สำนักราชบัณฑิตยสภา

14 The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Volume III - 2011 A Buddhist Perspective on Freedom of Religion 14 It might be asked: What is Buddhismûs answer to social unrest, social conflicts? Its answer is very clear. As the first verse of the Dhammapada 23 teaches, all unrest, all conflicts, all disturbances are first born in the mind. Conflict or war is nothing but an external manifestation of greed, hatred, ill-will, violence, [and] ignorance born in the minds of men. Social conflict is nothing but an individual conflict on an enormous scale. There is no society apart from individuals, and there is no social conflict apart from individual conflict. If there is peace within individuals, then society is peaceful. So, in order to have a peaceful world, we have to produce peace within individuals, providing them with social, economic, moral and spiritual security. This is Buddhismûs answer. It is clear, but enormously difficult to achieve. Yet unless it is achieved, no amount of treaties and pacts on paper can produce real peace in the world. References Acharya Buddharakkhita (trans.). 1996. The Dhammapada: The Buddhaûs Path of Wisdom. 2nd ed. (with introduction by Bhikkhu Bodhi). Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society. Bhikkhu N ~ an⁄ amoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans.). 1995. The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha. Kandy, Sri Lanka: The Buddhist Publication Society. Chanawangsa, Somseen. 2010. Dhamma Bilingualized. Bangkok. Fellous, G e´ rard. 2010. ùChallenges facing human rights in the XXI st century: A threatened universalityû, Universality of Human Rights Forum, Oslofi21›22 October 2010. ùFrance›Thailand relationsû, http://en.wikipedia.org/ Nyayaponika Thera and Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans.). 1999. Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: An Anthology of Suttas from the Anguttara Nikaya. New Delhi: Vistaar Publications. 23 The first verse of the Dhammapada reads: Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts, suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox. 1-15_mac9 4/26/12, 8:09 PM 14