(a) What teachings of Buddha are most relevant today and why? Discuss. (b) ‘The will to power exists, but it can be tamed and be guided by rationality and principles of moral duty.’ Examine this statement in the context of international relations.
Approach · directive: “what / discuss / examine”
What it asks · (a) Pick the Buddha's teachings that answer today's problems and explain why; (b) examine whether power politics can be restrained by reason and moral duty in international relations.
The question has 3 parts — answer each
- (a) Identify the Buddha's teachings most relevant today
- (a) Discuss why they are relevant
- (b) Examine, in international relations, whether the will to power can be tamed and guided by rationality and moral duty
Open with · (a) The Buddha's core teaching is the ending of suffering through right understanding and conduct; (b) realist thinkers treat the will to power as natural, and the statement asks whether ethics can tame it.
Cover
- (a) Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path: a practical method to understand and reduce suffering, relevant to stress, anxiety and consumerism.
- (a) Middle path: moderation between indulgence and austerity, relevant to sustainable consumption, climate action and balanced policy.
- (a) Ahimsa, karuna and maitri: non-violence and compassion in a world of terrorism, war and hate speech; a base for tolerance and conflict resolution.
- (a) Reason and responsibility: test claims by experience, be a lamp unto oneself, and reject birth-based hierarchy, which counters blind belief, misinformation and caste discrimination.
- (b) Realist view: states seek power under anarchy and ethics comes second (the Melian dialogue, Morgenthau); great-power rivalry and arms races illustrate it.
- (b) Restraint by reason and duty: deterrence and arms-control treaties reflect rational self-interest; the UN Charter, international law, Panchsheel and no-first-use reflect moral duty.
- (b) Limits: veto politics, selective application of norms and power asymmetry show that the will to power persists; ethics works when backed by institutions and reciprocity.
Close with · Power is a fact of life; the Buddha's compassion and a rules-based order show how reason and duty can guide it.
Add value (verified)
- Kalama Sutta (Anguttara Nikaya 3.65): the Buddha tells the Kalamas not to accept teachings on report, tradition or scripture alone, but to know for themselves. Kalama Sutta: To the Kalamas (AN 3.65), tr. Thanissaro Bhikkhu — Access to Insight ↗“So in this case, Kalamas, don't go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, 'This contemplative is our teacher.' When you know for yourselves that”
- India's LiFE idea (introduced at COP26, Glasgow) urges mindful and deliberate use instead of mindless and wasteful consumption, a modern form of the Middle Path. Mission LiFE launch — PIB, Prime Minister's Office (June 2022) ↗“The idea of LiFE was introduced by the Prime Minister during the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow last year. The idea promotes an environmentally conscious lifestyle that focuses on ‘mindful and deliberate utilisation’ instead of ‘mindless and wasteful consumption’.”
- Hans Morgenthau located the cause of conflict in animus dominandi, the insatiable desire to dominate: the realist form of the 'will to power'. Political Realism in International Relations — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy ↗“The insatiable human lust for power, timeless and universal, which he identifies with animus dominandi , the desire to dominate, is for him the main cause of conflict.”
- Kant, 'Toward Perpetual Peace': in a republic those who decide on war bear its cost, so republics are hesitant to go to war. Kant's Social and Political Philosophy — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy ↗“In a republican constitution, the people who decide whether there will be a war are the same people who would pay the price for the war, both in monetary terms (taxes and other financial burdens) and in flesh and blood. Republican states will therefore be very hesitant to go to war”
- UN Charter, Article 2(4): members must refrain from the threat or use of force against any state's territorial integrity or political independence. Charter of the United Nations, Chapter I — United Nations ↗“All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2020, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 428 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
By Buddhist tradition, the Buddha's last words were "Be lamps unto yourselves", a call to reason and self-effort. The same discipline of the self, applied to states, is the question of whether the will to power can be tamed.
(a) Which teachings of the Buddha are most relevant today, and why
| Teaching | Today's problem | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path | Stress, anxiety, consumerism | Treats craving at its root |
| Middle Path | Over-consumption, climate stress | Moderation over excess |
| Test claims by experience | Misinformation, blind belief | Verify before believing |
- Suffering and its cure: craving causes suffering, and the Eightfold Path, from right views and right speech to right livelihood and right mindfulness, is a practical cure; mindfulness now informs medicine and management.
- Middle Path: moderation between indulgence and self-denial. India's LiFE idea, introduced since then at COP26, echoes it by urging "mindful and deliberate utilisation" instead of "mindless and wasteful consumption".
- Ahimsa, karuna and maitri: non-violence, compassion and goodwill answer terrorism, war and online hate.
- Reason over authority: in the Kalama Sutta he advises against accepting a claim merely on report, tradition or scripture, and asks people to know for themselves: a ready rule against fake news.
- Equality: his rejection of birth-based hierarchy still speaks against caste discrimination; Ambedkar, who led the anti-caste movement, adopted Buddhism in 1956.
(b) Can the will to power be tamed by rationality and moral duty in international relations?
- The realist claim: in the Melian Dialogue the Athenians equate right with might; Morgenthau traced conflict to animus dominandi, an insatiable desire to dominate. Arms races and great-power rivalry seem to confirm it.
- Tamed by moral duty, India's example: after the Kalinga war, in which a hundred thousand were killed, Asoka recorded his repentance and turned to Dhamma; Panchsheel (1954) and India's no-first-use doctrine carry that restraint forward.
- Tamed by rationality: deterrence, arms-control treaties and trade interdependence exist because unlimited power-seeking is self-defeating. Kant argued that where the citizens who would pay for a war decide on it, states become very hesitant to fight.
- Tamed by rules: Article 2(4) of the UN Charter obliges members to refrain from "the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state".
- The limits: veto politics, selective enforcement and power asymmetry show the will to power surviving; ethics restrains it only when backed by institutions, reciprocity and public opinion.
Power cannot be abolished, but it can be disciplined, as Asoka's turn from conquest to Dhamma first showed. A rules-based order resting on reciprocity and restraint is the Buddha's middle path applied to statecraft.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.