IF you ask me, our world is getting boisterous with diverse doc­trines and policies day by day. The world looks like an imminent time bomb, not knowing when on earth it will explode. In my opinion, the first world would be existing with calmness, where living things — both plants and animals — could be living and growing according to their na­ture and habitats. Whatever is said, we humans, intelligent people, should give birth to sta­bility from that calmness, then peace and quiet generation after generation, metaphorically. The first step towards global peace is most likely to be a strong desire for this peace only. We must un­der no condition feel personal or other animosities towards any­one, whether they are our friends or enemies. If we feel nothing but hatred for anybody, this hatred will start to crop up in us even before it breeds negative conse­quences and bad deeds. And it is natural if people want peace only when their nations are plunged into chaos by someone or some­thing. Of course, peace is a thing that should be wanted, as always. So, what actions can be done for world peace by individuals? How is it below?

Today’s world has become a dexterously, industriously and synthetically developed planet for ages. With the increasing rise of industries, lots of indus­trial zones are scattered in al­most every part of the world, especially in densely populated sites _ for example, capitals, big cities and even towns. Industri­al plants from these sites emit poisonous gases like carbon di­oxide and sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere. This is just the beginning of acid rain to occur. Even if industrialization solves the immense problem of unem­ployment across the world, this process commonly leads to air pollution, sight pollution, noise pollution, water contamination and soil degradation. Together with those natural consequenc­es, people from every corner of the globe may sometimes face fewer or more tariff wars be­tween great world nations, that is, most developed countries in the world. At the very worst, the least developed countries on the earth are meeting global warm­ing due to industrialization. In this case, poisonous gases enter­ing the atmosphere are the main problem in my eyes, and plants are the great `inhaler´ of these gases and `exhaler´ of oxygen, also a part of our lives. Hence, planting as much as possible can pay back for carbon debt, lessen the sufferings of global people and then give rise to interper­sonal peace.

One of the reasons that we have been living a decent life to some extent since we came into the world is our good neigh­bourhood. The pleasure of our environment contributes to that of our lives, as well as the un­pleasantness of our environment creates that of our lives. At least this world warmly welcomed us so that we have got food, cloth­ing, shelter and places to live on the earth. We eat rice, wheat, fruit or vegetables, drink or use water, wear or decorate flowers, sit under shady trees or bamboos and take in air that can be ob­tained naturally on the ground. Forests, woods, mountains, wa­terfalls, rivers, lakes, seas and oceans are home to living things, including microorganisms, and are natural scenes of beauty in the world. We even answer the call of nature on the ground be­sides throwing away household and industrial waste. In that connection, we are beholden to this world for its many acts of kindness. What should we do for the world in return? Many re­gions of the world are still having poverty, famine, poor healthcare services, natural disasters, hu­manitarian catastrophes and perhaps a world energy short­age with the world population growth. We ought to give those beset with difficulties and dan­gers a helping hand either at home or abroad in order to wipe away people’s tears in the hope of making world peace, no matter whether it is material or energy, as much as we can.

Needless to say, today is the knowledge age. A country where new technology is developing on the globe is leading other countries with slow or little im­provement in technology. Also, no wonder that today’s youth is desperately following digital literacy and advancement or the trending of next technology. But on the other side, this competi­tive atmosphere between youth could cause greed and envy to a greater or lesser degree, see­ing that they find those who are doing much better than they. Often, education and technol­ogy go hand in hand. A person who wants to take up technolo­gy should have known to learn education. Following a type of education, he must have not only mastered technology but also the truth and beauty of the world. The universal truth will involve both the conversation of the solar system and human his­tory or geopolitics. And the term `beauty´ will contain physical beauty, mental health, psycho­logical well-being and spiritual welfare of people in the modern world apart from natural beauty. In fact, education is nothing but finding truth and beauty in the real world, not virtual reality. Ac­cordingly, only education for the truth and beauty of humans and nature will certainly bring the very peace to the world, prob­ably easing a destructive spirit.

Some state that painters are the happiest people in the world, but to me, only the time of reading makes me by far happier than other activities. To be can­did, the task of reading does not cost as much as painting. Most of all, paintings express personal feelings rather than others’. In particular, painting is a type of subjective perception, and it can be done by a sensitive artist in a quiet place or studio, but some­times. However, reading will be done by almost every literate person at almost all times. Peo­ple indirectly look for knowledge, concepts, ethics, aesthetics and education from books. Although not in authentic situations, they may be thrown into ecstasies over reading like virtual reality circumstances. I am strongly of the opinion that the essence of reading is instilling intraperson­al peace into oneself. After read­ing non-fiction, it is very impor­tant that a person should become broad-minded and far-sighted. Also, subsequent to poems, es­says, stories and novels, readers had better sympathize and then empathize with others. When all is said and done, even light liter­ature can keep amateur readers amused for hours. To say noth­ing of interpersonal peace, the art of reading enables people to build at least inner peace into themselves.

Clearly, no one makes or looks after the world. In actual fact, there can be seen only two sermons of universal truth by Buddha that protect the world from being damaged. These are someone’s shame and fear of doing bad deeds, `Heri´ and `Ooktapa´ in the Pali language, respectively. People like to com­mit bad manners, especially in deserted areas at night, but also in public in broad daylight. Start­ing with no shame or fear of bad things, people tend to sin again and again. After all, bad deeds are in vain not only on victims but also on offenders. Actually, avoiding bad deeds itself is a kind of building oneself and nurturing a noble spirit. Even though a person is doing what he likes, he had best not disturb others in any way. So, as always, to avoid bad deeds consciously and not to bother others conscientiously, we can do the four tasks men­tioned above — planting, giving a helping hand, seeking education and reading — as much as we wish. May peace be with all of us, as Pope Leo XIV stated. Long live the world, too!