that killed dozens and injured hundreds, and no, this did not happen in Paris. ISIS suicide bombers, the same group of militants responsible for the Paris attack, detonated themselves in the southern part of Beirut killing 43 people and wounding 239.
Journalist Tamara Quiblawi described the aftermath of the previously bustling open-air market in the Bourj al-Barajneh district to CNN: “There’s a lot of shattered glass on the street, a lot of blood,” she said, “And it’s really just a scene of chaos and carnage.”Yet the world seemed almost silent about it until an Indian blogger KarunaEzara Parikh responded to this with a poem that has since then gone viral—
“It is not Paris we should pray for. It is the world. It is a world in which Beirut, reeling from bombings two days before Paris, is not covered in the press. A world in which a bomb goes off at a funeral in Bagdad and not one person’s status update says “Bagdad”…”
I must admit that as soon as I heard about the Paris attack, I changed my profile picture to tour de Eiffel. By next morning, most of my contacts had changed their profiles to the French tricolour. As I read in horror of what had happened in Beirut and Bagdad, I had no idea who to choose in spite of my fascination and love for the City of Love. Karuna’s lines resonated the emotions that seemed to flood through my heart and mind. While my mind was so full of questions such as what had the world come to, my heart was filled with mixed feelings at the lack of attention Beirut and Bagdad had got. Are we humans even capable of discriminating in grief? Had the world media failed?
Since last July, more than a 100 Egyptians have been killed in ISIS attacks. Last month, a hundred more were killed from a bombing in Ankara, Turkey. This was followed by Beirut and now Paris. As President Obama said after the Paris attacks, “This is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values we share.” The threat of global terrorism is now real, omnipresent and it is in our backyards. Some thinkers are even calling this “bedroom jihad” where, even family members are unaware of workings of these extremists. We cannot choose who we pray for anymore, as the entire humankind is under attack.
In the meanwhile, it is heartening to hear of reports from people who are continuing to support their Muslim brothers around the world. The story of the Muslim taxi driver, who broke into tears of joy when a non-Muslim passenger drove with him has gone viral. It was heartening to read a white man’s post saying that Mr Khan from the Dairy down the road “was not in Paris and is not related to anyone who was even near Paris”. If these attacks are acts of hatred, I am glad that there are enough sensible people around the world who realise that the answer to hatred can never be hatred. Muslims from around the world are raising their voices condemning these acts of terror being committed in the name of religion.
The following is a letter by Alexis from Wake Up Montréal in response to losing a family member in the Paris attacks. It is a poignant reminder that we have the power to break the cycle of violence by taking time to breathe and remain open to each other:
Dear friends from around the world,
I am writing to you from Montréal. On Friday, I lost my cousin during the attacks in France. Faced with this terrible news, I cried. Eric was the father of a little girl and his partner is due to give birth in two months. So many things are jostling in my mind.
I will pay homage to you by being joyful and mindful to offer joy to others. Today, I wish to carry that joy into this violence, this nameless suffering. You are an example and I will follow your lead on this path of joy and openness of spirit.
I have not given into the anger or the desire for revenge. Because it is anger and revenge that brought on these odious acts. Today, I wish only to hold those dear to me, and those whom I don’t know, in my arms and tell them that I love them. Only love will get us out of this circle of suffering.
In losing a loved one, I am aware of what people go through daily, whether they are from Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, but also the United States. Every day, people around the world are killed by gunfire. Today, I have the opportunity to join them, their loved ones, and send them my compassion (excerpt taken from www.upliftconnect.com).
A Buddhist thinker and scholar Dr Daisaku Ikeda writes, “It is impossible not to be outraged at the senseless loss of so many lives. And yet it is not the numbers that make this tragedy so horrific. Every single person lost was irreplaceable and immensely precious—a much-loved sister, father, son, mother or friend. Each individual's life contained infinite possibilities waiting to be realised. In the most terrible manner imaginable, we have been reminded of the immense value of human life.
In all its teachings, Buddhism stresses how sacred and precious life—especially human life—is. One scripture reads: "A single day of life is worth more than all the treasures of the universe." Terrorism, which so cruelly robs people of life, can never be excused or justified by any reason or cause. It is an absolute evil. When such acts are committed in the name of religion, it demonstrates the utter spiritual bankruptcy of the perpetrators.
As human beings sharing a common home, we have all been impacted by this terrible deed. In the words of Dr Martin Luther King Jr., "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." We must unite across differences of nationality and faith in order to create a world free of injustice, violence and terror.
While it is vitally important that all efforts be made to identify responsibility for this heinous act and bring those involved to justice, international cooperation against terrorism cannot be limited to the short-term. At a deeper level, it requires a profound re-examination of the nature of human civilisation. For much of our history, humanity has been trapped in vicious cycles of hatred and reprisal. We must redouble our efforts to break this cycle and transform distrust into trust. I believe that this is the most effective and fundamental antidote to terrorism and its repugnant worship of violence.
For those of us who wish to help bring greater peace to the world, it is important to stay balanced, mindful, calm and grounded. Especially in chaotic times such as these, especially in the light of the tragic and terrible recent events in Paris, in Syria, in Beirut and elsewhere, we need to make our own inner peace a top priority.
Feelings of hopelessness or helplessness are inevitable, and it is natural to feel that one alone may not be able to make the difference. At such times, it is important to remind ourselves that it takes only one to create a ripple. If each of us is united in our effort to achieve a more peaceful and tolerant world, it is not impossible to achieve it.
For more than 2,000 years, the dominant paradigm of the most powerful civilisations has been that of materialism, conquest, greed, militarism, war, injustice, inequality, violence and dualistic thinking. This paradigm now needs to change; mindsets need to shift. We can be a part of something new that is more in tune with the ways of nature, more balanced, holistic, compassionate, creative, loving and wise.
We are the seeds of the future, but it is up to each of us to make the change. How we respond to terrible incidents matters. It matters because we have an opportunity to break the cycle of violence, to help one another to wake up. By keeping our hearts open, we model how not to walk blindly down paths that lead towards only more hate and revenge.
Be the peace you want to see in the world. It starts within the hearts of each one of us and spreads out from there.
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