Resolution of violence begins and ends with individuals
A revealing exploration of violence requires looking into the dynamics and relationships between:
- Power/Control
- Ego Activity/Striving
- Desire Pleasure/Avoid Pain
These three are in a dance of service for survival and optimization – looks good on the surface, but as the saying goes – the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Where this whole affair goes off the rails is at who/what is being served, and in most of the 8 billion individuals on planet Earth at this time, that means the ego-self. Looking into the nature, orientation, and driving force of the ego-self brings into question activities, beliefs, and the conviction of the separate self.
Results from a recent Google search:
- Peace = 89.3 million results
- Violence = 124 million results
“There is a pervasive form of contemporary violence to which the idealist most easily succumbs: activism and overwork. The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence. The frenzy of our activism neutralizes our work for peace. It destroys our own inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of our own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.” – Thomas Merton (1915-1968), American Catholic writer, social activist, theologian, and mystic
Think of the ego-self issues involved with what Merton is saying. What about success? What about goals? What about a better standard of living? What about…
Violence is not merely killing another. It is violence when we use a sharp word, when we make a gesture to brush away a person, when we obey because there is fear. So violence isn’t merely organized butchery in the name of God, in the name of society or country. Violence is much more subtle, much deeper, and we are inquiring into the very depths of violence. When you call yourself an Indian or a Muslim or a Christian or a European, or anything else, you are being violent. Do you know why it is violent? Because you are separating yourself from the rest of mankind. When you separate yourself by belief, by nationality, by tradition, it breeds violence. So a man who is seeking to understand violence does not belong to any country, to any religion, to any political party or system; he is concerned with the total understanding of mankind. – J. Krishnamurti, Freedom from the Known
This quote by Krishnamurti is one of the touchstone quotes of my life. I think of it often and use it several times a year in posts like The Violence of Us versus Them.
Here are quotes from three of today’s most prominent spiritual teachers on this issue of violence.
It is in the nature of ego striving and the desire for gratification that the heart is upset. There can be no peace with craving and grasping. This craving is a certain energy, a certain state that is by its very nature harsh, hard, excited, and violent. It is the seed and source of all negative emotions. It is felt and experienced as violence within the heart. It feels like sand grating against the pure smoothness and softness – A. H. Almaas
The greater part of violence that humans have inflicted on each other is not the work of criminals or the mentally deranged, but of normal, respectable citizens in the service of the collective ego. ― Eckhart Tolle
If we are harboring division, we are violent, and that violence will manifest sooner or later. It’s sobering to see this, but when you do, it takes away the justification for being divided. – Adyashanti
The Diamond Approach posits that the root of all violence lies in the ego or personality. When we disconnect from our True Nature or Essence, we give rise to a sense of separation and fear. This fear often manifests as aggression or violence, as the ego seeks to protect itself from perceived threats. By reconnecting with our Essence, we can dissolve these fears and reduce the propensity for violence.
Being, in the context of the Diamond Approach, refers to our true, authentic self. It is a state of presence and awareness that transcends the ego. When we are connected with our Being, we are in a state of peace and acceptance, which naturally precludes violence. This is because Being recognizes the interconnectedness of all things and, thus, does not seek to harm or dominate others.
The journey from ego to Essence is a transformative process that involves self-inquiry, meditation, and other spiritual practices. As we shed the layers of our ego, we begin to reconnect with our Essence or True Nature. This journey is not always easy, but it is a necessary step toward reducing violence and promoting peace.
While social, economic, and government structures might help to mediate the acting out of violence, the resolution ultimately lies within each individual. Striving and efforting for peace is antithetical to peace, though well intended and not without positive contribution to the movement toward peace. But this, too, can be co-opted by the ego as just another form of activism that perpetuates inner conflict and violence. A more optimal route is through violence – to experience the impact and affect of our inner violence on our hearts and souls.
The Diamond Approach offers a unique perspective on non-violence. It suggests that we can reduce violence and promote peace by understanding and transcending our ego. This perspective is relevant to personal transformation and has profound implications for societal change.
As Rumi says – The remedy for pain is the pain.