Driven by the myopia of profits and an ego that craves superiority over fellow brethren, man is leading a life of wanton devastation, and going through what is perhaps the most violent time in history. At stake is not just our own lives and values, but the environment that sustains us, and, by extension therefore, the very future of our planet.

Is this a one-way street? Or is there still scope for salvation? Can we redefine ethics to suit the broader common vision of all mankind? Can we rise above religious differences to create a common, working philosophy that works for both us, and our planet? If the tenets and essence of Hinduism and Buddhism are anything to go by, the answer is a resounding yes.

Adaptation of a non-conflicting paradigm led by the Hindu-Buddhist values—whose adherents account for more than one-fifth of the world’s population and cognates cultures such as in India and Japan—can be used effectively to shift the focus from ‘conflict resolution’ to ‘conflict avoidance’ and the path of ‘ideology’ to ‘philosophy’.

It is with this aspiration and conviction that the VIF, New Delhi organised a conference in collaboration with Tokyo Foundation and IBC on ‘Global Hindu-Buddhist Initiative on Conflict Avoidance and Environment Consciousness’ at New Delhi in September 2015.

This book, based on the conference attempts to answer one simple question: Can we offer a new model and vision for a world order based on democratic tradition that espouses the spirit of human cooperation, ethical behaviour, universal responsibility and prosperity of all nations?

If we put our best foot forward, the answer could be yes. The alternative, is not an alternative.