Heather: What do you think of the way terrorism is being handled?

Alain: The Taliban regime was a school of terrorism, so it was good to put the Taliban regime off. If you look at what they were doing, it was a negation of human rights, a negation of culture. The first step - to put the Taliban out - is therefore a good thing, but it is a restricted approach. The main work to be done is in the long-term process. First of all, if you look at history, terrorism has always been there. Terrorism comes mainly from frustration and this frustration comes from problems with your identity and how you are in the world. Many of the people who are terrorists have a particular conception of the world, and their identity is bound within those references. If, in reality, they meet people who are not of the same conceptions, or who act in such a way that their world conception is endangered, such people will feel very afraid. They lose their sense of ground, they feel threatened and I think violence comes from that. You can see that in the animal world. If a snake becomes frightened, it will bite you. When we see how the US has reacted - of course it was awful and horrible and they had to react - but reacting by seeing things in black and white was not true. It was not a good answer. Saying that one country is the civilised world and the other country is evil, is simply not true. It will only push frustration and aggression further.

Heather: How would you respond?

Alain: The lone terrorist may be thinking in the way I described and be living in an environment where they are told, 'Yeah, you are right to be violent, that's good.' It is even seen as a sacred and pure way of acting. So the first thing we have to do is to work on education. As westerners, we have to educate non-government organisations in the possible ways of dealing with these things. Then we have to give some space for expression and be able to listen carefully to what others are saying and feeling. We also have to give them the opportunity of realising that there is no one-world conception. There is really no single way to see the world. We also need to try to develop wealth for all.

Heather: How do you think a Buddhist should respond?

Alain: I just remembered this sentence from the Dalai Lama, 'If you respond to violence with violence, who will stop violence?' That is true, especially if you have the compassion of the Dalai Lama, but it is not always easy. If you are directly affected, or one of your relatives is affected, by the terrorist act, it's not easy to get over the first reaction. It is important for a Buddhist to work on their mind and not grasp onto one aim. Grasping is the beginning of being a terrorist. Buddhists must be respectful of others and put themselves into the position of others. They should not being arrogant either, a lot of violence comes about as a result of humiliation.

Carolyn Maclennan
Paediatrician/International Health

Heather: What do you think of the way terrorism is being handled?

Carolyn: I think it's a very complex issue. I think people are trying to do what they believe is best for the majority of people. In the process of doing that, there will be some harm done to some people, but I think it is best to try to do what is best for the majority of people. At the start, I was very concerned about the Americans and British bombing Afghanistan, but I think that maybe now this will be for the benefit of the Afghani people because they have been suppressed for so long. We don't really know the final outcome. For the moment, things are looking more promising than they were at the start, especially as the Americans are going to let Afghanistan try to rebuild their country. On the whole, I think that people are trying to attain a good outcome, but there will be some damage along the way.

Heather: How would you respond?

Carolyn: I don't think one person can handle this. You would need to have a lot of advice; from people with knowledge of the country where the perpetrators of terrorism are; from people who have knowledge of war strategy; and from spiritual advisors. Then you would discuss the issues, decide what would have the best outcome and move from there. That is the way I would handle it.

Heather: How do you think a Buddhist should respond?

Carolyn: Well, I am a Buddhist and this is the way I would respond. A Buddhist tries to respond for the benefit of all sentient beings and in doing that you have to look at the bigger picture. I'm certainly not an advocate of war. Sometimes though, you need to be proactive to have a good outcome in the end. There have been good examples of that in the past. We cannot always let things go to fruition without some sort of intervention. From a Buddhist perspective, it's the best outcome for the majority of people that you're trying to achieve.