A son born in Kampong
Speu believes studying is the best source of knowledge to approach reality.
Just as he turned six years old, he went for the studying. Days and nights have
passed, finalizing one grade to another he moved upward. He once decided to become
a Buddhist monk and sought the best of time and opportunity to study everything
Lord Buddha has taught. At first, no one paid attention to him. His villagers
and the public had suspicious mind if he could bring any significant success
back home. Years later a little kid, which many did not believe he could not
achieve anything, bring such an incredible trophy to his homeland and the
entire nation. He was able to speak many languages; He could read, write, and
translate Pali and Sangskrit into Khmer, and he could do many more. He was one
of the influential monks in his time. He wrote many books, one of the most
famous is Khmer Dictionary. Every Khmer must know him since his achievement to
the nation is unforgettable, priceless gift. His name is Samdech Prah Maha
Somethea Tibadhi Choun Nath.
Many people questioned
why he could turn from such hopeless and struggle situation into a possible one
since he was in a poor family from a very remote rural? The confession to this
question simply says that ‘guided principle is the timeless tool to realize any
goal’. One unanimous quote once says ‘Committing to principle that has been set
could even move the Mount Everest’.
Just in the field of
studying principles very much matter to walk the talk and everything, what
about in the political sphere? Do they need also principles for political
leaders? If leaders do not stick to any principles, what would his society and
nation he is leading be like? Presumably, just as the successful life requires
principles to overcome one’s own hindrances and to lifetime inspire in order to
constantly move upward, one also needs principled-politicians in order to build
a great, harmonious nation.
As
everyone has notice that when politicians indulge in power games, they tend act
without principles and want to remain in power at all cost. They may bribe,
manipulate or monopolize power to make sure that they are standstill in the top
position. Such dirty politics happen, particularly in today’s world; everyone
has witnessed this.
To get to know what
politics with principle is, they must first know what politics without
principles is. Just as a person of laziness, dull, sensual desire, ill will and
doubt cannot succeed anything but leads him/herself towards unproductive life
and upheaval politics without principle is identically the same thing. They
play no rules, respect no regulations and abiding no guidance. They work not
with the heart and head but only a body of emotion. They may not care of
morality when conducting an activity. What this kind of people really focusing
on is to increase wealth, authoritative power and alliance and that the mean to
achieve all of these objectives is by ‘end determines means’, following an
infamous wrote of Niccolo Machiavelli.
Such misconduct of a
person (especially in position of authority) exercising wrongful duties can be
called unprincipled worker because he or she fulfilling service without moral
ethics, wisdom and social responsibility. In his interpretation that he claims
it is one of the Seven Social Deadly Sins, Gandhi implies that the “Evil” of
politics comes about because of the lack of ethics.
Who and what make
individuals become less principle? Reiko Uchida says in her handbook ‘Path to
World Peace’ through life of lecturing and experiencing across Japan and the
world that each single individual were reflecting their parent’s state of mind.
If they left home with anger, grievances and hatred, they would do the same
everywhere latter in life. They hate others; they hit others and they increase
hatred, after all. She continues to stress that because badness was taught at
home then unprincipled personnel also began at home. However, because education
starts in families peaceful and character education which contributes to a
community of value, principle people or world peace also begins at home.
In fact, there are
multiple causes to aggressiveness or unprincipled individuals (politicians).
Some claim because of biological heritage, others believe it is because of
death and life instinct, and to many they hold in frustration-aggression
theory, conditioning, self-fulfilling prophecy, and maybe self-alienation.
Authoritative personality
might appear because of genetic heritage meaning to say from blood line. If
their ancestors were violent minded people it is transferred to the generation
that follows. It may true for some community regarding this case. The same
thing happens to psychologist because of human fears of death and wants life,
when surrounding environment is full of violence, conflict and fight they may
seek to set prior-attack on others for their safety reason. For those who
believe that anger and hatred come because of deprived society, they see that people
have expectation from the wellbeing of society and when they do not meet their
expectation, they started to feel excluded, out of the group, and were
discriminated. What they can do is to form a state of mind of heartedness,
aggressiveness and self-isolations.
In the teaching of Lord
Buddha says the very source of any violence, aggressiveness, and anger are
hatred, greed, aversion and delusion and that the root causes of unprincipled
people is not anything else but these certain mental factors. Every activity is
backed by one’s own intention. If an action is intended to bring harm to
oneself, harm to others or harm to both oneself and others, the output of those
intention will definitely bad and harmful. In contrast, if the intention behind
the action is good then consequences of those activities are going to be
completely good as well. Hence, to get rid of aggressiveness, greed and
grievance is by purifying one’s own state of mind to a mental discipline.
In sum, politics without
principles is something to do with decision-making or activities that are
harmful to others. They could be using violence to gain power, control, wealth
and popularity. The form of human rights violation may exist in the society
where is there is unprincipled people or leaders.