Great Throughts Treasury

"Man has unveiled secrets which might have been thought undiscoverable. Much has been achieved in the realm of art, science, literature, and religion. Is all this to end because so few are able to think of man rather than of this or that group of men?"

"As we watch the sun go down, evening after evening, through the smog across the poisoned waters of our native earth, we must ask ourselves seriously whether we really wish some future universal historian on another planet to say about us: With all their genius and with all their skill, they ran out of foresight and air and food and water and ideas, or, They went on playing politics until their world collapsed around them."

"As a Buddhist, I was trained to be tolerant of everything except intolerance. I was brought up not only to develop the spirit of tolerance but also to cherish moral and spiritual qualities such as modesty, humility, compassion, and, most important, to attain a certain degree of emotional equilibrium."

"Every human being, of whatever origin, of whatever station, deserves respect. We must each respect others even as we respect ourselves. This, as the sages of many lands have taught us, is a golden rule in individual and group, as well as international, relations."

"I am afraid [if the present trend in Vietnam continues] that direct confrontation, first of all between Washington and Peking, is inevitable."

"Governments, systems, ideologies come and go, but it is humanity which remains."

"As we watch the sun go down, evening after evening, through the smog across the poisoned waters of our native earth, we must ask ourselves seriously whether we really wish some future universal historian on another planet to say about us: "With all their genius and with all their skill, they ran out of foresight and air and food and water and ideas," or, "They went on playing politics until their world collapsed around them.""

"It is no longer our resources that limit our decisions; it's our decisions that limit our resources."

"It is far from my intention to claim that I have reached a very high stage on the path to attainment of the highest wisdom, or that I have attained complete "inner peace." However, I can claim that I practice bhavana every day. I try to cultivate the ethical aspects of Buddhism, and I believe that I have attained a greater degree of emotional equilibrium than most people. This explains why the tragic news of the sudden death (in a traffic accident) of my only son, Tin Maung Thant, on May 21, 1962, with minimal emotional reaction. For are not birth and death the two phases of the same life process? According to the Buddha, birth is followed by death, but death, in turn, is followed by rebirth."

"The war we have to wage today has only one goal and that is to make the world safe for diversity."

"In modern war there is no such thing as victor and vanquished... There is only a loser, and the loser is mankind."

"In war, truth is the first casualty."

"To understand my feelings — and my conception of the role of Secretary General — the nature of my religious and cultural background must first be understood. I should therefore like to outline not only my beliefs but also my conception of human institutions and of the human situation itself."

"Two world wars were fought to make the world safe for democracy. Today we have to wage a war on all fronts. This war has to be waged in peace time, but it has to be waged as energetically and with as much total national effort as in times of war. The war we have to wage today has only one goal, and that is to make the world safe for diversity. The concept of peaceful coexistence has been criticized by many who do not see the need to make the world safe for diversity. I wonder if they have ever paused to ask themselves the question: What is the alternative to coexistence?"

"Wars begin in the minds of man, and in those minds, love and compassion would have built the defenses of peace."

"As far as the nature of the Secretary-General?s personality is concerned, I feel that he should be the kind of man who looks to the future, a futurist, and has a global conception of problems. I do not believe in the importance of regional considerations in the choice of a Secretary-General. I do not believe that only an Asian or an African or a Latin American or a European should be the next Secretary-General. What I believe in are the qualities of the head as well of the heart, like moral integrity, competence, and his ability to project into the future, to act within the framework of a global unit, and a genuine desire to see his Organization develop into a really effective instrument for peace, justice and progress."

"Many of the problems that we face today are due to, or the result of, false attitudes ? some of them have been adopted unconsciously. Amongst these is the concept of narrow nationalism ? ?my country, right or wrong?. It is lack of truth in international relations that leads to the conscious or unconscious adoption of double standards. It is therefore essential that, in international relations as in human relations, we should practice, as we preach to others, the universal principle of truth."

"It is understandable that the major powers should pursue objectives which seem to them to be in their own national interest; but they should not be blind to the existence of a larger goal, the common interest of all countries, larger and small, in the survival of the human race. They should, at least occasionally, pause to reflect on the course of history, which has seen the rise and fall of so many great empires. Generations to come will judge the conduct of those in positions of authority today by the effect that their actions had on the course of human peace and progress. If they wish to have an honored place in human history they must appear as men of peace and not as mere victors in war."

"The principle of non-violence is also a basic concept of the Charter. One of the most fundamental principles to which Member States have committed themselves is to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force. History teaches us that no durable solution can be found for any human problem except by persuasion and by common consent. The use of violence is double-edged, as violence is bound by the doctrine of reciprocal action, to provoke violence in turn. Before long, we find that the rule of law has given place to the rule of the jungle. We have therefore to go back to first principles and to observe the Charter commitment regarding the non-use of violence or the threat of violence in international relations."

"The law of love and compassion for all living creatures is again a doctrine to which we are all too ready to pay slip service. However, if it is to become a reality, it requires a process of education, a veritable mental renaissance. Once it has become a reality, national as well as international problems will fall into perspectives and become easier to solve. Wars and conflicts, too, will then become a thing of the past, because wars begin in the minds of men, and in those minds love and compassion would have built the defenses of peace."

"To be egoistic is to be blind to the needs, and the reality, of others. In addition, egoism is bad for oneself because it does not exist for long by itself. It becomes in course of time, the parent of the twin sins of pride and prestige. If there is one lesson that history teaches us, it is that wealth and power, pride and prestige, are not only transitory but even illusory."