(Elyor Sherkulov/Flickr.com)THE CAUSES OF WAR
The causes of war are fourfold: greed, anger, delusion, and fear. They are the roots of unwholesome karma between individuals as well as groups (nations). The Buddha considered these the most fundamental, the fire under the boiling pot. War is not abstract. War is waged between one groups of individuals. The reasons for war are not abstract. [War is not started and directed by logic.] Individuals decide to wage war and scare the group into going along or inspiring them to steal, or exact revenge, or to indulge their delusions (of superiority or manifest destiny, god-given mandate, etc.)
Even when war is global, its beginning can be traced to the decisions and actions of individuals. So before discussing global war, let's first talk about it on an individual level.
Wars begin because the people of one country, or at least their rulers, have unfulfilled desires: They are greedy for wealth (the spoils of war) or power or strategic advantage. Or they are hateful and angry or fearful (both being expressions of aversion). Or what they feel they deserve has been thwarted, or their pride/sense of self has been offended (delusion).
Delusion can also manifest as racial or national arrogance. One group feels wronged that the answer to problems, which are essentially in their own minds, can be sought externally by the use of force.
The Buddha over the River Rohini peacefully demonstrating for peace (chandawimala).WAR FOR WATER
Four years after the Buddha's attainment of enlightenment, a war erupted between the city-state of Kapilavastu (his hometown and the former kingdom of which he was heir apparent) and that of Kilivastu over the use of water.Being told of this he traveled to Kapilavastu and stood between the two great armies about to start fighting. At the sight of the Buddha, there was a great commotion among the warriors. They said, "Now that we see the World-Honored One, we cannot shoot the arrows at our enemies [and distant relatives]." They threw down their weapons.
Summoning the chiefs of the two armies, the Buddha asked, "Why are you gathered here like this?"
"To fight," they replied.
"For what cause do you fight?" he inquired.
"To get water for irrigation."
Then he asked, "How much value do you think water has in comparison with the lives of men?"
"The value of water is very slight" was the reply.
"Why do you destroy lives, which are invaluable, for water which is of no value?" he asked. Giving some allegories, he then taught them: "Since people cause war through misunderstanding, thereby harming and killing each other, they should try to understand each other in the right manner."
In other words, misunderstanding (delusion, wrong view, ignorance) will lead people to a tragic end. And the Buddha exhorted them to pay attention to this. The armies were temporarily dissuaded from fighting each other.
Killing an enemy in this life, one is hounded after being reborn because that being seeks revenge and will kill in revenge in this or a future life on getting a chance. When the people of one nation invade and kill or subjugate people of another, sooner or later the opportunity will present itself for retaliation. The conquered will become conquerors.
Has war ever, in the long run, really solved any problem in a positive manner? So-called "wars to end all wars" have only led to progressively larger and more destructive wars.
The emotions of killing translate into more and more deaths as weapons become more and more sophisticated. In prehistoric times, a cave dweller could explode with anger, take up a club, and bludgeon a few people to death. Nowadays, however, if a leaders loses his or her temper, who can tell how many will lose their lives as the result of modern weaponry?
