Buddhist concept of reconciliation

The Buddhist concept of reconciliation, developed with clarity in the institutional texts, has a compelling rationale and is of special relevance to issues relating to conflict in our time, Professor G.L. Peiris, Minister of External Affairs, said in Ayodhya, Thailand on Thursday.

The retributive theory of punishment, he said, finds no support in the Buddhist texts. The axiom of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, is basically incompatible with the essence of Buddhist teaching.  The collective wrath of society should not be the motivation for dealing with an offender and regarding him as an outcast.  On the contrary, the view advocated by Buddhism is that the imperfection of human nature, which leads to blameworthy behaviour, is always capable of being improved and refined to serve society as a whole and to add to its strength.

Reconciliation, as expounded in the Buddhist doctrine, requires that enmity and rancour arising from events in the past, should not be allowed to spill over into the present and the future.



 There is a point at which the anguish of the past has to be left behind, and the emphasis transferred to the pursuit of harmony and good relations in the present and the future, he said.  The idea of vengeance is at variance with the promotion of goodwill  and the spirit of rapprochement, which lie at the core of reconciliation.

Buddhism strongly discourages judgmental postures, he continued.  The assuaging of wounded feelings by the principal means of imposition of penal sanctions, and the infliction of pain in return for pain, is counterproductive.  According to Buddhist teaching, far from resolving problems, this approach leads to the aggravation and prolonging of conflict, he observed.

Buddhism also stresses the societal, as opposed to the individual, role in reconciliation, Prof. Peiris said.  The emphasis is on elevating the threshold of solidarity and consensus within the community rather than providing satisfaction in a narrow sense to an individual at the expense of the community at large.  There is positive value attached to the concept of closure at the end of a period of exceptional discord and turbulence, with a view to preventing further acrimony and divisiveness.  The focus in this regard is on consultation, compromise and consensus, he commented.

Prof. Peiris added that priorities and sequence are elements which are central to the Buddhist notion of reconciliation.  This is well illustrated by the story of a woman who attended a sermon of the Buddha.

 It become apparent to the Buddha that she was in great physical discomfort because she had not eaten for several days. Before delivering the sermon, the Buddha saw to it that she was provided with food and other necessities.  It was only then that she was able to benefit from the wisdom imparted in the sermon.