As long as humans exist on this planet, conflicts are inevitable in our relationships and interactions.
We experience all kinds of conflicts from interpersonal to organizational, and from community to intercul- tural and international conflicts (see Oetzel & Ting-Toomey, 2006).
Unlike interpersonal conflicts, intergroup and intercultural conflicts are based on sociocultural group memberships (Harbom & Wallensteen, 2010). Among these conflicts, ethnopolitical conflicts (e.g., Middle East Crisis and Sino-Tibetan Conflict) are the most challenging ones. These conflict types not only involve complex multiple issues such as status quo, identity, freedom, and human rights but also have an impact on bilateral and multilateral relationships between nations (e.g., Coleman, 2006; Fisher, 2006).From a communication perspective, dialogue is the most reasonable approach to resolve intergroup conflicts. It is a communicative process that involves meaningful and constructive interaction and exchanges of ideas without polemics and polarization (Zediker & Stewart, 2005). Others have defined dialogue as a shared inquiry and reflection that you do with others (Isaacs, 1999), and a systematic process for “transforming conflictual, dysfunctional or destructive relationships” (Saunders, 2009, p. 376). According to the Dalai Lama, the 20th century was the century of bloodshed but this 21st century should be the century of dialogue. For his global peace leadership, nonviolence, and middle way approaches (MWA), the Dalai Lama received many distinguished awards. Some notable awards include the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize, the 2007 United States Congressional Gold Medal, and the 2011 Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace, among others.
The purpose of this chapter is to discuss His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s nonviolence and MWAs to further research on intergroup and intercultural conflicts and resolution. It is organized in several sections.
The first section discusses the nonviolence approach, drawing largely from the Buddhist literature. The second section introduces and reviews the MWA and its philosophical underpinning. Third, an intergroup perspective on conflicts is proffered. Fourth, the intergroup perspective is applied to the Sino-Tibetan conflict issues largely missing in previous conflict studies. Finally, this chapter concludes with a summary of the core ideas and future theoretical directions.Nonviolence Approach
Nonviolence is crucial to building a culture that promotes peaceful conflict resolution, dialogues, and consensus building (UNESCO, 2011). It is not a new idea because it has been theorized and discussed in at least three major world religious traditions: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. These traditions have existed over several thousands of years and use Ahimsa (nonviolence) as a core guiding principle for social interaction. Broadly stated, Ahimsa means not harming. Peace and nonviolence are the two sides of the same coin. However, A himsa or nonviolence is not simply an absence of war and violence. Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Indian nation and a devout Hindu, adopted A himsa in his political leadership and activism to free India from the British rule. Following his footsteps, Dr. Martin Luther King and the Dalai Lama adopted nonviolence in civil rights and global peace leadership, respectively. The Dalai Lama argues that this century should be the century of dialogue and cooperation.
Today, the Dalai Lama has become the most visible symbol of peace and nonviolence around the world. For over 50 years in exile and even at his advanced age, the Dalai Lama travels around the world promoting three missions of his life: (1) s ecular values such as compassion and tolerance, (2) interreligious harmony, and (3) peaceful resolution of the Sino-Tibetan ethnopolitical conflicts (see www.dalailama.com). On September 17, 2011, in his public talk “Harmony Through Universal Responsibility” in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the Dalai Lama claimed,
The concept of war and use of force is outdated.... In order to make the life in 21st century more peaceful, harmonious, and stable, we must learn to resolve all differences and problems through dialogue, and for that, younger people who are very much part of the 21st century should pay more attention to inner values or secular ethics and learn to respect others even if there are serious differences over the belief system and ideology. (www.tibet.net, September 18, 2011)
The Dalai Lama’s core values, including respect and appreciation for other religious traditions, have largely been derived from and informed by his Buddhist learning, training, and practice.