I’ve been pondering lately how throughout human history there have been great difficulties and horrific circumstances that people have endured, much of it due to what humans do to other humans. I’ve thought of people who suffered greatly yet came to be great teachers of wisdom and compassion, despite the extreme hardships they endured.
In light of the deep divisions within the USA and throughout the world at large, it has been a stabilizing effort for me to step away from social media and the 24/7 news cycle and consult the teachings of a variety of wisdom and spiritual leaders. It seems despite their cultural and circumstantial differences, their overall teachings distill down to the same basic principles: peace, love, compassion, interconnection.
Teachers like Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who grew up under apartheid in South Africa. Tutu was a courageous human rights activist who put his life in danger time and again for his activism against the oppressive apartheid system. A lifelong champion of peace, Tutu worked for reconciliation and forgiveness, emphasizing the interconnectedness of humanity. He said, “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.”
As a young man, the Dalai Lama was forced out of his homeland of Tibet after the invasion and occupation by China, and has remained in exile in India ever since. Despite the significant losses and suppression he has experienced throughout his life, the Dalai Lama is an enduring teacher of compassion, peace, and understanding. He says, “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.”
Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama collaborated on a book called The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World (2016). In the book these two Nobel Peace Prize laureates share their hard-won wisdom about finding joy even in difficult times. The Dalai Lama reflects, “The greater our sense of concern for others, the deeper our satisfaction,” while Archbishop Tutu adds, “We are made for goodness. We are made for love… We are made for all of the beautiful things that you and I know. We are made to tell the world that there are no outsiders.”
Their friendship itself became a testament to their teachings — a Christian Archbishop and a Buddhist leader finding profound connection across their differences. As they wrote together, “Joy is much bigger than happiness. While happiness is often seen as being dependent on external circumstances, joy is not.”
Another great teacher is Thich Nhat Hanh, who as a young Vietnamese monk endured the horrors of the Vietnam War. He advocated for peace and reconciliation and this resulted in him also being forced into exile. He was barred from his homeland for nearly 40 years, yet he remained steadfastly committed to peace and compassion. Thich Nhat Hanh became a world renowned spiritual leader and advocate for peace, teaching the interconnection of all things. He has said, “We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. was so moved by Thich Nhat Hanh’s peace advocacy that he nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. As a leader in the American civil rights movement, King faced ongoing threats, violence, and imprisonment. And his efforts to promote equality ultimately resulted in his assassination. Yet he was a strong advocate of nonviolence. King recognized the interconnection of humans by emphasizing the shared destiny of all people. He famously said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Mahatma Gandhi was an inspiration to Martin Luther King, Jr. as a promoter of nonviolence. Gandhi, a leader in India’s independence, faced imprisonment, threats, and violence yet remained steadfastly committed to nonviolence and compassion. His teachings of nonviolence included compassion and respect for all human beings, recognizing that harming another ultimately harms oneself, as all beings are interconnected. Because of his activism, Gandhi was also assassinated, yet he remains an enduring symbol of peace. Gandhi said, “The golden way is to be friends with the world and to regard the whole human family as one.”
Desmond Tutu and Martin Luther King Jr. were followers of Jesus Christ. Thich Nhat Hanh also found common ground with the teachings of Jesus Christ that he shared in his book, Living Buddha, Living Christ.
Jesus Christ lived in Judea during a time of harsh treatment of the Jewish population by the oppressive Roman occupation. Jesus was a religious teacher who promoted peace, nonviolence, and forgiveness. He endured humiliation and torture for his teachings, ultimately being crucified in a very degrading form of capital punishment by the Roman officials. Yet even under this extreme duress he stayed true to his teachings, praying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
The teachings of Jesus Christ, who is regarded by Christians as the Son of God and by many others as a great spiritual teacher, has had a profound effect on the world, emphasizing peace, justice, human dignity, and the idea that all humans are part of one human family under God.
I suppose all throughout human history there has been this ongoing illusion of separateness, of “us vs. them.” And it’s typically based in fear.
The powers that be maintaining apartheid in South Africa were fearful of Desmond Tutu’s activism disrupting that system. The Chinese, who invaded Tibet, were fearful of the Dalai Lama’s influence on keeping Tibetan culture alive. The South Vietnamese were fearful of Thich Nhat Hanh’s calls for neutrality and peace. Opponents of the American civil rights movement were fearful of Martin Luther King’s influence on ending segregation. The British were fearful of losing power with Mahatma Gandhi’s influence on independence. The fellow Hindu that assassinated Gandhi was apparently fearful that Gandhi called for unity between Hindus and Muslims. The Romans and religious leaders were fearful of Jesus Christ’s growing influence and felt their power and control was under threat.
Those in power are often threatened by the teachings of peace, unity, and interconnection. It was certainly so for these men and for many, many other wisdom teachers throughout the ages. Yet, despite the great difficulties, losses, and traumas endured by them all, they came to these very similar conclusions about life.
During this time of difficulty in my own homeland and throughout the world, in which a heavy emphasis on “us vs. them” looms, I choose to lean into the wisdom of these teachers and the many others rather than staying hooked into to the constant drip of polarizing content promoted by social media algorithms and fear-based media. And I invite you to do the same. As Mister Rogers said, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” Let’s not only look for the helpers, let’s be the helpers.
“If you want peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.” Desmond Tutu
“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” Dalai Lama
“My actions are my only true belongings.” Thich Nhat Hanh
“There is no path to peace. Peace is the path.” Mahatma Gandhi
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” Jesus Christ
