Goal: To consider two opposing points of view about war: 1. that fighting leads to less happiness in the end and 2. that war can lead to lasting peace.

Activities:
Read: Two Selfish Kings and Krishna, Champion of the Oppressed

Discuss:
How useful do you think Buddha’s advice was in Two Selfish Kings? Would it work today?
What makes land belong to a country or to a person?

Have you ever had little “wars” of your own? Think of some examples. How have some of these been settled? What are some consequences and results of quarrels and fights?

How do you think Krishna felt, knowing that his dharma (his social duty, his fate) committed him to a life of war and struggle, when he was not really a warlike person?

How did he try to live out his dharma? (By championing the cause of the weak and the right.)

Why did Arjuna believe that even if he won and destroyed the army of the evil king, his own sin would be greater than theirs? (Because he believed killing was a sin.) Krishna gave him a response that was based on the religious belief that the real life (soul) within each person cannot be killed; therefore, he should not mourn those he must kill in order to achieve peace. What do you think of this? Is this the kind of answer you would have given Arjuna? What would be yours?

Can you think of examples today where religion is used by political leaders to promote certain policies, including war, and forbid independent thinking?

Reflect on the soul-searching of Arjuna and the words of the suffering widow and mother. Do you think the peaceful years following the war could make these women forget their husbands and sons? Could the results of the war been achieved another way?

Debate:
Divide your family into two groups. Discuss among yourselves the pros and cons of proceeding with this war. Then conduct a mini-debate: state, in your own words, the arguments for proceeding with this war and the arguments against proceeding with this war.