ONE is always shocked and distressed by acts of violence against human beings. But for me the recent reports about atrocities committed by Buddhist monks on helpless Rohingya Muslims in the western Rakhine state of Myanmar was doubly disturbing because of the book Destructive Emotions and How We Can Overcome Them that I am reading currently.

The book is about dialogue by a group of Western scientists with the Dalai Lama about destructive emotions in human beings and how they can be overcome.

The Dalai Lama gives a very important input from the Buddhist faith about peace, harmony, and total abstinence of violence towards not only human beings, but all living creatures, including insects.

These violent acts, perhaps, underscores the importance of constantly reinforcing the message of empathy, kindness and tolerance as universal values, not only through school curriculum but also through mass awareness programmes.

AKBAR JAN MARWAT Islamabad