Searching within for peace to end war

"This is a very complex situation, and a bumper sticker doesn't work, a sound bite doesn't work, a one-size-fits-all description doesn't work," Dubik told the students during the live video teleconference provided by the U.S. Army.

 

 

On Wednesday, students filled the same space and heard a decidedly different explanation about why expectations about the war are unrealistic.

"We've reached a different point on this planet now where warfare has become counterproductive," said Robert Thurman, a keynote speaker for Naperville's second annual Celebration of Peace.

Thurman, the father of actress Uma Thurman, was the first American to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk, but he gave up his robes when he determined he could impact more people's lives as a university professor. He is now a professor of Indo-Tibetan studies at Columbia University in New York. He also has authored a number of books on Tibet, Buddhism, art, politics and culture.

However, during his presentation Wednesday, he spoke mainly of war and how he believes it cannot achieve peace. He chuckled at what he described as the confused notion of writing "peace maker" on a cruise missile before shooting it at someone.

"War is an extension of diplomacy," Thurman said. "When you can't make a treaty with a neighboring country to get them to do what you want, you have to have a war with their army, and, if you defeat their army, you can get them to do what you want.

"And up to World War II probably, there was such a thing a victory in war, probably," he said. "But, since then, have you noticed anybody winning any wars?"

Thurman said the United States didn't win in Korea or Vietnam, and it is not winning in Iraq or Afghanistan. Likewise, he said, the Russians didn't win in Afghanistan, and the Israelis and Palestinians are still fighting after 60 years.

Why?

Thurman suggested this is because war is no longer about armies. Whereas roughly 95 percent of the casualties of war were once absorbed by soldiers, they're now borne by civilians, Thurman said. He noted that while about 4,000 American soldiers have died in Iraq, more than 1.2 million Iraqi civilians have been killed, and 4 million have been displaced.

"That means the major victims of that war have been civilians - people not actually involved with the fighting of the war," he said. "They will not rest until they get revenge."

So, rather than seeking peace through war, Thurman pitched the idea of "world peace through inner peace."