Is using force against violent forces violent?

Nonviolent action is not a technique, it is a way. When you have understanding and compassion in your heart, everything you do will be nonviolent. Suppose someone is killing, and you arrest him. If you lock him up, and you do it because of understanding and compassion, then that is nonviolent action. If you don't do anything, and you allow people to kill and to destroy, although you don't do anything, that is also violence. Violence can be action or non-action. The outer appearance might be violent, but if you do it with a mind of understanding and compassion, it is not truly violence. Whether the action is violent or nonviolent, it depends on your heart.

~ Thích Nhất Hạnh (Meditation Magazine - Peace Issue)

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