Messenger of Peace

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, gave a series of lectures the past couple of days. One of them was a forum titled "The Heart of Nonviolence" which gave the audience a chance to ask questions.

After discussing different aspects of nonviolence, an expected question was asked - what about the Iraq War?

His answer?

History shows the Second World War protected the Western World - protected democracy ... The Iraq War - it's too early to say, right or wrong.

Maybe it is too early to say with regards to the Iraq War ... maybe the Zayyed Iraq Peace proposal would not have been enough to avoid war ... but it is not too early to say that the Second World War would have gone on a different path if, in 1936 (and even before then), a certain group of nations had taken a more "constructive" approach to Hitler's actions.

The basic premise that he based the above statement on - something that was apparent in a few other comments - was that certain sets of actions could be justified if they reduce future suffering, even if lives are lost. So to a certain extent, the end justifies the means.

Even though he is "one of the foremost spiritual leaders in the world", I respectfully disagree. There are always other paths that can be taken. Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. have already shown that with more effort, those roads could be found.

posted by Lazarus, 9:31 AM