Peace Education in Islam, Other Faiths and Spiritual Traditions

Universals

shared beliefs which form part of the worldview or belief system of adherents of particular thought system

Golden Rule and Non-maleficence

immediately suggesting themselves as such “universals”

Golden Rule

Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you

Non-maleficence

Do no harm

respect for the rights of others, justice, charity, and reciprocity

golden rule and non-maleficence are pre-eminently overarching principles, subserved by by other principles or values like:

harmononious, well-ordered, and progressive world

the goal of Confucianism

Love in Confucianism

harmony among men in a well-ordered world

Jen

love, humanity, or benevolence

harmony, benevolence, affection, goodness and human-heartedness

Jen connotes particular virtues

Jen

interpreted it to mean the general virtue, the foundation of all other virtues

Master Sage

Confucius (551-479 BC)

Humanity

the moral character that enables men to attain true manhood

True

preservation of one’s jen is more important than the preservation of one's life

African proverbs

“I am because you are.” A man establishing his own character, establishes the characters of others.

Government of superior men or “chun-tzu”

Jen is evident in the practice of what?

Importance in Confucius’ ideal

techniques of government or the suasive virtue of the leader (first)

laws and institutions (secondary)

regulations and appeal to fear or the use of power by means of punishment (lowest)

Mean or “chung-yung”

another important concept basic to social harmony or order, stability and peace

Tsu-hsu (492-431 BC)

“the doctrine of mean is traditionally attributed to Confucius’ grandson

chung

not deviating from the mean

yung

exist in the common, the ordinary, and the universal

Centrality

the state of equilibrium in one’s mind before feelings are aroused

Moderation or Centrality

a buffer against going to the extremes

“good society”

harmonious, well-ordered, and peaceful rests on ethical humanism

Mo Tzu (Mo Ti)

challenged Confucius concept of love

Agape (Universal Love)

keystone of understanding and peace among men

Book of Changes

a classic ascribed to Confucius where the doctrine of yin and yang is enunciated

Doctrine of Ying and Yang

concept of polarity

Yin

(negative, cold, passive, weak, and yielding, disintegrative) the dark principle of the universe was female

Yang

(positive, active, strong, thrusting, and integrative) the light principle of the universe was male

Doctrine of Yin and Yang

conceives a universe of dynamic forces, always changing but well-ordered and governed by laws in which both contradictions and harmony exist and both unity and multiplicity prevail

Natural Order

first principle in which the material universe lived, move, and had its being

Lao Tzu (Laozi)

founded Taoism in the 6th century BC

Tao

Way or Path

Tao

its most important characteristic is nothingness. It is the natural order

Te

virtue and its characterized by sympathy and weakness

humility and wu-wei (non-action)

Taoist concept as the foregoing

Wu-wei

implies that one should not act in a manner contrary to that of Tao

Warring States Period (770-221 BC)

period of turbulence, chaos and instability

Buddha

means the ‘Awakened One’ (560-480 BC)

Siddhartha

Buddha is also known as

Buddha

founded Buddhism

Buddhism

teaches the extinction of desire to attain nirvana and escape the cycle of life and suffering

nirvana

emptiness

samsara

suffering

Shakya clan

Gautama Buddha belonged to the

Three Marks of Existence

refers to the Buddha’s analysis of the human condition which was based on the three basic perceptions or realizations

trilaksana

Three Marks of Existence

anitya

impermanence

anitya

the first realization which means that everything is evanescent and passing

dukha

unsatisfactoriness

dukha

the second realization which means that all things that do not last are deeply unsatisfactory

atman

the idea that human beings did not have any form of permanent material soul

per se

conscious personality

Four Noble Truths

way to escape samsara

arya-satya

four noble truths

Suffering (dukha)

the first noble truth that refers to all life

Arising of Sorrow

the second noble truth that refers to the arise of cravings

trishna

thirst or desire

Stopping of Sorrow

the third noble truth that refers to the complete stopping of carving or desire

nirodha

stopping

Eightfold Path

the fourth noble truth consists of right views, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration

ashtangika-marga

Eightfold Path

pratityasamutpada

interdependent arising

India

homeland of two ancient religion: buddhism and hinduism

Vedas

earliest religious literature of India

Vedic Sanskrit

Vedas is written in

Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, Atharva Veda

content of Vedas

samhitas

the contents are collectively known as

shruti

that which was heard

upanishads

means “to sit near”

samsara

belief in the endless cycle of human incarnations

artha

wealth

kama

pleasure

dharma

the ethical and appropriate lifestyle. It refers to the individual’s social and religious duties and obligations as well as proper manner in which society and the universe at large should function

Rama

most inspiring symbol of dharma, hero of the epic Ramayana

Rama-rajya

the reign of truth and non-violence

adharma

malevolence

karma

literally means work or action

karma

referring to the belief that all actions have inevitable and inescapable consequences

nastikas

knowledge-oriented groups

Jainism

first of the nastika traditions

Jainism

sought to teach humanity the way to liberation from the endless cycle of birth and death

jiva

soul body

“three jewels”

knowledge, faith, and pure conduct

conduct

the practical center of “three jewels”

five primary virtues of Jains

ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacarya, aparigraha

ahimsa

nonharming

satya

truth

asteya

nonstealing

brahmacarya

sexual purity

aparigraha

nongrasping

sallekhana

ritual suicide by fasting to death

Mahatma Gandhi

greatest of the modern Indian religious figure

satyagraha

nonviolence

religion

a system of beliefs and values associated with particular organizational forms and with a supra-natural deity embodying and emanating some absolute truths

Ernest Gellner

argues that what really matters is not doctrine but rituals, loyalty to procedural rules and celebration of community

Islam

peace should imply justice and security for all people

Love

encompasses a variety of different emotional and mental state, typically strongly and positive experienced

storge, philia, eros, xenia, agape

five forms of love, according to ancient Greek philosophers