It is therefore an especially appropriate place to consider the issues of peace and security, issues of fundamental importance to the human being. What has twentieth-century humanity gained at the cost of this staggering sacrifice of human life? The difference lies solely in the degree and depth of human wisdom and compassion. The consistent intent of Buddhism is to develop the compassionate wisdom that is inherent in the depths of human life. This kind of open-ended empathy enables us to view human diversity as a catalyst for creativity, the basis of a civilization of inclusion and mutual prosperity.