Buddha and World Order

By Victor M Fontane

After the era of "Might is Right", colonization and WW2, nations and peoples felt the need for a rule-based world order for global peace, security, prosperity and welfare. So they came up with international rules like the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Principle of Self-Determination etc. 

Nowadays these beautiful rules are lying mostly as theories in books and files. Practically they are malfunctional. So human rights are "non-negotiable" in theory, terrible in practice and horrible in result in many parts of the world. Human beings are living, as if, in the old era mentioned above. They are grappling with the manifestation of greed, hatred and ignorance in various forms. True knowledge is almost missing from the world.

According to Buddha's teaching (Dhamma), Vinaya (sila or discipline or rule) is the foundation of true knowledge, peace, security, prosperity, welfare and happiness in life as well as in society. If there is no vinaya, there is no true knowledge, no true peace, no true security, no true prosperity, no true welfare, no true happiness in life as well as in society.