Thoughts on Non-Violence at the UN
"One can speak about religion and peace only from a place of profound humility and self-criticism. Although our traditions commend peace as an ideal, and offer valuable resources for peace-making, these traditions are also sources of theological interpretations that have been used and misused to justify violence. As far as peace is concerned, the gap between ideal and reality in our traditions is a vast one. Our commitment to peace requires us to acknowledge the reality of violence, past and present, in the structures and practices of our traditions. Such discernment requires a willingness to be less defensive and more self-critical and to hold our traditions accountable to their highest teachings. Our calls for peace from our religious traditions will have more credibility if we acknowledge our failures to be consistent peace-makers."
Some themes from my UN Geneva presentation earlier today.
1. Violence is a callous desecration of human dignity. There will be no sustainable commitment to peace without a profound respect for every human being and the affirmation of their intrinsic equal worth and dignity.
2. Violence is a denial of the unity of life and our shared identity as human beings.
3. We will not achieve peace if we do not commit ourselves both individually and institutionally/structurally to the practice of non-violence as an expression of our respect for human dignity. . Peace and non-violence are too often commended and practiced within overarching institutional structures and frameworks that are violent and oppressive. We succumb to the temptation of speaking in enticing ways about personal virtues while ignoring the challenges of identifying and transforming violent structures.
4. The highest purpose of education is to bring forth the inherent goodness of human beings. There is no hope for peace without knowledge that awakens us to the truth of our shared identity, interdependence and commitment to each other’s happiness.
5. True learning is dialogical, and peace requires a culture of dialogue, humility and a willingness to give and to receive.. In the public sphere, humility means that we resist possessive claims about the ownership of truth, and that we exemplify an openness to the voices and insights of others that fosters mutual learning. We must resist the denunciation of other voices merely because these are not the voices of our community.
6. There is no positive peace without accurate and empathetic understanding of each other’s traditions and, most important, deep friendship in the midst of our diversity.
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