ABSTRACT: The text of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Analysis of the conception of human life through Buddhism. Punishment is a form of prevention, but if punishment is inflicted to satisfy a feeling of hate or revenge of the victims or of society against the offender it is not justified. "Inflicting a penalty to another person also adds more sufferance to the ones that have already been committed". The notion of forgiveness must be developed. Human beings are not violent by nature; they become violent because of the environmental situation and of the circumstances. Children and adults must be educated "on the path of compassion, benevolence and non-violence".

("HANDS OFF CAIN", 1 February 1994)

"It was the Mahatma Gandhi's belief that violence causes more violence, and that capital punishment is a form of violence. Moreover, in many cases it strengthens the concept of revenge".

All human beings, men and animals, seek happiness and try to avoid pain. From this point of view we are all equal. But in our quest for happiness we must make wise decisions for our interest and other people's interest. Human life is particularly precious: this is emphasized by Buddhism and by many other religions and philosophies. According to Buddhism, it is rare and difficult for a living being to be reincarnated into a human being, and the possibility of doing one's good and other people's good on the long path of spiritual liberation must be fully used.

During our life we often make rash decisions that damage ourselves and others: we do this out of ignorance. We believe a certain type of behaviour will bring happiness, while in fact it makes us unhappy. Feelings of selfishness, hate or pride sometimes lead us to harm others because we mistakenly believe that this will benefit us and make us happy. In actual fact, this causes pain not only to the victims of our actions, but even to ourselves. It seriously upsets the peace of our spirit and generates the conditions for a personal situation of sufferance.

Human beings need to live together, and are dependent on one another in many important respects. In human society we often need moral codes of behaviour to live in peace and harmony with other people. The task of religion and philosophy is that of developing, explaining and promoting these moral codes. The political society also creates legal rules, which are sometimes based on morals, and other times on its violation. Nonetheless, according to the legal system of all countries, criminal behaviours are punished by the authorities. The notion of criminal behaviour may differ largely from one country to the other. In some countries speaking openly about the respect of human rights is considered a criminal behaviour, while in others it is considered criminal to prevent freedom of speech. The punishment for the crimes are also different, and generally include various forms of imprisonment or deprivation, financial penalties and, in a certain number of countries, physical punishment. In some countries the crimes

which the government consider as very serious are punished by killing the person who committed them. Obviously it is a mistake to harm others, and it is necessary to have legally effective rules to prevent crime and to protect the potential victims. Punishment is a form of prevention because it serves the purpose of warning potential offenders not to commit crimes, and prevents people who have committed crimes from committing more. In this sense punishment carries out an essential task.

But if punishment is inflicted chiefly to satisfy a feeling of hate of revenge of the victims or of society against the offender, then it is not justified. Even if such penalties can satisfy an important need of the victims and of other people to obtain justice from the authorities, inflicting a penalty on another person also serves the purpose of adding pain to pain and does not increase anyone's potential for happiness.

The notion of forgiveness must be encouraged en lieu of revenge. This fact is underlined by most humanist religions and philosophies.

The death penalty fulfils a task of prevention, but it is also a patent ostensible form of revenge. It is a particularly severe form of punishment, in that it is, so to say, final. Human life ends, and the person killed has no opportunity to change or repair the evil done or compensate it.

According to Buddhism it is a sin to deprive a living person of his death, even if that being is an insect. But killing a human being, who is given such an important opportunity for self-development, is a very serious act, which has incalculable consequences on the person who commits it.

Killing the culprit does not solve the problem of crime. Only the promotion of leniency and compassion through education and the affirmation of a universal sense of responsibility can, in the long term, improve the situation.

Nowadays many societies neglect the promotion of these key values of education, in shows and in social programs. If we analyse TV programs, for instance, we can notice that violence and murder have a high entertainment value. This is the symptom of a wrong approach.

I believe human beings are not violent by nature. They do not have sharp teeth or claws to attack and kill. Human beings become violent mostly as a consequence of the environment and of the circumstances.

Accepting violence as a form of reaction to violence and to other crimes can have effects that are the opposite of the desired ones. Killing the culprits buries the crimes these may have committed, and may, in the short term, eliminate the potential danger that more crimes be committed. But in the long term it dies not reduce crimes, and violence in particular. In some countries people have been killed also for political crimes. This is particularly harmful to society. Capital punishment is not the solution to the problem of crime, and in many cases it enhances the notion of revenge and is used to justify the killing of a person.

As the Mahatma Gandhi believed, violence brings more violence, and capital punishment is a form of violence. I urgently ask everyone to seriously think about positive ways in which children and adults can be educated to compassion, benevolence and non-violence, which means developing a good heart. Society has made few efforts in this direction so far, but it is the only way to progress.