Secular Ethics and Disarmament

His Holiness the Dalai Dama has a wonderful book, Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World, that was published in 2011.

In writing about the book, His Holiness has written:


This book may seem strange coming from someone who from a very early age has lived as a monk in robes. Yet I see no contradiction here. My faith enjoins me to strive for the welfare and benefit of all sentient beings, and reaching out beyond my own tradition, to those of other religions and those of none, is entirely in keeping with this.


I am confident that it is both possible and worthwhile to attempt a new secular approach to universal ethics. My confidence comes from my conviction that all of us, all human beings, are basically inclined or disposed toward what we perceive to be good.... In view of this, I am of the firm opinion that we have within our grasp a way, and a means, to ground inner values without contradicting any religion and yet, crucially, without depending on religion.

In his book, the Dalai Lama has a section entitled, "The Futility of War," that that ends this way:

In the remaining years of the twenty-first century, we must ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past. The only way to reduce the level of violence in our world is for more and more people across the globe to consciously adopt a stance of disarmament. Disarmament is compassion in practice. What is required, therefore, is both inner disarmament, at the level of our individual hatred, prejudice, and intolerance, and outher disarmament, at the level of nations and states. Rather than pouring salt on the wounds we have inherited from earlier generations, we must start to heal our divisions by committing ourselves to dialogue, cooperation, and understanding. As the population of the globe continues to grow, and as large nations like China, India, and Brazil race ahead with rapid economic competition for natural resources--not just fossil fuels but also basic necessities like water, food, and land--will inevitably intensify. So it is vital that that our younger generations, the guardians of our future, develop strong awareness of the futility of war. We can learn from the great achievements of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. to recognize that nonviolence is the best long-term approach to redressing injustice. If the twentieth century was a century of violence, let  us make the twenty-first a century of dialogue.


That last sentence seems especially important in this time of wrangling with Iran over its nuclear program.