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The historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, lived, attained enlightenment, and taught in India more than 2,500 years ago. However, I believe that much of what he taught so long ago can be relevant to people’s lives today. The Buddha saw that people can live together freely as individuals, equal in principle and therefore responsible for each other.

He saw that the very purpose of life is to be happy. He talked about suffering in the context of ways to overcome it. He recognized that while ignorance binds beings in endless frustration and suffering, the development of understanding is liberating. The Buddha saw that every member of the human family, man and woman alike, has an equal right to liberty, not just in terms of political or even spiritual freedom, but at a fundamental level of freedom from fear and want. He recognized that each of us is just a human being like everyone else. Not only do we all desire happiness and seek to avoid suffering, but each of us has an equal right to pursue these goals.

Within the monastic community that the Buddha established, individuals were equal, whatever their social class or caste origins. The custom of walking on alms round served to strengthen the monks’ awareness of their dependence on other people. Within the community, decisions were taken by vote and differences were settled by consensus.

The Buddha took a practical approach to creating a happier, more peaceful world. Certainly he laid out the paths to liberation and enlightenment that Buddhists in many parts of the world continue to follow today, but he also consistently gave advice that anyone may heed to live more happily here and now.

The selections from the Buddha’s advice and instructions gathered here in this book — under headings related to being realistic, disciplined, of measured speech, patient rather than angry, considerate of the good of others — all have a bearing on making friends and preserving peace in the community.

We human beings are social animals. Since our future depends on others we need friends in order to fufil our own interests. We do not make friends by being quarrelsome, jealous, and angry, but by being sincere in our concern for others, protecting their lives, and respecting their rights. Making friends and establishing trust are the basis on which society depends. Like other great teachers the Buddha commended tolerance and forgiveness in restoring trust and resolving disputes that arise because of our tendency to see others in terms of “us” and “them.”

In this excellent book Bhikkhu Bodhi, a learned and experienced Buddhist monk, has drawn on the scriptures of the Pāli tradition, one of the earliest records of the Buddha’s teachings, to illustrate the Buddha’s concern for social and communal harmony. I am sure Buddhists will find the collection valuable, but I hope a wider readership will find it interesting too. The materials gathered here clearly demonstrate that the ultimate purpose of Buddhism is to serve and benefit humanity. Since what interests me is not converting other people to Buddhism, but how we Buddhists can contribute to human society according to our own ideas, I am confident that readers simply interested in creating a happier, more peaceful world will also find it enriching.

Tenzin Gyatso
The Dalai Lama XIV

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