सझ - जननी जन्मभुमिस्छ स्वर्गदपी गरियसी

 All of us at times feel helpless as we watch the level and scope of
violence rising in various parts of the world.  War, terrorism, genocides,
brutality, and crime are terrible realities before which we recoil in
incomprehension.  They are all so senseless, without meaning, useless for
what we might achieve, if we were wiser.  How can we rein in these
destructive forces, and fashion a new universal civilization founded on a
deep commitment to humanity, and the best in our noble species?

   There is a way for us all, but it will require that we look into the
spiritual depth of each of our great religions, discovering the mystical
treasure that is hidden there.  Spirituality, mysticism, inner realization,
and contemplation represent the ultimate resources we possess to transform
the consciousness of the world, of the human family--by allowing it to
change us one by one.  In what follows, after some preliminary definition of
terms, I will discuss the nature and elements of transformation, uncovering
the common ground of the religions in spirituality, examining their origin,
exploration, fruit, and achievement in a new global society that is
enlightened--a civilization, capitalism, and globalization with a heart.

  In all of this, we will understand that the mystical path, the
contemplative, and the spiritual are all resources for transformation.  We
will pursue how these resources operate, interactively, to transform
individuals, families, groups, nations, and the world.

  We will consider a spirituality open to all the religions as constituting
what can be called interspirituality, and its nine elements will be
elaborated.  Four proposals for peace in Asia and the Pacific will be
discussed.   Two involve China: one in its relationship with Tibet; the
other in its relationship with Taiwan.  The third proposal concerns Islam,
and the fourth, North Korea.

Mysticism, Contemplation, and Spirituality

   As we reflect on the mystical, contemplative and spiritual process within
the context of transformation, it is important to consider definitions of
terms.  I have written of these matters at great length in The Mystic Heart:
Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World’s Religions,  and more
recently, in A Monk in the World: Cultivating a Spiritual Life.  These two
works are concerned with all the elements of this inner process of growth,
change, and transformation.  Mysticism is direct, or unmediated experience
of Ultimate Reality, whether we mean by that term God, Spirit, the Tao, the
Wakan Tanka of the Lakota Native Americans, the One, the Absolute, and
Unmoved Mover, the Divine, or Infinite Consciousness. Whatever word we
employ, the Ground of all being and existence is what is meant.  This
reality is experientially accessible to us in the mystical, contemplative,
or fully actualized spiritual states of the mind, in the depths of
consciousness itself.   We are always able to reach these realms of
consciousness if we follow a disciplined spiritual life.  The various great
world religions all have methods to do so.

   Like science, mysticism is empirical, since it relies on experience, not
faith.  When it is said that this experience is unmediated, this means it
goes beyond faith, belief, or reliance on a priesthood, and approaches the
Divine directly through the person’s own inner experience.  When mysticism
becomes a disciplined process, when it is a commitment of the individual, it
then becomes a process of spiritual growth, and eventually of transformation
as well. 

   Closely allied with mysticism is contemplation.  The contemplative
dimension is also part of mystical experience, that is, part of the process
itself.  Contemplation has a lot to do with the method, or spiritual
practice chosen.  Contemplation, in its depth and maturity, is an effortless
receiving of the mystical gifts.  These include direct awareness and
experience of the Ultimate, the Divine, God, or Infinite Consciousness;
metaphysical knowledge, illumination, self-knowledge; discernment of the
hearts of others; insight into the nature and meaning of existence; and
profound cultivation of the virtues, especially love, kindness, compassion,
sensitivity, forgiveness, generosity, and patience.  Contemplation is also a
spiritual practice, often of the meditative variety.  It is mystical meditation,
a form that puts us directly on the path of perception of the Ultimate. 
Its greatest extent would be mystical contemplation, which is detailed in
the spiritualities of the Hindu, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions,
to name a few.

   Spirituality names the individual commitment of each one of us to embrace
the mystical path in our life.  Doing so, we enter into the mystical process
proper.  The emphasis in spirituality is on our own individual commitment to
live the spiritual life.  We do not lean on the institution to accomplish
our transformation for us, but rather, accept that responsibility as our
own.  No religious institution is capable of transforming us. That is our
own individual task.  Spirituality is not opposed to religion, and often
exists in a religious tradition.  The emphasis here is on individual
responsibility and discipline to carry on in the spiritual path, the journey
to wholeness, or integrity, transforming virtue, holiness of life, and
effective compassionate, loving action consistent with the demands of love
and kindness. 

   All of the great world religions have originated in mystical
consciousness.  This is their generating source and inspiration.  The
Sanatana Dharma, or the Eternal Religion, as Hinduism is called, can be
traced back to the rishis, the forest sages of Indian antiquity, who were
these extraordinary mystics who had direct experience of the Divine Reality,
the Brahman.  The experience of God by these sages, and the founding mystics
of other traditions, existed long  before the concept of God, or the Divine.
Similarly, the Dharma, the Buddhist tradition, owes its existence to the
inner process of enlightenment of Siddhartha Gautama Sakyamuni, known as the
Buddha, the Enlightened One; his experience is paradigmatic for every
Buddhist in every age.  In the Western traditions, we find that the faith of
Israel, the Jewish tradition, has its origin in the mystical experience of
its patriarchs and prophets, who all encountered, and were encountered by
God, or Yahweh.  Moses and the prophets each describe their own experience
of this Mysterious Presence, the Divine Reality, the Infinite Spirit.

   The same is true when we examine the life of Jesus Christ, regarded in
Christianity as the Incarnate Son of God.  All of Christianity takes its
life and being from the inner consciousness of Jesus in his intense,
pervasive awareness of his father, who is presumably our Father, as well,
and the very same Presence who is Yahweh, the Lord of all.   We can also
discern a similar mystical content behind the teachings of the Prophet
Mohammed, who received a twenty-three year private revelation from Allah
through the mediation of the Archangel Gabriel, who commanded him to recite,
that is, to utter passages that would later constitute the Qur’an.  Each of
these represents a mystical experience that became a process through a
commitment to the spiritual path, or journey, the journey to greater and
greater knowledge, wisdom, and transformation.

The Nature and Elements of Transformation

   Transformation means fundamental, substantial, and permanent change,
radical alteration of the inner understanding, will, character, memory,
imagination, unconscious mind, and behavior of the person.   It is generally
the case that a person’s view of reality, life, and the world is directly
related to their overarching desire--what actually motivates them.  Often
what they desire, or what motivates them, are selfish goals.  When
transformation begins, a basic shift occurs from a self-preoccupied fixation
to other-centeredness, a focus on the Divine, and other sentient beings,
one’s surrounding community.

   There is first a transformation of understanding.  The individual expands
their view of reality, discovers subtleties and hidden connections, and
begins to grasp everything from a unifying ground, the Divine itself.
Transformation of course is an ongoing process.  We keep growing in
knowledge, wisdom, and virtue.  The Buddhist would call this element of
transformation right view, leading to enlightenment.  It is a vision of
Truth based on the experience of Ultimate Reality, God, the Spirit, the
Divine, Infinite Awareness.  For all the theistic traditions of mysticism,
this transformation of understanding is to see all things in God.  This is
an illuminative phenomenon, that is, a person who is transformed in this way
is illumined by the divine intellect.  One of the classical distinctions
between the East and the West is found in the emphasis in Hinduism and
Buddhism on consciousness as the locus of transformation, whereas in the
West, the locus is the will.  I truly believe that enlightenment requires
both the will and consciousness, integrated in the surrender to the Divine
in the definitive transformed condition.

   Realizing the second element of transformation, that of the will itself,
requires a change of priorities.  No longer does the person’s will assert
itself blindly, or choose in a selfish way, but rather aligns itself with
God’s will, seeking the greater good of others and the self.  The will
surrenders to God in acts of selflessness, and identifies with the
sufferings and needs of others.  Christian mysticism greatly stresses this
element of the process of transformation as the essential one.   Even the
intimacy of union with God is regarded as primarily involving the will.  The
will is grounded in love, divine love, as its motive power—that which
inspires it, and propels it forward.

   Third, there is a transformation of character that slowly takes root in
the person’s identity, becoming firmly established in one’s behavior, in the
way he or she treats others, especially the most vulnerable.  The
transformed character conforms to love, compassion, kindness, mercy, and
sensitivity.  This sensitivity is a vast kind of awareness that sees, feels,
and intuits the conditions of others, regarding them as precious.  This
character is one of holiness and caring; it is other-centered in its
orientation, always available to the needs of compassion in every situation
of life.  The transformed character is one deeply fixed in virtue to a very
high degree of operation.

   The fourth element of transformation concerns the memory, which undergoes
a healing, and a letting go of unneeded memories with negative, destructive
emotional contents that hold the person back from real growth, and cause
them to be stuck in an earlier stage of development.  The awakening to a
deeper inner life of enlightened awareness of the Divine Reality takes the
person to a heightened state of mature identity.  A healed memory acts in
concert with an expanded understanding, and the transformed will and
character, the imagination, a purified unconscious, and compassionate,
other-centered action.

   The fifth aspect of transformation is that involving the imagination.
The imagination is the faculty of envisioning the world, reality, life, and
truth.  In its fullness of operation, when it works in an enlightened being,
it is a holy faculty.  It operates in tandem and collaboration with all the
other dimensions of transformed being in the identity of the person.  When
the imagination is receptive to the transcendent, the Divine Reality, it is
able to see without end.  It is able to know in a mystical sense, and this
impacts the transformed understanding, will, character, and memory.  It also
positively affects the unconscious, and the person’s behavior.

   The unconscious is the sixth element in the transformative process--the
realm of hidden desires, illuminations, and knowledge, mystical perceptions,
and encounters with spirits, the Divine, or infinite Knowledge.  The
unconscious, when operating independently of the other elements, has its own
motivation.  This motivation normally influences understanding, the will,
character, memory, imagination, and action.  It can influence who we are by
manipulating us with desires.  The unconscious is very powerful, and
immensely creative in endless ways, but it is transformed only when it is
purified of the control of its desires; when it reaches a state in which
desires no longer control the conscious life, and its understanding; and
therefore desire no longer has effects on the other elements, especially
behavior--the realm of action.

   It is behavior that receives the benefit of the transformation of the
other elements, the faculties of identity, of the person being transformed.
Behavior expresses the transformation through loving, compassionate, kind
action.  This intention informs the functioning of the faculties, and they
guide behavior, inspiring it in a positive direction.  Virtuous being
becomes transformed actions in the world.  We all have to be, and to act in
the world, in life, and these actions can be enlightened ones if the person
is in harmony with all the elements of his, or her being, and acts out of a
pure intention for good.

Spirituality as Common Ground

    We have seen how mystical spirituality is the origin of religion as
such.  The breakthroughs it gave to the founders of the world’s religions
became the foundation for the religions as institutions in history and
world.   Mystical spirituality is the source that continually nourishes
civilization and culture, that inspires individuals to heroic acts of
self-sacrifice, that guides people in their lucid moments of
self-examination. 

   Spirituality, in this contemplative, mystical sense, is also the starting
point for exploration between and among the religions in their depth core
experience of the Absolute, the Divine, or Vast Awareness.  The fact that we
have this dimension in common, means that we also have a meeting place in
it.  I am fond of pointing out that the real religion of the human family
isn’t religion at all.  It is spirituality, and spirituality is the
universal tradition, although this tradition is nether intentional, nor
systematic.  No one decided to create a universal, overarching tradition of
global mysticism, or spirituality.  The term rather, names the phenomenon of
the omnipresence of spirituality at the dawn of every tradition.  In that
sense, it is the universal tradition as a dimension of human experience
found in all ages and cultures.  That being the case we have very
significant common ground for dialogue, and for experiential explorations by
more generous members of the various world religions.

   Spirituality in its cross-cultural operation in the lives of persons
living it in openness to other traditions and in various cultural settings,
becomes an agent of a creative intellectual, political, and moral ferment,
allowing for new developments between and among nations.  Spirituality in
this sense is what I have come to call interspirituality.  In its
cross-cultural outreach through its countless representatives, such
spirituality generates constructive engagement between and among various
groups, organizations, and NGOs.  These opportunities for constructive
engagement lead to real possibilities of collaboration on the critical
issues we face as a planetary population, and which can only be solved by
our common efforts.  These critical issues include the environmental crisis;
war and peace; closing the gap between the wealthy and developing nations;
the catastrophe of famine;  the tragedy of refugee populations attempting to
escape conflicts, economic hardships, genocide, and hunger; the protection
of children;  the rights of women; access to sufficient healthcare, and many
others.

   I believe that one of the greatest fruits of collaboration across
traditions, one of the concrete benefits for the whole of humanity of such
an out-going, universally oriented spirituality, is the collective work for
the birth and emergence of a new planetary culture and civilization: a
civilization, a global society and culture with a heart.

  We have witnessed so much tragedy in the last century, and the threat of
global catastrophe still looms over us.  As the Dalai Lama has often stated:
we have a universal responsibility to change the course of history, to guide
it in a more positive direction, a universal order that works for the
welfare of the whole of humankind, and all sentient beings.  Such a
civilization with a heart, a planetary society animated by the deepest
values of the human family--selfless love; compassion; kindness;
non-harming; sharing; and the elimination of poverty, homelessness, disease,
hunger, domestic violence, and weapons of mass-destruction--can become an
actuality even in our lifetimes if we are willing to work for it.  We have
this responsibility, both individually and collectively, and this
responsibility extends to the whole earth itself.  If we can envision it,
then we have an alternative.

   A civilization with a heart, a compassionate, humane world order
predicated on kindness, and the universality of the Golden Rule, a variant
of which exists in every religion, means a new polis that is not governed by
considerations of power and cold economics, but love.  In order for this to
happen, a transformation must occur in the hearts and minds of everyone.
This change is articulated eloquently in the words of William Gladstone,
former Prime Minister of England: the love of power must give way to the
power of love!  If we express this guiding insight in a more positive
rendition of the Golden Rule, we can say: always do for others what you want
them to do for you.

   A new world community, whose axis revolves around the values of love,
compassion, kindness, gentleness of being, sharing of resources, ecological
responsibility, peace, and genuine economic and social justice, and
sustained by a viable spirituality, will focus on transformation of
capitalism and globalization.  In order to have a universally enlightened
society, capitalism and globalization must also have a heart, must be rooted
in something more meaningful than economic benefits for the comparatively
few, and power relationships that keep these few in a dominant position
vis-a-vis everyone else.  Many of the demonstrations around the globe
relating to globalization, trade issues, the WTO, IMF, and the World Bank,
are important indications of the often profound injustices that exist
because of a globalization and a capitalism that is essentially heartless.
The new civilization, as a project and a goal of the interspirituality
movement, and a more universal understanding of spirituality, needs to focus
its efforts on profound transformations in the areas of politics and
economics.

Interspirituality and the Elements of a Universal Spirituality

   Spirituality, in its interspiritual manifestation, is a vision of the
spiritual life nourished by other schools of spirituality, mysticism, and
contemplation, integrated with a person’s own tradition, if indeed the
person is fortunate enough to have one.  Interspirituality in this sense
represents a spaciousness of being in the conduct of spiritual life, in the
human search called the spiritual journey, that culminates in an
understanding of spirituality that is sustained from its universal stream of
mystical consciousness.  In my studies, contemplative experience, travels,
and time spent in India, I have encountered in depth mature members of all
the world’s religions.  I began to notice the common elements operative in
their spiritual lives, and identified these elements in my book The Mystic
Heart.   All of these mature figures were spiritual teachers and saints in
their particular tradition.  I realized that if the fruits of the spiritual
life, the contemplative, mystical process are the same, then the Source who
inspired these transformed beings is the same. The one Divine Presence is
behind it all, in every age.  This insight has significance for peace-making
in Asia, the Pacific, really indeed everywhere, and it is very meaningful as
a major resource for transformation as we embrace the monumental task of
reshaping our global political and economic culture.

   The elements of a universal spirituality, or mysticism include: (1)
actualized moral capacity, (2) solidarity with the earth and all beings, (3)
deep nonviolence, (4) humility of heart, (5) spiritual practice, (6) mature
self-knowledge, (7) simplicity of life and lifestyle, (8) love in
action--compassionate service, and (9) prophetic voice and action.  All
these aspects work together, and are essential to a fully formed and
operative spiritual life in any part of the world.

   There can be no genuine spirituality worth its salt that lacks the moral
dimension of a fully operative, or actualized practice.  We see this
principle at work in the lives of the saints of all traditions.  Indeed,
when the moral life has been inwardly actualized, the person no longer needs
the external guides or norms to be moral, because the person is moral almost
by nature.  Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, Mahatma Gandhi, John Paul II, or
any other holy person does not require any precepts or commandments to be
good, since they are good by nature, disposition, and choice.  It should be
emphasized, however, that a genuine spiritual life is not possible without
an operative, or functioning moral commitment.

   Secondly, an awakened contemplative, mystic, saint, or anyone aspiring to
be so, understands the intrinsic interdependence of all beings, all sentient
beings, and certainly all human persons.  Such a one grasps inwardly,
existentially, this ontological truth of the interconnectivity of all life.
It leads one to a deep sense of solidarity with all beings, and especially
with the earth itself, our mother, and the basis of our material, aesthetic,
and even our spiritual life here in this world.  This interdependence is the
ontological condition of humankind, and further, the social, economic, and
political interdependence exist because of the deeper interconnection of all
beings.  Each of the great world religions attests to the essential,
ontological interdependence of all being.  Hinduism speaks of non-duality,
Buddhism of dependent arising, Christianity of the Mystical Body of Christ,
all of which indicate a unitive holding of reality together.   It is out of
this ontological condition that the sense of solidarity emerges in the
mystic’s vision of how he or she is related to everyone else.

   The third element of a universal mysticism, or spirituality is a
commitment to deep nonviolence.  This commitment occurs quite organically
from the realization of our ontological, or essential interdependence, the
intrinsic relatedness of all being.   As one grows in holiness, integrity,
and wisdom, understanding the nature of reality, one desires never to harm
another, or others, even other sentient species.  Saints and mystics, seers,
and contemplatives become inherently nonviolent because they see so deeply
into the nature of reality.

   It was Jainism that first awoke to the wisdom and necessity of
non-harming.  This principle is an absolute in the Jain tradition.
Everything else in this faith is subordinate to it, even the truth itself.
Both Buddhism and Hinduism were greatly influenced by Jainism in their
adoption of the ideal of nonviolence, which was also an absolute commitment
for Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and now of the Dalai Lama, and his
people, in their moral struggle with the People’s Republic of China.  If we
are ever to achieve a global society with a heart, then nonviolence is a
vital value we must learn, and inculcate in the fabric of the universal
culture.  I have felt for several years that what Gandhi represents, what
was manifested in his life, is a gift from the Divine, a revelation of a
critical skill we must implement if we are to engender the transformation of
the world into a social order with a heart.

   The fourth element of a universal spirituality, or mysticism is humility
of heart.  It is present in every form of spirituality in each of the
religions.  It is very clear from all the schools of mysticism that no
progress in the spiritual journey is possible without this incisive virtue
of humility.  All the saints are imbued with its radiance, as are real
mystics and contemplatives.  Humility of heart is a clarity of truth about
ourselves, and it is a deeply committed other-centeredness, a powerful
desire not to manipulate others, or reality.  It is a respect for the
freedom and dignity of all beings, and a reticence even to mention our own
needs.  It provides the necessary perspective in the spiritual life to
negotiate obstacles, pitfalls, and the threat of self-deception.  Humility
keeps us honest, and on the path.

   Spiritual practice is the fifth element in a universal spirituality, and
is the crux of the matter in terms of those powerful breakthroughs that
occur from time to time, and are the substance of our relationship with the
Divine, or of our realization of infinite consciousness.  Spiritual practice
can include, prayer, mediation, chanting, liturgy and other rituals,
singing, yoga, t’ai chi, spiritual reading, walking, and communion with the
natural world.  No spiritual life is either authentic,
or effective in the long run where a viable spiritual practice is absent.
It is the cutting edge of inner realization, of the momentous eruptions of
vision and insight in the spiritual journey.  One’s spiritual life, or
mystical process enters maturity when there is a commitment to a viable
practice that is daily observed.

   Element six concerns self-knowledge, which is profound, comprehensive,
accurate, and indispensable to growth, transformation, and unitive
experience.  It works in tandem with humility and spiritual practice.  It is
nourished by regular exercises of examination of conscience, of delving into
our motives that are evident to us, or hidden from our sight in the depths
of the unconscious.  Self-knowledge in this sense is an expression of the
efficacy of humility of heart, and the effectiveness of practice, which
rests on self-honesty, and a commitment to truth.  The lucidity and veracity
of self-knowledge, its humble admission of our faults, and its uncertainty
about our virtue, keeps us steadily on the path of self-transcendence, love,
and a pervasive peace.

   Simplicity of life, and of life-style is the seventh element, or aspect
of a global mysticism, an emerging planetary spirituality.  Along with the
other nine elements, it is a definitive sign of the authenticity of one’s
commitment to spirituality.  The person who is living the spiritual life in
its depth and plentitude always has this attachment to simplicity, to the
unadorned state of focus on the essential reality, free of all that is
extraneous.  In India, in the experience of Gandhi, his followers, and later
in the life and example of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and her sisterhood of
the Missionaries of Charity, simplicity of life was a cardinal ideal, what
the Catholic tradition calls the vow of poverty.  It means to live simply,
or as Gandhi was fond of saying: “The earth has enough for humankind’s
needs, but not its greeds.” There is a saying in the counter-culture of
America that goes like this: “Live simply, so others may simply live!”

   The eighth element of universal spirituality is love-in-action, selfless
service, and compassionate response to the sufferings of others.  This is
the proof of the genuineness of one’s spiritual life.  It cannot be real
without this dimension of action out of love, kindness, compassion, and
sensitivity.  The capacity to respond to others from the innateness of love,
compassion, kindness, and sensitivity is directly related to living his or
her spiritual life.  The more we are immersed in the Divine Presence, or
exposed to infinite Awareness, the more we become love-in-action, pure
kindness, compassion, and sensitivity, and sensitivity is a vast awareness,
a consciousness that transcends our human limitations.  It is the inner,
natural, emergent intention of the person with a good heart, a perfected
being, a holiness of life.

   The ninth, and final element of global mysticism is prophetic witness,
(or voice,) and action.  Authentic spirituality, when it is engaged with the
world and the sufferings of the human community and other sentient species,
is responsive to the sufferings of others, the struggles of the poor,
vulnerable, homeless, the unwanted and unloved of humanity.  The person of
mystical spirituality in our time is prophetically engaged with the world.
Such a person is always ready to take risks for the sake of peace, the
environment, justice, equality, love, kindness, compassion, and sensitive
awareness of the needs of others.  The enlightened being will stick his or
her neck out for others.  Again, it’s an indication of the reality and
maturity of one’s spirituality.

   All of these elements are part of a twofold awareness: a vertical and
horizontal dimension.  Spirituality in its mystical fullness, extent, and
depth has a vertical direction that is an openness to and a direct awareness
of the Divine Reality, the Spirit, God, Infinite Consciousness.  It is a
consciousness of the transcendent reality, the Source that grounds one’s
spiritual commitment, and the mystical knowledge that arises from it.  The
second dimension of this awareness is equally indispensable, and is the
horizontal direction of spiritual perception.  It is the focus of loving
awareness and action in relation to all others.  It is animated by a depth
of kindness and compassion, and the vast awareness of sensitivity that knows
the preciousness of everyone and everything.  Both these directions of
awareness are the fruit of the spiritual life, and the fruitful foundation
from which we can make peace in Asia, the Pacific, and the rest of the
world.

Some Concrete Proposals for Peace

   St. Augustine in the fifth century gave us a definition of peace in his
master work De Civitate Dei.  He remarks: “Peace is the tranquility of
order.”    This peace is the gift of Heaven, of the mystical life, and it
cannot be fashioned by us left to our own devices, and out of alignment with
the Divine.  It is a spiritual reality that is the fruit of the inner
surrender to God, the Divine Reality, the Spirit, Infinite Awareness itself.
It is from this fruitful understanding that I would like to propose four
steps towards peace in Asia, the Pacific, and the around the planet.

1.   The first proposal concerns Tibet, and it presupposes the great value
of this culture, and what it has to offer to the People’s Republic of China,
its culture, social existence, and fuller notion of nationhood.  There is so
much the Tibetan people and culture have to offer China and the world.  This
Buddhist culture has evolved an elaborate system of personal transformation
with a connection to the transformation of others and society.   This is the
precious gift that Tibet can give to China and the world.  Peace in Asia,
Pacific, and the world depends in part on China sincerely befriending the
Tibetan People, and giving them a chance to make their contribution.  I
appeal to China to think about this insight, and all it has to gain by such
a friendship.  If the government of the People’s Republic of China would
adopt this positive course, everything will then work for it, and it will
acquire the respect and love of the whole world.

   In this process of befriending the Tibetan People, restoring their
culture and way of life, the Dalai Lama is the most important factor.  The
Chinese government can acquire much benefit from a changed relationship with
this Tibetan leader.  He is not their enemy, but a friend waiting to be
discovered.  If China would reach out to this simple monk, as he calls
himself, they would be inspired by what they would find.  They have a
precious treasure in this man, and their hearts would melt in his presence,
because his goodness would radiate forth.  It would be enormously wise for
the Chinese to give this man a chance.  Doing so, they will be pleasantly
surprised.

 2.  Another important factor for peace in Asia and beyond is altering the
relationship between China and Taiwan.  Forging a new relationship requires
vision and imagination.  I believe, as with the Tibetan issue, it’s time for
a bold move from Beijing.  I believe the answer is quite simple: let Beijing
invite the two major political parties of Taiwan into sincere dialogue with
the government of the People’s Republic.  This has the power to prevent a
potentially tragic conflict, ushering in an historic compromise.

   A third proposal concerns North Korea.  There can be no illusions about
the government of the North; it has not been able to meet the legitimate
needs of its people.  At the same time, we have to deal with this
government, which has put all its eggs in the basket of military power,
sacrificing its people in the process.  The governments in the region, along
with Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia, should do all they
can to provide sufficient resources to mitigate famine and starvation in the
North.  I think we have a responsibility here to bring North Korea through
this crisis, but they must agree to pay a price for the aid: give up its
development of nuclear weapons.

   Finally, concerning Islam in Asia, and other areas of the world, given
the present crisis within the Islamic commonwealth, what is needed as a
major step towards an enduring peace, and a positive change in its
relationship with non-Muslim peoples, is the creation of a new institution
with absolute authority to speak for Islam itself.  This might be an
international Islamic Assembly, which would be invested with all the power
it needs to teach the Muslims of the world what the Qur’an requires of them.
Only in this way will the moral ambiguity of this moment in history be
cleared away, allowing Islam to progress beyond this dangerous period where
the potential for damage to its reputation is very high.  The creation of
such an important institution is a historic necessity, and much good would
come out of such a development.

   Spirituality, mysticism, contemplation, and a universal spirituality,
nurtured in an interspiritual vision and practice as resource for
transformation, can lead us into the task of building a new global order, a
civilization with a heart, as detailed above.  Such a global society is the
only hope for the human family, a society envisioned by Pope Paul VI during
his pontificate, in what he called “a true civilization: the civilization of
love.” 

**Spirituality as a Primary Resource in Promoting Peace!!

*  as a keen rapport , channel direct from: http://www.agnt.org/teasdaleSPS.htm by Wayne Teasdale
peace!