Lessons from the Lord Buddha on Conflict Resolution : หน้า 199/207

3) When the Lord Buddha was confronted by a furious elephant (similar to a frantic person), His solution was to spread loving kindness. In short, when people receive and are moved by loving kindness, their hearts will expand and they will be able to forgive and understand each other. 4) When the Lord Buddha faced Angulimala, a killer who aimed to destroy Him, His solution was to make him surrender by combining His supernatural powers and a graceful sermon appropriate to the situation, in order to make Angulimala wholeheartedly believe in His teachings. In our case, we do not have power like the Lord Buddha’s, however if we face a killer, we must depend on the police and the law. 5) In one case, the Lord Buddha was accused in public. That day, while He was teaching Dhamma to his followers, a beautiful woman named Savatthi, suddenly stood up among the great number of people in the Dhamma Hall and proclaimed to the Lord Buddha that she was pregnant with his child. She said, “Lord Buddha, you keep teaching others, but not our offspring in my womb. What should I do? I’m about to deliver!” The Lord Buddha’s solution towards this situation was to remain calm and silent. Such a case is a good example to other venerable monks and respected adults who face the same situation. In some situations, silence is the best solution, and time will tell. As a matter of fact, there are two subjects to be wary of: sexual conduct and money. Concerning sexual conduct, when venerable monks or adults face charges of inappropriate involvement with another person, 90% of people will unthinkingly believe such accusations. As a result, silence is the best solution, and time will tell. The truth will soon reveal itself to the public. With regards to money, when monks are falsely accused in financial matters, it is often difficult to know how to dispute such allegations. If a respected adult is wrongly accused of corruption, it is also difficult to discuss such a matter. According to Buddhist principles, there are no fights, no fleeing from the enemy; remaining silent is safer. Silence, in these cases, does not mean guilt or surrender. It means you are waiting for the appropriate time to declare your innocence. To elaborate: *Not fighting* means not accusing one another. *No fleeing from the enemy* means not surrendering and not confirming the accusation. The accused person should continue to perform good deeds as best as he can. Strict discipline will help to protect him and in the end, he will defeat the situation.