Loving and forgiving our enemies

The world seems full of conflict, war, fighting, and aggression today. How can we make peace with enemies? How can we forgive the harm that has been done in the name of various 'causes'?

The Buddha said, "Hatred will never overcome hatred in this world. Only love can overcome hatred. This is the law of the universe, ancient and inexhaustible."

When someone asked my mentor Maha Ghosananda how he could forgive the Khmer Rouge, after the atrocities and genocide they had committed in his country, Cambodia, he responded:

"Both the noble and the good are embraced because loving-kindness flows to them spontaneously. We also love the unwholesome (evil) minded because love embraces all beings, whether they are noble-minded or low-minded, good or evil."

"The evil-minded are the ones who need loving-kindness the most. In many of them, the seed of goodness may have died because warmth was lacking for its growth. It perished from coldness in a world without compassion."

How could he forgive them? "We always say, 'Hatred is never pacified by hatred. Only through love is hatred pacified.' That is the eternal law. I also remind people that the wars of the heart always take longer to cool than the barrel of a gun. We must heal through love, but it takes a bit of time. We must go slowly, step by step."

"Peace will triumph over war when people can walk down the street with peace in their minds. That's the only step-by-step process that will bring an end to the great suffering of the people of the world."

It is difficult for people to see the harm that they do, because they don't have mindfulness.

If you make war, there will be no end to it. Those who claim victory will be met with hatred by those who lost. The winners will also feel hatred toward those who lost.

"Hatred itself will kill you," Maha Ghosananda said. "There is no need for another enemy. Hatred will kill you."

"It will kill you through your thoughts. You will have no peace."

Buddha's teachings are very easy! There is no need to make them complicated. You must do only three things: Refrain from doing evil; always do what is good; and purify the mind.

That is all!