An address given by Ajahn Amaro at an inter-faith meeting held at St. Albans Cathedral on the 14th of November 2022, on the theme of "God's Justice in our World"

My name is Amaro Bhikkhu, I am a Buddhist, I am concerned about justice peace and the integrity of creation because all of these are seriously at risk in these current times.

In Buddhism our vision of justice comprises nonviolence, truthfulness, a respect for the lives and property of others, and an appreciation of the laws of cause and effect. All of these qualities are benefited by the presence of mindfulness, a caring attunement to the time, the place and the situation.

Peace is understood to come from not just laws and social standards, but also from the attitudes and composure of people’s minds.

One of our Buddhist Scriptures is called the Dhammapada and it says;

‘Let the discerning person guard the mind.
A guarded mind brings happiness.
Neither mother, father, nor any other relative can do one greater good
than one's own well-directed mind.’ (Dhp 36 & 43)

From the Buddhist perspective Nature is considered to be of one fabric, an infinite interrelated variety of living and elemental factors, all of which interact and depend upon each other. If one part is poisoned or damaged it intrinsically affects all the others; if one part is enriched or enhanced it will affect all the other parts too.

Irrespective of the way that each faith describes its concerns and values, I think that we can agree that we all share this life together just as we all share this earth, this universe. Accordingly, the more that each of our faiths can strengthen its commitment to supporting the quality of justice (fairness not only in human society but also including the integrity of all creation), the more we can devote ourselves to peaceful resolution of our differences as well as finding peace within ourselves, the more that we can all genuinely respect the life and well-being of the entire ecosphere, then our faiths can be said to be working together in a blessed and effective way for the benefit of all beings.