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Presented
by the World Peace Buddhists |
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Victory
Over Violence (VOV) Exhibit
The
Victory Over Violence Exhibit addresses
various forms and causes of violence, and suggests ways of
eliminating it. The key message is that violence is the
manifestation of character weaknesses of each individual. To win
over violence starts from within: transformation of our inner character
and project such realization as courageous action. |
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"passive
violence fuels the fire of physical violence"
-
Mahatma Gandhi
Date
: October
20 - November 20, 2005
Time
: whole
day
Venue
: 1st
floor Tresidder Union (by the Jumba Juice and ticket office)
Stanford
University
Parking
:
Parking
lot between Lagunita Drive and Mayfield Avenue
(Free
Sat & Sun, & after 4pm M-F)
contact
: contactwpb@lists.stanford.edu
Various
forms of Violence
The
exhibit addresses various form of violence, with an emphasis on passive
form of violence.
Acts
of violence take many forms - The impact may be subtle or severe, but it
is always destructive. Stretching from fights within families, to riot
in neighborhoods, to wars, violence always creates suffering, and no
matter how violence manifests, it all originates from a certain aspect
of the character of human beings.
Gandhi
commented, “Passive Violence fuels the fire of physical violence”.
Passive violence are the things that we do to disrespect other people's
(and our own) lives, such as name-calling, teasing, judging and
criticizing. These small and often inconspicuous acts that we commit are
actually a form of violence
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What
are the fundamental causes of Violence ?
The
exhibit reveals that violence is rooted in a certain aspect presented in
all human life.
Passive
violence fuels the fire of physical violence, if we want to put out the
fire of physical violence, logically we have to cut off the fuel supply.
Passive violence can be thought of as rooted in the lack of
self-identity in human beings. In other words, without a strong sense of
confidence in knowing who we are, we can end up feeling insecure and
even develop an insecurity complex, leading to fear and arrogance, which
further fuels violence.
Ways
to eliminate violence
Concrete
ways to eliminate violence is suggested.
How
do we counteract violence, especially passive violence? First of all, it
is important to stop comparing ourselves to others. Second, we can
embrace and accept ourselves for who we are today. Next, we can do our
best to confront whatever task or challenge with which we are faced. By
doing our best, we develop a form of confidence that enables us to feel
good about who we are as individuals and that helps us to see our shared
identity as human beings. When people start to awaken to their deeper
identity, we create a revolution in consciousness and begin to see our
similarities rather than focus on our differences.
To
sum up, the three essential ways to counteract violence are:
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Value our own lives
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Respect all life
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Inspire hope in others
Only
through internal change of our character and taking compassionate action
to empower others to do the same, can violence be eliminated.
more
information on Victory Over Violence
Sponsors
World
Peace Buddhist at Stanford University
Soka
Gakkai International (SGI)-USA
Stanford
Associated Regligion
Graduate
Student Council
Contact:
contactwpb@lists.stanford.edu
