i THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines THE TEACHINGS ON PEACE AND HARMONY OF THE 14TH DALAI LAMA AND SELECTED PEACE ADVOCATES A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School Batangas State University Batangas City In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Major in English By TRAN THI NHI 2015 e ii THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines e iii THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines ABSTRACT Title : Teachings on Peace and Harmony of the 14th Dalai Lama and Selected Peace Advocates Author : Tran Thi Nhi Course : Doctor of Philosophy Major : English language and literature. Year : 2014 Adviser : Dr. Valdez Summary There exist myriad problems in the current world which threaten the existence of humanity. Violence is accelerating everywhere.
Ceaseless wars and conflicts are taking place in several regions, killing thousands of people and causing suffering for millions of human beings. Furthermore, more and more modern weapons with massive destruction capacity are being produced, threatening the whole mankind in every minute. Meanwhile, the world is also faced with terrorism, environmental pollution, racial religious conflicts, political disputes, social and economic inequality, the large gap between the rich and the poor, and diseases and poverty. All of these catastrophic events beg the question of how to save humanity.
e iv THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines There has been a great number of peace advocates, including religious figures, political leaders, literary writers and philosophers, who have advocated the teachings of peace and harmony in their books, sermons and speeches. All of this has provided a basis for a trend and a growing movement for peace and harmony in modern times. This study analyzes the selected works by the 14th Dalai Lama, a modern day leading figure of peace, and three other authors namely Mawlana Rumi, Pope John Paul II and Daisaku Ikeda to explore how peace and harmony is conceptualized by these peace advocates. Likewise, the study aims to reveal the universal concepts of peace and harmony shared by the peace advocates as the representatives of different cultures and religions.
The research also discusses how their common teachings on peace and harmony have been transferred into a global peace movement. The study employs the qualitative method of research and sociological and philosophical approaches as the bases for analysis. This paper also involves content analysis, which is a systematic technique in analyzing message content and message handling. Findings of the study reveal that although these peace movement leaders represent different religions and come from different cultures, they share much in e v THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines common in espousing their view on peace as a way of life.
In this study the author attempts to weave a mosaic of universal and permanent moral values and principles rooted in the teachings of these advocates for peace. This mosaic, which promotes a spirit of respecting cultural pluralism, cultivates human good qualities and appraises responsibility, must be integrated in education. She proposes the adoption of this new paradigm for living in the modern world. e vi THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines ACKNOWLEDGMENT The researcher wishes to express her personal thanks and appreciation to those, in one way or another, have helped make this humble work a reality.
First and foremost, she wishes to thank the Batangas State University and the Thai Nguyen University, for giving her the opportunity to finish this undertaking under their International Academic Cooperation Program. Dang Kim Vui, the President of Thai Nguyen University and Dr. Le Hong Thang, the Dean of Thai Nguyen School of Foreign Languages, for the motivation and wisdom that helped hasten the completion of this study. Valdez, the Dean of Colleges and Head of the Graduate School of the Batangas State University ARASOF Nasugbu Campus, the researcher’s dissertation adviser, for her constant encouragement, dedication, and ennobling character which inspired diligent research for the realization of this study.
Dimaano, the Chairman of the Panel of Examiners, and Dr. Cabrera, the former External Panelist, for their valuable suggestions and criticism which motivated conscientiously the researcher during the conduct of this study. e vii THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines Dr. Panopio, and Dr.
Sulit, the Members of the Panel of Examiners, for their thorough dissection and candid remarks that drew up the essential and relevant dimensions in this research. Magnaye, the Graduate School Secretary, for her words of encouragement and kind gestures. The pool of writers whose works were included in this study for posterity, for their emboldened wisdom in every page of this dissertation. The researcher’s friends and colleagues at the Thai Nguyen School of Foreign Languages, Vietnam, for their time, advice, and prayers.
Melvyn Sakaguchi, for setting an example to aspire and for his friendship as well. Her husband Luong Viet Cuong and sons Luong Tran Tri Minh and Luong Tran Duc Minh, her parents and parents-in-law, her brothers and sisters for their wholehearted support and encouragement. TRAN THI NHI e viii THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines DEDICATION To my dearest husband, Luong Viet Cuong and my loving twin sons, Luong Tran Tri Minh and Luong Tran Duc Minh, who inspired me to search for the highest values in life. TRAN THI NHI e ix THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE PAGE.
viii TABLE OF CONTENTS. ix LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………… xi LIST OF MATRICES. THE PROBLEM Introduction. 1 Statement of the Problem.
9 Scope, Delimitation and Limitation of the Study. 10 Significance of the Study. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Conceptual Literature. 41 e x THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines Synthesis.
56 Definition of Terms. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research Design. 60 Treatment of Materials. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION.
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION Summary of Findings. Summary of the Literary Works……………………………… 182 CURRICULUM VITAE…………………………………………………. 193 e xi THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines LIST OF FIGURES Figure Title Page 1 Conceptual Paradigm of the Study…………………… 57 e xii THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines LIST OF MATRICES Matrix Title Page 1 Matrix on the Teachings on Peace and Harmony Drawn from the Works of Rumi, John Paul and Ikeda. 80 2 Matrix on the Global Peace Education Perspective Program Integrating Varied Teachings on Peace.
150 e 1 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM Introduction There exist myriad problems in the current world which threaten the existence of humanity. Violence is accelerating everywhere. Ceaseless wars and conflicts are taking place in several regions, killing thousands of people and causing suffering for millions of human beings. Furthermore, more and more modern weapons with massive destruction capacity are being produced, threatening the whole mankind in every minute.
Meanwhile, the world is also faced with terrorism, environmental pollution, racial religious conflicts, political disputes, social and economic inequality, the large gap between the rich and the poor, and diseases and poverty. Making the situation worse, these problems happen in every continent without exception, and tend to happen to not only one nation or a few nations but also bigger groups of nations. For example, the United States (U.) and Western countries have recently experienced terrorist attacks, civil unrest and violent massacres; the political disputes between Russia and other European countries around the issues related to Ukraine has resulted in the embargo and trade and business sanctions which creates hardships for millions of citizens in the European continent; e 2 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines the rise of terrorist country self-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has created turmoil and terrible violence in Middle East and North Africa; constant conflicts in the China Sea are threatening the stability and the maintenance of peace in the South East Asia. All of these catastrophic events beg the question of how to save humanity.
Vietnam, geographically located in South East Asia, is vulnerable to wars. With ups and downs in its history, the country has experienced a thousand years of colonial rule under China, then nearly a century under the French, followed by Japan’s attack in World War II and a 20-year-lasting war with America which formally ended in 1975. There has also been a war of unification, a civil war between one part of the country and the other part. And, there continue to skirmishes with neighboring Laos and Cambodia, and the threat of war with China again over national boundaries.
Whatever the reasons for these wars whether threat of invasion, or a political slight, or simply the imposition of political influence or fear of assimilation, or a quest for personal and political freedom, all wars bring consequences - the absolute destruction of the wars, the loss in human resource, the retardation of economic development and the loss of material benefits to its citizens by actions of other countries, such as the embargo by e 3 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines the U. for a decade after the American war has had devastating effects. It turned the country into a backward, terribly poor and isolated country. Although the war has been over a few decades ago, many people still suffer deprivations, and personal loss.
The war killed off one generation of men in Vietnam, and left the soil of country polluted by the genetic effects of Agent Orange the poisonous defoliant used by the U. with devastating effect. The war left the agricultural land which is the mainstay of the Vietnamese farmers still filled with unexploded bombs and ordinances rendering a good part of land needed for agrarian pursuits unusable. The cities and urban centers that were target of massive bombing raids still remain devastated and not rebuilt, unlike the cities of Germany and Japan and the other Axis powers which enjoyed the benefits of reconstruction aid through the Marshall Plan.
Because of having suffered the effects of war, living in peace has been always a desire of Vietnamese people, imprinted on the persona of the people, as it is for the people of Nagasaki and Hiroshima who suffered the tragic effects of nuclear war waged against Japan by the US in an effort to end World War II. In the 21st century peace education to Vietnamese young generation has become a critical necessity in maintaining and promoting peace for the country. e 4 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines As stated in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) constitution, the statement that “Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed” is an appeal for a psychology of peace, a movement which seeks to find a solution to conflicts without violence but via mutual and harmonious relationships. Accordingly, peace education is a principal means to maintain and promote peace.
To establish and foster a culture of peace is a necessity for any nation, including Vietnam - a country vulnerable to peace. Aligning with UNESCO constitution, the country has been maintaining and promoting peace education in both informal teaching and formal education. Peace education as a social movement can be traced back from religious traditions.