Truth Telling in Peacebuilding: A Buddhist Contribution
Keywords:
Truth telling, reconciliation, Buddha, Nikayas, Peacebuilding
Abstract
Truth telling has been recognized as important in the process of trauma healing and reconciliation according to modern peacebuilding theories. Studies have shown that truth telling is not a simple issue but involves problems and challenges that need research and solutions. This study contributes to this problem-solution or the question “How should difficult and painful truth be told in a way that minimizes harm and maximizes benefit for all?†by offering an alternative knowledge and method rooted in the Buddhist tradition. Based on textual study of the Majjhima Nikaya and Anguttara Nikaya, the paper argues that the Buddha’s teachings can widen the understanding and minimize potential problems with the work of truth telling whether in the collective or interpersonal context by providing a concrete systematic framework and criteria for reflection, making decision and communication of truth.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
[1] Thomas Norman DeWolf and Jodie Geddes, The Little Book of Racial Healing: Coming to the Table for Truth-Telling, Liberation, and Transformation (Simon and Schuster, 2019), 22–38; John Paul Lederach, Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies (Washington, D.C: United States Institute of Peace, 1998), 26–31; Elisabeth Porter, Peacebuilding: Women in International Perspective (Routledge, 2007), 141.
[2] Porter, Peacebuilding, 127, 136.
[3] Brandon Hamber, Transforming Societies after Political Violence: Truth, Reconciliation, and Mental Health (London & New York: Springer, 2008), 27.
[4] Porter, Peacebuilding, 105.
[5] Porter, 108–9, 134–48.
[6] Hamber, Transforming Societies after Political Violence: Truth, Reconciliation, and Mental Health, 12–14, 148–53.
[7] Hamber, 46; Porter, Peacebuilding, 133.
[8] Hamber, Transforming Societies after Political Violence: Truth, Reconciliation, and Mental Health, 65–66.
[9] Porter, Peacebuilding, 107–8, 120–21.
[10] Porter, 122–29, 167–68.
[11] Porter, 109–10.
[12] DeWolf and Geddes, The Little Book of Racial Healing, 22–38.
[13] Hamber, Transforming Societies after Political Violence: Truth, Reconciliation, and Mental Health, 2, 21.
[14] Sulak Sivaraksa, Conflict, Culture, Change: Engaged Buddhism in a Globalizing World (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2005), 30–32.
[15] ThÃch Minh Châu (trans.), Kinh Trung Bá»™ [Majjhima Nikaya – The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha] (Sà i Gòn: Thiá»n Viện Vạn Hạnh, 1986); ThÃch Minh Châu (trans.), Kinh Tăng Chi Bá»™ [Anguttara Nikaya] (Sà i Gòn: Thiá»n Viện Vạn Hạnh, 2000).
[16] Satoshi Ishii, “Conceptualising Asian Communication Ethics: A Buddhist Perspective,†Journal of Multicultural Discourses 4, no. 1 (2009): 49–60; K. Kitti, Communications in the Buddha’s Tipitaka (Thailand: ChulaPress, 2014).
[17] Adam Curle, Another Way: Positive Response to Contemporary Violence (Oxford: Jon Carpenter, 1995); Sivaraksa, Conflict, Culture, Change: Engaged Buddhism in a Globalizing World; Thich Nhat Tu and Thich Duc Thien, Mindful Leadership for Sustainable Peace (Hong Duc Publishing House, 2019).
[18] Porter, Peacebuilding, 149.
[19] Porter, 135–36.
[20] Hamber, Transforming Societies after Political Violence: Truth, Reconciliation, and Mental Health, 65–73.
[21] George D. Bond, “The Gradual Path as a Hermeneutical Approach to the Dhamma,†in Buddhist Hermeneutics, ed. Donald S. Loper, First Edition (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1993), 32–43; Bhikkhu Nanamoli, The Guide (Nettippakaranam) According to Kaccana Thera (London: The Pali Text Society, 1977), 245–49.
[22] Hamber, Transforming Societies after Political Violence: Truth, Reconciliation, and Mental Health, 65–73; Porter, Peacebuilding, 123–29.
[23] Sivaraksa, Conflict, Culture, Change: Engaged Buddhism in a Globalizing World, 30–32.
[24] NÄrada MahÄThera, ThÃch Thiện Siêu, and ThÃch Minh Châu (trans.), Kinh Pháp Cú [Dhammapada] (Giáo Há»™i Pháºt Giáo Việt Nam, Công ty CP Văn hóa Thiện tri thức, 2014).
[25] Porter, Peacebuilding, 133–37.
[26] Paul Gready, The Era of Transitional Justice: The Aftermath of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa and Beyond (Oxon and New York: Routledge, 2011), 26; Hamber, Transforming Societies after Political Violence: Truth, Reconciliation, and Mental Health, 28–33, 69–70, 101–7, 133–48; Porter, Peacebuilding, 122.
[27] ThÃch Minh Châu (trans.), Kinh TÆ°Æ¡ng Ưng Bá»™ [Samyutta Nikaya] (Sà i Gòn: Thiá»n Viện Vạn Hạnh, 2000).
[2] Porter, Peacebuilding, 127, 136.
[3] Brandon Hamber, Transforming Societies after Political Violence: Truth, Reconciliation, and Mental Health (London & New York: Springer, 2008), 27.
[4] Porter, Peacebuilding, 105.
[5] Porter, 108–9, 134–48.
[6] Hamber, Transforming Societies after Political Violence: Truth, Reconciliation, and Mental Health, 12–14, 148–53.
[7] Hamber, 46; Porter, Peacebuilding, 133.
[8] Hamber, Transforming Societies after Political Violence: Truth, Reconciliation, and Mental Health, 65–66.
[9] Porter, Peacebuilding, 107–8, 120–21.
[10] Porter, 122–29, 167–68.
[11] Porter, 109–10.
[12] DeWolf and Geddes, The Little Book of Racial Healing, 22–38.
[13] Hamber, Transforming Societies after Political Violence: Truth, Reconciliation, and Mental Health, 2, 21.
[14] Sulak Sivaraksa, Conflict, Culture, Change: Engaged Buddhism in a Globalizing World (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2005), 30–32.
[15] ThÃch Minh Châu (trans.), Kinh Trung Bá»™ [Majjhima Nikaya – The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha] (Sà i Gòn: Thiá»n Viện Vạn Hạnh, 1986); ThÃch Minh Châu (trans.), Kinh Tăng Chi Bá»™ [Anguttara Nikaya] (Sà i Gòn: Thiá»n Viện Vạn Hạnh, 2000).
[16] Satoshi Ishii, “Conceptualising Asian Communication Ethics: A Buddhist Perspective,†Journal of Multicultural Discourses 4, no. 1 (2009): 49–60; K. Kitti, Communications in the Buddha’s Tipitaka (Thailand: ChulaPress, 2014).
[17] Adam Curle, Another Way: Positive Response to Contemporary Violence (Oxford: Jon Carpenter, 1995); Sivaraksa, Conflict, Culture, Change: Engaged Buddhism in a Globalizing World; Thich Nhat Tu and Thich Duc Thien, Mindful Leadership for Sustainable Peace (Hong Duc Publishing House, 2019).
[18] Porter, Peacebuilding, 149.
[19] Porter, 135–36.
[20] Hamber, Transforming Societies after Political Violence: Truth, Reconciliation, and Mental Health, 65–73.
[21] George D. Bond, “The Gradual Path as a Hermeneutical Approach to the Dhamma,†in Buddhist Hermeneutics, ed. Donald S. Loper, First Edition (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1993), 32–43; Bhikkhu Nanamoli, The Guide (Nettippakaranam) According to Kaccana Thera (London: The Pali Text Society, 1977), 245–49.
[22] Hamber, Transforming Societies after Political Violence: Truth, Reconciliation, and Mental Health, 65–73; Porter, Peacebuilding, 123–29.
[23] Sivaraksa, Conflict, Culture, Change: Engaged Buddhism in a Globalizing World, 30–32.
[24] NÄrada MahÄThera, ThÃch Thiện Siêu, and ThÃch Minh Châu (trans.), Kinh Pháp Cú [Dhammapada] (Giáo Há»™i Pháºt Giáo Việt Nam, Công ty CP Văn hóa Thiện tri thức, 2014).
[25] Porter, Peacebuilding, 133–37.
[26] Paul Gready, The Era of Transitional Justice: The Aftermath of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa and Beyond (Oxon and New York: Routledge, 2011), 26; Hamber, Transforming Societies after Political Violence: Truth, Reconciliation, and Mental Health, 28–33, 69–70, 101–7, 133–48; Porter, Peacebuilding, 122.
[27] ThÃch Minh Châu (trans.), Kinh TÆ°Æ¡ng Ưng Bá»™ [Samyutta Nikaya] (Sà i Gòn: Thiá»n Viện Vạn Hạnh, 2000).
Published
2021-06-19
How to Cite
Le, N. B. L. (2021). Truth Telling in Peacebuilding: A Buddhist Contribution. International Journal of Interreligious and Intercultural Studies, 4(1), 45-56. https://doi.org/10.32795/ijiis.vol4.iss1.2021.1207
Section
Articles
