Albert Schweitzer’s Reverence for Life

 

In 1913, after having founded a hospital in Gabon, the religious philosopher and polymath Albert Schweitzer took a boat ride on the Ogooue River, to contemplate ethics and civilization. He spent two days in deep thought and, on the third, had a moment of enlightenment, which he called “Reverence for Life.”

In short, “Reverence for Life” is the idea that all life must be respected and loved and that humans should enter into a personal, spiritual relationship with the universe and all its creations. For humans such an outlook would naturally lead to a life of service to others.

Schweitzer was born into a well-educated family in Alsace, which was part of Germany in 1875, the year of his birth. His father was a Lutheran pastor and Schweitzer followed his footsteps and studied theology and philosophy. He also became an accomplished organist, but found his lasting passion in medicine.

With a degree in Medicine, Schweitzer and his wife Helene Bresslau, a nurse, he moved to Gabon, Africa, where he lived for most of his days, to start a hospital.

He had always had a kind heart towards animals. He wrote “One thing that especially saddened me was that the unfortunate animals had to suffer so much pain and misery…when my mother had prayed with me and kissed me good-night, I used to silently add a prayer that I composed myself for all living beings: ‘Oh heavenly Father, protect and bless all things that have breath, guard them from evil, and let them sleep in peace.’”

He carried this understanding throughout his life. In Africa, when planting a seed on a farm he had started, he was noticed gently scooping out a spider that had fallen in the hole. His reverence for life, while self-manifested, was developed and refined by Schweitzer’s reading of Indian philosophy. In his book, Indian Thought and Its Development, he wrote the following: “The laying down of the commandment to not kill and not to damage is one of the greatest events in spiritual history. Starting from this principle..ancient Indian thought..reached the tremendous discovery that ethics know no bounds.”

Ahimsa, the principle he referred to, appears in both yoga philosophy and in the religion of Jainism. In yoga, it is the first of the Yamas, one of the eight limbs of yoga. The five Yamas (standards of behavior) are Ahimsa (non-violence); Satya (truthfulness); Asteya, non-stealing; Brahmacharya (continence) and Aparigraha (non-covetousness.) The Jain religion brought Ahimsa into daily practice.

Schweitzer’s writings had a tremendous impact in a world that had suffered violence during the twentieth century. He was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 1952, and he used the money to start a leprosarium in Gabon, Africa. Until his death in 1965, he worked tirelessly for peace, speaking out against nuclear weapons and for the humane treatment of animals.

Mohan Ashtakala (www.mohanauthor.com) is the author of "The Yoga Zapper," a fantasy and "Karma Nation," a literary romance. He is published by Books We Love (www.bookswelove.com)

Origins of Non-violent Martial Arts

Kung-Fu in the Forest of Pagodas, Shaolin Temple

In 464 A.D. a Buddhist monk from India, named Buddhabadra, arrived in Henan, China, to spread the teachings of the Buddha. He was part of a great missionary movement that brought the teachings of the Dharma to many parts of Asia, from Afghanistan and Persia in the west to China and Japan in the east.

Known as Batuo in Chinese, he became famous for his erudition and wisdom and gathered many disciples from across the kingdom of Northern Wei.

Thirty-one years later, the Emperor Xiaowen built the now-renowned Shaolin Monastery in Henan for this monk, and from then on, the Monastery became famous for its martial arts practitioners, especially in Kung Fu.

Non-violent martial arts is intimately tied in with two things: the spread of Buddhism and, secondly, the philosophy of ahimsa (non-violence.) Ahimsa is one of the five virtues that form the basis of Buddhist ethics. These five precepts are:

   1)  Abstention from taking life.

   2)   Abstention from stealing.

   3)   Abstention from sexual misconduct

   4)   Abstention from falsehoods, and finally,

   5)   Abstention from intoxicants

As Buddhism spread from its birthplace in India/Nepal, challenges to the wandering monks arose. Specifically, during travels across the land, they would be attacked by hostile persons, whether belonging to different communities or plain thieves and bandits. To injure or kill them would entail breaking one of the cardinal rules of the monks’ faith. Thus, over the years, they developed ways of protecting themselves without seriously injuring their opponents. These forms of non-violent combat they brought with them to China and other places.

Bodhidharma

In 527 A.D., an even more important Buddhist monk, from the Tamil region of South India, named Bodhidharma, simply called Damo in China, arrived at the Shaolin Temple. His influence on Chinese Buddhism and culture cannot be underestimated. He is considered to be the transmitter of Chan (the quintessential Buddhism of China) and its first patriarch, and in Japan, known as Daruma (Dharma.) In Chinese art, he is shown as a dark-skinned, wild-haired, bearded and ill-tempered monk. Traditionally, Chinese date the birth of Shaolin Kung Fu to his arrival.

Both Buddhabhadra and Bodhidharma seemed to have attracted, among others, Chinese military men as their first disciples. Buddhabhadra’s first disciples, Huiguang and Sengchou became well known for their prowess. Bodhidharma’s main disciple, Huike, was also an esteemed warrior.

The Shaolin temple combines two different but complementary traditions: Chan (Buddhist philosophy and ethics) and Quan (martial arts.) The monks there have always pursued the philosophy of unification of these two. In a deeper sense, Quan is considered part of Chan. As late Shaolin monk Suxi said in the last moments of his life, "Shaolin is Chan, not Quan."

In China non-violent martial arts developed to a degree much greater than they did in their home lands of India and Central Asia, and from there, Buddhist monks transmitted the teachings to Japan, South Korea and other parts of the world.

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of "The Yoga Zapper" (www.yogazapper.com)  published by Books We Love (www.bookswelove.com)