Reducing Violence Through Buddhist Practice

Abstract

In a world characterized by growing international tension and personal conflict, the more familiar approaches to peacebuilding have increasingly been augmented by psychological and philosophical applications. This paper discusses the effectiveness of Buddhist practices: mindfulness or Sati, loving-kindness or Metta, and non-harming or Ahimsa, as usable methods of reducing violence in today’s society. The research argues that Buddhist mental training directly addresses the "three poisons" of greed, hatred, and delusion known to be causative agents of aggressive behavior. This heightened self-awareness allows for a "cognitive gap" between provocation and reaction to open so that, during high-stress moments, a potential for non-violent options can follow. This cultivation of compassion moves the practitioner from the ego-centric world view to one of interconnectedness, dissolving fundamentally the need to "other," which leads often to either physical or systemic violence. In this article, based on the case study and psychological data examine the Buddhist practices in a way to prove that Buddhist practices are not simply religious rituals and are scalable interventions in behavior. When used in a secular setting like schools and community mediation centers and in prison settings, Buddhist practices have been shown to possess great potential in terms of lowering recidivism rates and hostility levels in society and family settings.