People kill and are killed because they
cling too tightly to their own beliefs and ideologies. When we believe that
ours is the only faith that contains the truth, violence and suffering will
surely be the result.
When you act with compassion, with
nonviolence, when you act on the basis of nonduality, you have to be very
strong. You no longer act out of anger. You do not punish or blame. Compassion
grows constantly inside of you and you can succeed in your fight against
injustice.
Other human beings are not our enemies. Our
enemy is not the other person. Our enemy is the violence, ignorance, and
injustice in us and in the other person.
To develop understanding, you have to
practice looking at all living beings with the eyes of compassion. When you
understand, you cannot help but love. And when you love, you naturally act in a
way that can relieve the suffering of people.
Understanding and Love are not two separate
things, but only one.
Thich Nhat Hanh
