In this article, published in Kervan, International Journal of African and Asian Studies, Professor Claudio Cicuzza examines a selection of Buddhist texts that address the reduction of violence and the elimination of suffering, connecting them to the ‘Principle of Humanity,’ one of the most fundamental ethical principles underpinning International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Drawing on canonical and commentarial sources, it examines several practices taught by the Buddha that are capable of dissolving the entrenched mental patterns underlying both personal suffering and collective conflict. The article argues that these practices constitute a radical path towards dismantling the very conditions that sustain anger, suffering, and division, while also recognising their compatibility with IHL’s more pragmatic aim of reducing violence within conflict.

Prof. Claudio Cicuzza received his MA and PhD in Indology from the University of Rome “La Sapienza”. He has taught Buddhism and Religious Studies at Webster University and Mahidol University, and has also served as Director of the Lumbini International Research Institute. He is currently a member of the Advisory Board of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at Mahidol University and collaborates with the Pali Translation Project at the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies.

Please read the article here.