Transforming The Human Spirit

By Dr Christopher Boey Chiong-Meng

The following is the text of Professor Dr. Christopher Boey's speech delivered at the forum "From A Culture Of Violence To A Culture Of Peace" held at Wisma Kebudayaan SGM, Kuala Lumpur on September 2, 2007 in conjunction with the opening of the exhibition "From A Culture Of Violence To A Culture Of Peace: Transforming the Human Spirit."

The Underlying Problem

We heard earlier from Dato’ Dr Ron McCoy about the sad and depressing reality of the current state of nuclear weapons in the world and from Dato’ Shankar about the need for constant effort in our struggle to abolish nuclear weapons. What is the fundamental cause of the failure to abolish nuclear weapons? Why is it that nuclear weapons continue to proliferate?

We can get some idea of where the problem is when we consider some frightening facts. When the atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the consciences of genuinely great scientists such as Albert Einstein and Joseph Rotblat were filled with anguish. But the disturbing fact is that not only military personnel but many other scientists were actually thrilled by the “success” of this new weapon. What is it that can allow such scientists who may have children or grandchildren of their own to have such feelings? How could they be so numbed and dehumanised? On August 9, the US President at that time, Harry Truman, even went to the extent to pray, “May God guide us to use it in His ways and for His purposes”, trying to justify spiritually the use of such weapons. The truth is that if such feelings remain in human hearts, no matter how many times nuclear weapons may be abolished, they will proliferate again.

Josei Toda’s Declaration Against Nuclear Weapons

In this connection, I would like to consider an historic declaration made by the second president of the Soka Gakkai, Josei Toda, condemning nuclear weapons as “an absolute evil” fundamentally threatening the dignity and right to live of all humanity. The declaration was made almost exactly 50 years ago on September 8, 1957, when the harsh reality of the East-West Cold War gripped the world. It was just less than a year before Mr Toda died. Although extremely ill as a result of severe liver cirrhosis and diabetes, he summoned up all his energy to call out strongly for the total abolition of nuclear weapons. In the declaration, Mr Toda said, “Although a movement calling for a ban on the testing of atomic or nuclear weapons has arisen around the world, it is my wish to go further, to attack the problem at its root. I want to expose and rip out the claws that lie hidden in the very depths of such weapons.”

Mr Toda’s impassioned cry was not just for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Much more than that, he was directly confronting the fundamental cause on the level of human life that allowed these weapons to proliferate in the first place. Today, 50 years later, the significance and farsightedness of Mr Toda’s approach stand out more impressively than it has ever done before.

About twenty years ago at the end of the Cold War, there was hope that the worst of the nuclear threat was over but we were quickly proven wrong when nuclear proliferation continued to threaten the security of the world community. Today, some 12,000 nuclear weapons remain in active service. The total of both deployed and non-deployed weapons is currently estimated to be in the region of 27,000.(1) The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 aggravated the fear that nuclear weapons might fall into the hands of terrorists.

The problem needs an urgent solution. The abolition of nuclear weapons is an imperative that can no longer be postponed. Efforts to convene negotiations and treaties are important and need to intensify but unless the people of the world address the fundamental cause of nuclear proliferation, these efforts will simply end in failure.

What then is the fundamental cause of the failure to abolish nuclear weapons that Mr Toda is attacking so vigorously? Why is it that nuclear weapons continue to proliferate? The answer lies in the uncontrolled, undirected and unrestrained function of what in Buddhist philosophy is referred to as the life-state of anger, which then leads to a lack of consideration for the “other”.

In the 2007 Soka Gakkai International peace proposal, SGI President Ikeda explains as follows:

“At the heart of the nuclear issue is a potential for destructiveness inherent in human life. It is a function of this destructiveness to shred our sense of human solidarity, sowing the seeds of mistrust and suspicion, conflict and hatred. Buddhism characterises this as the life-state or “world” of anger, which, when it becomes undirected and unrestrained, is a rogue and renegade force, disrupting and destroying all in its path.
The inner distortions twisting the heart of someone in this state prevent them from seeing things in their true aspect or making correct judgments. Everything appears as a means to the fulfillment of egotistical desires and impulses. It is this state of mind that would countenance the use of nuclear weapons.
When Toda made his declaration against nuclear weapons, he had in mind the struggle to prevent the inner forces of anger from going on an unrestrained rampage. He was calling for the steady and painstaking work of correctly repositioning and reconfiguring the function of anger in an inner world where wisdom and harmony prevail.”(2)

The Human Revolution and Human Solidarity

The state of anger is a state of life of self-importance and arrogance with no recognition of the existence of others. The human heart, however, not only has the potential for the worst but it is also capable of the best. It is important that we believe in its positive potential. It was Victor Hugo who wrote in Les Miserables, “There is a prospect greater than the sea, and it is the sky; there is a prospect greater than the sky, and it is the human soul”.(3) The struggle to bring out the best in human life, and to transform our lives from within can be termed the “human revolution.” This is what Mr Toda is referring to. Now, more than ever before, a movement for “human revolution” based on the daily struggle to transform our lives from within is urgently required as we challenge to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

The awakened solidarity of the world’s people is of the utmost importance, for only this can lead to an unstoppable current toward the renunciation of war. What brings people together? Far and beyond inter-state and political agreements, important though they may be, it is actually cultural and educational exchanges that bring people together. Only exchanges between heart and heart can have lasting effect.

Let me share with you something which could easily have been overlooked by many of us but in fact is highly significant. The 70s was an especially tense period in Soviet-Chinese relations. At that time, when SGI President Ikeda visited the University of Moscow, he noted a large picture prominently displayed on the front wall of the university president’s office.(4) It was a present from Peking University that depicted the grandeur of the University of Moscow. The world of politics may be fraught with harsh conflict, but there are no national boundaries in the world of scholarship. I was deeply moved when I heard about this. The same goes with interactions among artists, musicians, athletes, poets and most importantly common citizens. I have no doubt that it is an accumulation of small episodes like this that eventually led to the development of a harmonious relationship between the Soviet Union and China.

When the people of the world deepen their mutual understanding through cultural exchanges, they surmount such differences as their ethnicities, languages and religious beliefs. Jalaluddin Rumi, one of the greatest poets of the Islamic Persian world, in one of his poems, wrote:

There are many Turks who cannot truly speak to one another.
There are many Turks and Indians who intimately speak to each other
The language of the heart is thus different from the language of the tongue

Although it may seem like a detour, cultural exchange is, in fact, the shortest possible way to the peace and security of the world. The British historian Arnold J Toynbee wrote that when the future of humanity is seen in millennial units, it becomes apparent that history is ultimately created by “deeper, slower movements.”(5)

Humanistic Education

In this regard, I would like to emphasise the importance of treasuring and educating future generations. I once heard a moving episode in which Gandhi was looking for a pencil. The people around Gandhi were surprised to find Gandhi looking so desperately for a pencil but were deeply moved when they discovered later that it was given to him by a child and he treasured the feelings of that child. Such is the spirit of a great educator.

Humanistic education - education that emphasises the dignity of life - is crucial in transforming the human spirit. Among the areas into which SGI President Daisaku Ikeda has poured maximum effort is the education of young people. Inspiring young people with the passion and spirit to fight for peace so that they will continue the task for generation after generation is our only hope for a lasting peace. This is an ardent wish of SGI President Ikeda and he founded Soka University of America in Aliso Viejo, USA, with this wish. A few weeks ago, the university admitted its Class of 2011. I would like to quote an excerpt from SGI President Ikeda’s message as founder to this group of fresh undergraduates. It concerns an episode that Leo Tolstoy, the great Russian author, experienced towards the end of his life.

“It was in the opening years of the 20th century when Tolstoy, who had by then forged numerous friendships with people throughout the world, received a letter from China for the first time ever. Profoundly impressed by its contents, he wrote a lengthy reply.

The author of the letter was Chan Chin-Tun, who Tolstoy researchers had long presumed was a distinguished politician or diplomat, if not linguist. It was only much later that they discovered that Chan was a humble Chinese youth who had once travelled to Russia to study.

At the time, Tolstoy was 77 years old. The world was being battered by the raging storms of imperialistic ambition and aggression. It was also in this era that Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, the founder of Soka education, issued a ringing caveat against imperialism through his profoundly insightful work, The Geography of Human Life.

Confronted by the global crisis, Chan and Tolstoy pondered the choices that lay before humanity. As the two men, who were born in different countries and born of different generations, continued to correspond by mail, they arrived at meaningful common ground. A world free of war could only be achieved, they agreed, if ordinary people played a central role in the building of peace, that the unity among citizens of different countries was far more important than alliances or agreements between governments.

Chan would eventually become an outstanding attorney and social critic, and left behind writings that served to bring China and Russia closer together. Just as the enthusiasm and sublime speculations of this one youth had been able to touch Tolstoy¡¯s heart and impress him deeply, every young person, should he or she be truly sincere and impassioned, has within them the boundless power and promise to alter the course of history.”<6>

This story shows the passionate, enthusiastic seeking spirit of the younger man, Chan, and also the sincere and wholehearted response of the older man, Tolstoy. Both are important. It is such interaction between the old and the young, between mentor and disciple that constitute the heart of humanistic education. When such interactions are multiplied many times over, we can create a peace force stronger than we can ever imagine.

The Importance of Maintaining Hope

Finally, therefore, I wish to conclude by emphasising the importance of maintaining hope no matter how dark and grim the circumstances. Martin Luther King Junior once said that he had a dream and that whatever might happen today or tomorrow, whatever difficulties and failures he might encounter, he still had a dream.

One of Mahatma Gandhi’s extraordinary gifts was his relentless and unshakeable hope. Let us take heart from Gandhi’s words. “I remain an optimist, not that there is any evidence that I can give that right is going to prosper, but because of my unflinching faith that right must prosper in the end.”

SGI President Daisaku Ikeda was once asked whether he thought World War III would take place. I remember being quite moved by his response. Rather than analyzing theoretically and discussing at length about the possibility of war, he said immediately with great conviction that it was in order to prevent such a war that he was exerting all his energies and giving his whole life every day.

Praying for the good health of everyone and thanking you all for patiently listening to me, I will conclude my talk on this positive note. Thank you very much.

Professor Boey is Professor of Paediatrics and Head of Paediatric Gastroenterology at the University of Malaya Medical Centre. He is also a member of the General Council of Soka Gakkai Malaysia and an executive committee member of the International Movement for a JUST World. In addition to his work in medicine, Professor Boey has spoken and written on issues related to humanism, peace, ethnic and religious harmony, media and globalisation.

(1) SIPRI Yearbook 2006. Appendix 13A, pp 639-668

(2) Daisaku Ikeda. Restoring the Human Connection. The First Step to Global Peace. 2007 Peace Proposal. January 26, 2007. Soka Gakkai International

(3) Victor Hugo. Les Miserables (translated by Norman Denny) Penguin Classics, Folio Press (1976) p. 208

(4) Joseph Roblat & Daisaku Ikeda. A Quest for Global Peace. IB Tauis (2007) p. 8

(5) Arnold Toynbee. Civilisation on Trial. Oxford University Press, New York, 1948. p. 213

(6) Daisaku Ikeda. Founder's Message to the Undergraduate Class of 2011, Soka University of America. (August 11th, 2007)

[ Courtesy November 2007 Cosmic]