CHAPTER TWO

CONCEPT OF PEACE

It is well known that human beings pay much interest in peace

from the ancient time until now. Because the word ―peace‖, apart from
being a pleasant word, also refers to the peaceful society and the beautiful
world. It can be stated that peace is the greatest and highest goal or hope
that everyone wishes to achieve personally and expects to be created in
society and in the world. People have been trying by all means to gain
peace. Therefore history of human beings, in one aspect, is the history of
searching for peace. Peace has been talked, thought, taught and studied in
many ways and many aspects.

2.1 Meanings of peace

In order to have a deep understanding of the issue, it is necessary

to know its true meaning. Therefore, before knowing peace in various
aspects, first of all, let us know the true meaning of peace.

What is peace? The term ‗peace‘ is used in a wide sphere. It seems

that peace has a variety of meanings that are different in accordance with
the context of usage.

Literally, the word ‗peace‘ is derived from the original Latin word
‗pax‘, which means a pact, a control or an agreement to end war or
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any dispute and conflict between two people, two nations or two
1
antagonistic groups of people.

According to the American military history, the word peace

2
essentially means ―the absence of war.‖ Therefore, by militaries‘ views,
they fight wars to win the peace, or they use force to maintain peace. In
military paradigms, peace is seen as an ultimate or ideal goal rather than a
means to an end.

Historically and politically considering in accordance with the

American military history‘s point of view, it is understood as to why
peace is mostly defined as an absence of war. This is because in the
history of human society, wars of various kinds were fought. Whenever
wars occur, people need peace and ask for peace. Peace that people
needed and asked for is the state of the absence of wars, the state of
having no fights.

However, many peace scholars do not agree with giving an

emphasis on peace in the sense of an absence of war only. Peace, in their
opinions, is something more meaningful, valuable and important than
that.

According to Albert Einstein‘s view, peace is not only an absence

of war, but it means or includes the presence of justice, law, order or
government in the society as he said ―Peace is not merely the absence of
war but the presence of justice, of law, of order – in short, of
3
government.‖

Martin Luther King, Jr., a famous human rights activist is the one
who was not satisfied with the definition of peace focusing only on the

1
Bloomsbury, Dictionary of Word Origins, p. 387, quoted in ‗Buddhism and Peace‘ written by
Ven. B. Khemanando, (Calcutta: Lazo Print, 1995).
2
www.Answers.com :US Military History Companion/peace, accessed:13-01-2008
3
P. Aarne Vesilind, Peace engineering: when personal values and engineering careers converge,
(USA: Lakeshore Press, 2005), p. 43.
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absence of the unhappy situations. In his view, peace must include justice
in society too as in his saying ―True peace is not merely the absence of
4
tension: It is the presence of justice.‖

His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, said ―Peace, in the sense of the
absence of war is of little value…peace can only last where human rights
are respected, where people are fed, and where individuals and nations
5
are free.‖ From his point, we can say that peace means respect for
human rights, well-being of people and freedom of individuals and
nations.

Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), one of the famous philosophers in

second half of 17th century gave his point of view on peace that peace was
not an absence of war, it was a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for
6
benevolence, confidence and justice. He gave importance to a virtue and
a state of mind.

Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964) emphasized peace in the sense of a

state of mind. Here is his view ―Peace is not a relationship of nations. It
is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not
merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can
7
come only to peaceful people.‖

According to Johan Gultung, Norwegian peace scholar, the term

‗peace‘ and ‗violence‘ are linked. Peace is the absence of violence and
8
should be used as the social goal. Gultung further stated that like a coin

4
Coretta Scott Kin , The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr., Newmarket Press, 2008, p. 83.
5
The Words of Peace: Selections from the speeches of the winners of the Noble Peace Prize, ed. Irwin
Abrams, (New York: New market Press, 1995), p. 16.
6
Dictionary of Quotable Definitions, ed. Eugene E. Brussell, (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, INC., 1970),
p. 426.
7
Quoted from ―Peace in Our Hearts, Peace in the World: Meditations of Hope and Healing‖ By Ruth
Fishel, (New York: Sterling Publishing Co. Inc., 2008), p. 318.
8
Johan Gultung, ―Violence, Peace, and Peace Research‖, Essays on Peace: Paradigms for Global
Order, ed. Michael Salla, Walter Tonetto &Enrique and Martinez, (Central Queensland University
press,1995), p. 1.
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peace has two sides: negative peace and positive peace. Negative peace
is the absence of personal violence; positive peace is an absence of
9
structural violence or social justice.

The meanings of peace in accordance with the peace scholars,

obviously, are same in some point and different in another point
depending on their personal views. Now let us see what is the meaning of
peace according to books like encyclopedia, dictionary and so on.

According to the definitions or the explanations of Wikipedia

encyclopedia, peace can be a state of harmony or the absence of hostility.
"Peace" can also be a non-violent way of life. "Peace" is used to describe
the cessation of violent conflict. Peace can mean a state of quiet or
tranquility— an absence of disturbance or agitation. Peace can also
describe a relationship between any people characterized by respect,
justice and goodwill. Peace can describe calmness, serenity, and silence.
This latter understanding of peace can also pertain to an individual's sense
10
of himself or herself, as to be "at peace" with one's own mind.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English defines peace as

follows:

1. No war: a situation in which there is no war or fighting

2. No noise/interruptions: a very quiet and pleasant situation in
which you are not interrupted
3. Calm/Not worried: a feeling of being calm, happy, and not
11
worried

The online Merriam-Webster dictionary gives the explanations of

peace as follows:

9
ibid, p.15.
10
―Peace‖> http://www.wikipedia encyclopedia.com, accessed: 16-01-2008
11
Peace in ―Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (paperback) with CDROM (4th Edition)‖,
USA, 2006, p. 1281.
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1: a state of tranquility or quiet: as a: freedom from civil

disturbance b: a state of security or order within a community provided
for by law or custom
2: freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions.
3: harmony in personal relations
4 a: a state or period of mutual concord between governments b: a
pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war
or in a state of enmity
5—used interjectionally to ask for silence or calm or as a greeting
12
or farewell— at peace: in a state of concord or tranquility

Another explanation of peace from the online source is that peace

is the state prevailing during the absence of war, harmonious relations;
freedom from disputes, the absence of mental stress or anxiety, the
13
general security of public places, and a treaty to cease hostilities.

The definitions and explanations given by encyclopedias,

dictionaries or similar sources like that seem to include all of the
meanings of peace. This is common thing for those books and sources
that must try to include all the meanings that peace is used and concerned.

As per the definitions and explanations shown above, peace is

defined and explained in different ways. It has various meanings
depending on the context of usage namely, peace literally defined seems
to be something as a tool or means to end war or conflict. Peace if
discussed and desired during the wartime or the time after war is the thing
that is opposite to war. It means an absence of war and/or other
hostilities. Peace in this sense seems to be a main definition undeniably.
However, even during the time without war it does not mean people are at
peace and society is peaceful. Problems or hostilities are still there. That
is why some peace scholars are not satisfied with only that meaning.
From their own views, peace is a presence of more other good things like

12
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peace, accessed: 16-01-2008
13
http://www.definitions.net/definition/peace, accessed: 16-01-2008
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virtue, justice, order, good law, good government, good relationship,

well-being, freedom, respect for human rights, security etc., or an absence
of violence. On the other hand, if we focus on the state of mind, peace is
calm, serenity, tranquility or peacefulness of mind. Furthermore, if we
refer to the state of a place or an atmosphere, peace means quietness and
silence.

2.2 Types of peace

Generally, peace is classified into two types: Internal peace and

External peace.

Internal peace is called by another word ‗inner peace‘ is peace of

mind or soul. It is a state of calm, serenity and tranquility of mind that
arise due to having no sufferings or mental disturbances such as worry,
anxiety, greed, desire, hatred, ill-will ,delusion and/or other defilements.
Internal peace is peace within oneself; it is derived from practicing or
training of mind of an individual. Sometimes, a man can create and
maintain his inner peace in the noisy surrounding or in the un-peaceful
society. Internal peace is stressed in the field of religion, especially
religions in the East. In the view of religions, this type of peace can be
reached by means of prayer, meditation, wisdom and other ways. Internal
peace is essential; it is generally regarded as true peace and as a real
foundation of peace in society or peace in the world.

According to Lao Tzu‘s famous saying:

If there is to be peace in the world,
there must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
there must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
there must be peace between neighbors.
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If there is to be peace between neighbors,

there must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
14
there must be peace in the heart.

It clearly shows that internal peace influences external peace. It is

like a big building which has to be grounded or constructed by the first
brick. Peace is also built likewise. World peace and other levels of
external peace, if we wish it to become a permanent one, should be
grounded on the real internal peace of man‘s heart. Also the famous
statement of UNESCO—Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in
15
the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed. —
reminds us to realize the real cause of war and peace. It refers to the
importance of internal peace as a true foundation of peace in society. In
this point, Dalai Lama too said the same thing: ―We can never obtain
16
peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.‖

External peace is peace that occurs in society, nations and the

world; it is a normal state of society, countries and the world and it is a
state of peaceful and happy co-existence of people as well as nature.
External peace, in order to see it clearly, can be described in its negative
and positive sense as follows; negative sense: the absence of war,
hostility, agitation, social disorder, disturbances, social injustice, social
inequality, violence, violation of human rights, riot, terrorism, ecological
imbalance, etc., positive sense: a state of social harmony, social justice,
social equality, friendship or friendly relation, concord, public order and
security, respect for human rights and ecological balance, etc. 17 Herein,

14
Quoted from ―CosMos: A Co-creator's Guide to the Whole World‖ By Ervin Laszlo, Jude Currivan,
(USA, 2008), p. 102.
15
Preamble of UNESCO Charter, 1946 quoted from ―Peace education‖ By Ian M. Harris, Mary Lee
Morrison, Mcfarland&Company, Inc., North Calorina, USA, 2003. p. 9
16
Alon Biran, What Are You Doing to Your Body?: 13 Simple Changes Can Make the Rest of Your
Life, (USA, 2009), p. 74.
17
Ven. B. Khemanando, Buddhism and Peace, (Calcutta: Lazo Print, 1995), p. 6.
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external peace is the absence of all social evils as well as the presence of
all social virtues.

Internal peace and external peace are interrelated. Both are

interdependent and help support each other. Internal peace represents
individual‘s peace while external peace represents peace in society.

It is well known that society is a combination of each individual.

Society depends on how an individual is. On the contrary, society
influences an individual. If society is good, it is useful for the
development of the individual‘s life quality. We have known that
‗environments influence human life‘.

Peace is also likewise. Internal peace is the core, the essence and
the firm foundation of external peace. The former guarantees and sustains
the latter. If each individual is at peace, society combined with each
peaceful individual, has peace too. On the contrary, external peace in the
sense of peaceful society or good society has an important role in
supporting an individual to get inner peace. That is, if there are no wars,
conflicts, violence, harming, killing and so on in the society, people in
such society will have peace within themselves. It is because there is
nothing to disturb their minds. They have a good society or a good
environment to develop themselves in order to obtain inner peace. Hence,
Gandhi said ―Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be
18
real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.‖

Therefore, internal peace and external peace are interrelated; both

are mutually beneficent.

However, types of peace, according to the World Council of

curriculum and instruction, can be sub-classified into nine as follows:

1. Intrapersonal peace: the state of peace within man himself that

means there is no conflict inside one‘s mind.

18
Anthony St Peter, The Greatest Quotations of All-Time, Xlibris Corperation,USA, 2010,p.476.