Peace Page
“Peace in the heart = peace in the world. ~ Sally
Peace Perspective
Peace Thoughts
Peace Poems
Peace Links
PEACE PERSPECTIVE
“The Dalai Lama’s philosophy is in the deepest and widest possible sense a philosophy of peace. The Dalai Lama has understood there will be no future worth living unless everyone now takes personal responsibility for their own inner lives and universal responsibility for the pain and misery in the world. He has understood that none of the major terrible problems that threaten survival of the earth can be solved by merely institutional or political methods. Humankind, to survive, must undergo a massive and unprecedented change of heart, an ordered and passionate spiritual revolution that changes forever our relation to each other and our relation to nature. It is only from such a revolution that the new vision the planet so desperately needs can arise – a vision that sees the connections between every thought and every action, the relation between the obsession with the individual self and its hunger for false securities and every kind of exploitation that is ruining the world.” ~ Andrew Harvey
Recollections from a talk given by the Dalai Lama:
“…at the end of the talk someone from the audience asked the Dalai Lama “Why didn’t you fight back against the Chinese?”
The Dalai Lama looked down, swung his feet just a bit, then looked back up at us and said with a gentle smile, “Well, war is obsolete, you know.”
Then, after a few moments, his face grave, he said, “Of course the mind can rationalize fighting back… but the heart, the heart would never understand. Then you would be divided in yourself, the heart and the mind, and the war would be inside you.” ~ Contributor Unknown
PEACE THOUGHTS
“Peace comes from being able to contribute the best that we have, and all that we are, toward creating a world that supports everyone. But it is also securing the space for others to contribute the best that they have and all that they are.”
~ Hafsat Abiola
“Peace is not the product of a victory or a command. It has no finishing line, no final deadline, no fixed definition of achievement. Peace is a never-ending process.” ~ Oscar Arias
“First find the peace within; then give it away.” ~ Elsa Joy Bailey
“Do you know what astonished me most in the world? The inability of force to create anything. In the long run the sword is always beaten by the spirit. Soldiers usually win battles and generals get the credit for them. You must not fight too often with ones enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war. If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots.” ~ Napoleon Bonaparte
“Peace, to have meaning for many who have only known suffering in both peace and war, must be translated into bread or rice, shelter, health and education, as well as freedom and human dignity.” ~ Ralph Johnson Bunche
“We know how to organize warfare, but do we know how to act when confronted with peace?” ~ Jacques-Yves Cousteau
“We can never obtain peace in the world if we neglect the inner world and don’t make peace with ourselves. World peace must develop out of inner peace. ~ The Dalai Lama
“Peace, in the sense of the absence of war, is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove the pain of torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who have lost their loved ones in floods caused by senseless deforestation in a neighboring country. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free.” ~ The XIVth Dalai Lama
“Making peace with ourselves is like building an inner house of peace and welcoming the God of peace to dwell there forever.” ~ John Dear
“If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.” ~ Moshe Dayan
“Heaven on earth is a choice you must make, not a place you must find.” ~ Wayne Dyer
“Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.”
~ Albert Einstein
“The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.” ~ Black Elk
“Peace is a species of action. It dies in the bank. Truly felt peace will pulsate outward toward the world around it, and peaceful people live generous, not quarantined lives.” ~ Paul R. Fleischman
“Smiling is very important. If we are not able to smile, then the world will not have peace. It is not by going out for a demonstration against nuclear missiles that we can bring about peace. It is with our capacity of smiling, breathing, and being peace that we can make peace.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
“May you move all your mountains, and disturb the peace by adding to it.” ~ Carol Horos
“There cannot be personal peace without personal responsibility.” ~ Vernon Howard
“What you are the world is. And without your transformation, there can be no transformation of the world.” ~ J. Krishnamurti
“One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
“There is no need to go to India or anywhere else to find peace. You will find that deep place of silence right in your room, your garden, or even your bathtub.”
~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
“If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there’d be peace.” ~ John Lennon
“You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.” ~ Malcolm X
“If you want to make peace with your enemy, then you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” ~ Nelson Mandela
“The earth is too small a star and we too brief a visitor upon it for anything to matter more than the struggle for peace.” ~ Colman McCarthy
“Peace is not something you must hope for in the future. It is a deepening of the present, and unless you look for it in the present, you will never find it.”
~ Thomas Merton
“If you want a kinder world, then behave with kindness; if you want a peaceful world, make peace within.” ~ Dan Millman
“Every act of love is a work of peace, no matter how small.” ~ Mother Theresa
“The fruit of love is service. The fruit of service is peace. And peace begins with a smile.” ~ Mother Theresa
“There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.” ~ A.J. Muste
“Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people.” ~ Jawaharlal Nehru
“The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war.” ~ Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
“Through peace and patience, everything will become good.” ~ Dadi Prakashmani
“The opposite of war is not peace. It’s creation.” ~ Jonathan Larsen Rent
“When a man finds no peace within himself, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.” ~ Rouchefolicauld
“If we don’t stop the bomb, who will take care of the flowers?” ~ Neil Seatte, Age 9
“It is no longer good enough to cry peace. We must act peace, live peace and march in peace in alliance with the people of the world.” ~ Cheif Shenandoah
“We are never more than one grateful thought away from peace of heart.” ~ Brother David Steindl-Rast
“Before you speak of peace you must first have it in your heart. ~ St. Francis of Assisi
“Joy and peace are found in loving and nowhere else.” ~ John Stott
“World peace can be achieved when the Power of Love replaces the Love of Power.” ~ Sri Chimnoy
“Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me.” ~ Bob Talbert
“Peace in my heart, peace in this place, peace in our land and throughout the world peace.” ~ The UK Peace Foundation mantra
“There is no way to peace, peace is the way.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
“Peace is found only within, and unless one finds it there, one will never find it at all. Peace lies not in the external world. It lies within one’s own soul.” ~ Ralph W. Trine
“Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.”
~ Unknown
“World peace is us… We are each walking agents of the vision of peace we carry inside us.” ~ Kathleen Vande Kiett
“Peace is when the sun goes down in the afternoon on the beach when the eagle flies over me and its shadow mingles with mine.” ~ Grade 3 student
“I feel peace in me when I squeeze my closest friend in my arms.” ~ Grade 3 student
“Peace is what you believe. Peace is freedom. Peace is you. We should be thankful for what we have. Peace is not being scared. Peace is not having enemies. Peace is love.” ~ Grade 3 student
“May peace be scattered like pebbles in a dancing pond of rain.” ~ Turquoise Trail Elementary School, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
PEACE POEMS
As she soars through the hate
all wrong leaves her wing
It’s amazing how much peace
a small dove can bring.
~ International School of Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.
If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.
~ lao tse, 6th century bc
If peace is reaching out a hand
why is that hard to do?
If peace is trying to understand
a different point of view.
If peace is finding common ground
and trusting we’ll get through.
If peace is people reaching out
then I’ll reach out to you.
~ Chorus of the song “I’ll Reach out to You”
by W. Paul Hansen & Steve Soucy
PEACE LINKS
Canadian Centres for Teaching Peace
Peace for the Children of the World
Jean Béliveau’s walk around the world 2000-2012
Peaceful Schools International
The World Peace Prayer Society
