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第二個步驟：
當人群暴力、憤怒的程度到達到沸點時，都可能帶來戰爭，不是內戰，就是觸發與它國的戰爭。因此只要我們能做任何可以減少這種暴戾、憤怒的事，就能很大地幫助這個社會減小戰爭或內亂的可能性。教導社會傾向於暴力的主角之一就是電視，所以要永遠關掉你的電視機。
Michael Nagler曾經寫過：
——96％的美國家庭最少都有一臺電視機。
——每家平均每天收看電視6個鐘頭。
——通常的電視節目中，每一個鐘頭就有8次的暴力畫面。
——在5—15歲之間的美國孩子，已在電視上看過13，00人被殺的畫面；到18歲時已有
15，000小時的暴力畫面呈現在美國孩子面前，而他們也從電視上目睹了超過20，000次的暴力行為的畫面。
——97％給孩子們看的卡通片，都有暴力的畫面。大眾媒體傳播研究中心表示，每星期天早上的電視節目，平均每3分半鐘就有暴力行為出現。George
Gerbner博士認為是每2分鐘就有一次暴力行為在電視上出現。
——根據近年來一群憂慮的母親們的觀察，即使在最好的電視時段，在電視上孩子們也目睹了5，000個謀殺、強暴、毆打、刺害的晝面，1，300個通姦行為畫面和2，700個性挑釁的談論。
這樣的情況怎麼能有助世界和平呢？小孩子從小就被灌輸「暴力行為」是最好解決事情的方法，而且他們也認為這個社會接受並認同用暴力來解決相互間問題的方法。因此我們要把電視關上。
第三步驟：
當我們不斷地為淨化身口意而觀照它們時，那麼我們就將形成一股和平、祥和的力量而不會形成一股引發戰爭的力量。因果報應的道理告訴我們，無論我們的理由多麼正當，觀念多麼正確，如果其中有憤怒和怨恨的成份，結果只會是產生更多的憤怒和怨恨。不管我們的理由是如何崇高偉大，如果我們心裡充滿了鬥爭、戰爭的情緒，那我們也在促成戰爭發生。佛教對業報的教導毫不含糊地指出，要去除不好的情緒態度，將之轉化為對一切眾生無我的慈悲，其先決條件是過根本性的道德倫理生活。有許多我們可以在自身採取的努力，來攪動熱湯，使湯鍋冷卻下來。但我們必須不斷地提醒自己留意內心的處事態度，否則無論多麼用力地攪動，我們或許在無意之中使火燒得更旺。
那么我們應該如何改變我們內心處事的態度，去除那些使心中混濁雜亂的強烈負面情緒呢？在菩薩道中有一部份是用修習布施對治欲望、貪心、慳吝、渴求，修習忍耐對治憤怒，修習智慧對治愚癡。
第四步驟：
我們應該要有系統地從我們的心靈層次，到言詞與行動的層次，擴展我們的慈悲心予他人。我們可以從我們身邊的人開始散播慈悲心，從我們的親人開始，然後漸漸地擴展到整個社區、社會以至全世界。
或許你們很多人對這些提議有點失望，或許你們在找尋更有刺激性的東西，但我希望你們能感覺到，這些佛教的觀念確實是有效的。印度Mauryan的皇帝，紀元前268年即位的阿育王，在血腥地征服了Kalinga後，對殘殺深感厭惡，成為了佛教徒，下令嚴禁一切殘殺行為，提倡慈悲地對待他人和動物。西藏人在接受佛教之前，殘暴好戰。他們的鄰居蒙古人也是一樣的，從中國到（奧國）維也納的城門，蒙古的成吉思汗的軍隊恐怖地統治了許多人。世界上再也找不出比他們更兇猛殘暴的人了。在佛教傳道者慢慢勸導下，那些蒙古人變成了亞洲最祥和的人。佛教從來不提倡或鼓勵戰爭，也不允許宗教戰爭的想法。
菩薩（覺有情）的理想是自願生生世世再回到我們這個苦難的世界，來教導我們找到內心永恆的和平，這也是世界達到眞正和平的唯一道路。
不論是對我們或世界上的聖人而言，和平只能從我們每個人時時刻刻的念頭中尋求。只有在這樣的基礎上，我們的行動才能有助於和平，才會有效力。
（全文完）
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Step Two
Since war can come
about when the general level of violence in the
population reaches the boiling point and can either
manifest in civil war or be channeled
into foreign wars, anything we can do to reduce the general
level of violence in the population will certainly be
most helpful. One of the major teachers of violence
in our society is television. Turn
off your TV—permanently.
Michael Nagler has
written:
96 percent of American
homes have at least one television
set.
The average home has a
set going six hours a day.
In 'ordinary' viewing,
there are 8 violent episodes an hour.
Between the ages of
five and fifteen the average American child has watched the
killing of 13,000 people. By age eighteen he or she will
have logged more than 15,000 hours of this kind of exposure
and taken in more than 20,000 acts of violence....
97 percent of cartoons
intended for children include acts of violence. By the
criteria of the Media Action Research Center, an act of
aggression occurs every three and a half minutes during
children's Saturday morning programs. Dr. George Gerbner
counts one every two minutes by similar criteria.
In a typical recent
year "children... witness, on prime time television, 5,000
murders, rapes, beatings and stabbings, 300 acts of
adultery, and 2,700 sexually aggressive comments," according
to a group of concerned mothers.
How can all this be
helping the cause of world peace? From an
early age our citizens are learning that violence is
the best solution to their problems,
that violence is a socially acceptable and socially
approved way of dealing with problems both personal
and interpersonal. Turn off the TV!
Step Three
By constantly being
mindful of your own thoughts, words and actions and by
constantly trying to purify them, we can become part of the
force for peace rather than part of the force for war.
Teachings about karma indicate to us that no matter how just
our cause, no matter how right our
ideas, if they are accompanied by anger
and hate, they will merely generate more anger and
hate. If our minds are inundated with
the emotions of war, we aid the cause of
war, no matter how noble our cause. Buddhist
teachings about karma indicate
unequivocally that a fundamentally moral life is a
necessary prerequisite for ridding our minds of
negative emotions, for transforming
them into selfless compassion for all. There are
many selfless endeavors that we can take upon
ourselves to stir the soup and help
cool the pot. But we should remember to be constantly
mindful of our own mental attitudes. If we are not, no
matter how hard we stir, we may also be unconsciously
helping to turn up the flames.
How do we change our
own mental attitudes; how do we rid
our minds of those strong negative emotions that cause
turbidity in our minds? Part of the
Bodhisattva Path consists of the practice of
giving as an antidote to desire, greed, stinginess,
and craving; the practice of patience
as an antidote for anger; and the practice of
wisdom as an antidote for foolishness.
Step Four
We should work on the
systematic extension of compassion towards others. From the
level of our own minds, to our speech and
then our actions, we can work on generating
compassion to those who are closest
to us, the members of our own families, and then
progressively extend our compassion to our
communities, countries, and the
entire world.
Many of you may be
disappointed in these suggestions. Perhaps
you are looking for something more exciting or
stimulating. However, I hope that you
will realize that there is some indication that these
Buddhist ideas do really work. King Asoka, the
Mauryan emperor of India who was
coronated in 268 BCE, was converted to Buddhism after
experiencing personal revulsion in the aftermath of his
bloody conquest of Kalinga. Thereafter he prohibited
any form of killing and encouraged
humane treatment of all peoples and also
animals. The Tibetans were bloodthirsty and warlike
before conversion to Buddhism. Likewise, their neighbors the
Mongols, particularly the armies of Ghengis Khan, terrorized
many peoples, from China to the gates
of Vienna. It would be hard to find people more
fierce and bloodthirsty. Buddhist missionaries
subsequently trans- formed the Mongols
into one of the most peaceful peoples of Asia.
Buddhists have never advocated war and have never
sanctioned the idea of religious war.
The ideal of the
Bodhisattva (an enlightened being who devotes himself
or herself to the enlightenment of all beings) is to
voluntarily return, life after life, to our world of
suffering to teach the Way to permanent inner peace,
which is the only way to true peace in the world.
Whether for us or for
the great sages of the world, peace canonly be brought to
the world one thought at a time in the minds ofeach one of
us. Only on that basis, can our actions for peace,
alsoperformed one at a time, be truly effective.
(The End)
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