All living beings tremble at violence; all fear death.
Comparing others with oneself, one should not kill, nor cause to kill.
(Dhammapada)
In the teachings of the Buddha, taking life is strictly forbidden. It is said that practitioners back then always walked with their eyes cast downward, simply to avoid stepping on ants or insects beneath their feet. Of course, we do not go to such extremes today. We eat meat, and we eat fish. While some refrain from doing so for religious or health reasons, most people eat them naturally. Even vegetables are living things. But the point here is how we human beings treat one another.
Presumably, no one wants to suffer violence or be killed. The same is true for others. You are not an exception, nor am I. From someone else’s perspective, each of us is just one person among many. Yet throughout history, humanity has never stopped fighting. People go wild over combat sports, and violent content remains consistently popular in movies and video games. Perhaps that is simply the nature of human beings. The instinct to fight may have been an essential element for humanity to survive and progress. But that drive must remain confined to the worlds of sports and entertainment.
Far from ending war, major world powers have begun waging conflicts once again. Today is different from the era when people set out into an unknown world. Now that our planet has grown so small, there is only one real reason left to attack and invade another nation: the fear that “If we don’t attack first, we will be attacked.”
Humans probably enjoy fighting. We feel a thrill and pleasure in victory. At the same time, driven by a deep fear of violence and defeat, we lash out at others.
That is precisely why we must recognize that this is the kind of creatures we are—and why we must never stop speaking out for peace.