The 'Gangster' Nature Within Each of Us — The Buddha's Teachings on Life and Peace

**Summary:** Use your own mind as evidence to neither kill nor order others to kill. Understand the hidden nature of violence within to transform it into compassion.

Can you believe that within the Buddha's own Sangha, six monks were known as the "group of six" – troublemakers who would even assault fellow monastics to claim sleeping quarters? It was from this rather "gangster-like" story that the Buddha taught a profoundly meaningful verse about life and death.

**The Verse on Life and Death**

When the young monks were beaten, they did not retaliate but endured in silence. However, thirty other monks sought revenge and planned to "waylay" the six troublemakers. The Buddha learned of this, and instead of punishing anyone, he gently taught a verse:

"All fear punishment, all fear death. Taking yourself as the evidence, do not kill, nor order killing."

Venerable Thich Chan Quang explains: "We use the state of our own mind to understand the state of another's mind." If we fear being beaten, fear being killed, then others feel the same. Therefore, do not harm anyone, and do not incite others to do harm.

**Not in the Name of the Divine, but in the Name of Conscience**

What is special in the Buddha's teaching is that he invoked no divine authority or supernatural power. He used the very state of the human heart and mind as the foundation. Venerable Chan Quang notes: "The Buddha taught us a truth based on the state of our own mind, based on reasonable principles that any era must acknowledge." This was a revolution in human religious thought. Instead of obeying the command of one claiming to be a divine intermediary, we are invited to listen to our own conscience and innate compassion.

**The 'Gangster' Nature Within Each of Us**

Perhaps everyone has watched action films. When seeing a villain harm others, have you ever secretly thought: "Just shoot him!"? Venerable Chan Quang observes: "We still have that hooligan nature within us." That 'heroic spirit' is a remnant of our fierce nature from primordial times. Yet, the true hero is not one who kills the bad, but one who saves people in peril. He teaches: "Evil or good has a tendency to spread within the community." If we accept evil, we will transmit evil. If we emit goodness, we will sow goodness.

**Prisons Should Be Places of Reform, Not Just Punishment**

From the story of the scuffle, Venerable Chan Quang extends the discussion to the justice system. He emphasizes that the purpose of imprisonment is not punishment, but to transform the offender. He says: "Confining someone is not to punish old crimes, but to reform them into a good person." However, most prisons in the world lack reformation programs. Released prisoners, therefore, often re-offend. This is a great shortcoming of society.

**Let Your Own Mind Be the Mirror**

Each of us must start with ourselves. Observe: when facing others, do we know how to place ourselves in their state of mind? When we see a bad person, can we transform their mind, or do we wish to destroy their very body? Venerable Chan Quang advises: "The place in our mind must be the source from which goodness flows to infect the community." Be one who knows how to listen, who knows how to love, who knows forbearance. Do not let the dormant 'gangster' nature in your heart be awakened. Follow the Buddha's words: do not kill, do not order killing, do not strike, do not order striking. Just one decent person, and the world becomes a little gentler.