buddhadharma
09-23-2004, 04:45 PM
I want to post a reply to a previous thread in the hopes that it may help others out there find peace within their hearts in these trying times we live in.
Re: Dalai Lama Suggesting Terrorism could require a violent response
I would like to clear up this discussion. As a buddhist it made me very sad that some falsely implied that the Dalai Lama would promote violence.
His holiness the Dalai Lama views terrorism not as an action but as a perversion of the mind, in other words "wrong thinking". In order to counteract terrorism we as individuals must counteract this wrong thinking by cultivating right thinking in our own minds. We must learn to cultivate unconditional compassion for all beings. If all of us do this it will spread like a wildfire. If you don't believe me then try it for yourself. Tomorrow find 5 strangers and pay them a sincere compliment. When you are done,look at their faces and look within your heart and see how you feel.
Taking revenge for terrorist acts will be an endless cycle of death and unhappiness for everyone. Ghandi put it nicely when he said, " an eye for an eye and the whole world will be blind".
September 11, as awful, tragic, and evil as it was, had its roots. These terrorists are angry over years of misdeeds, apathy, and short term selfish interests (oil) of the US actions in the middle east since the mid 20th century. When we understand the causes then we can begin to develop solutions. Rather than dropping bombs and pre-emptively invading countries (except in the case of defense of an immediate attack on us) we should learn to open a dialogue with all people in the middle east. Through this dialogue we could spread the belief of terrorism as an unpopular concept and people would abandon it as it would no longer server their purpose. Politicians really need to be thoughful about their policies and actions in the middle east, and we need to take the politicians and the media to task for their wrong thinking and mis-representation of the truth.
The more bombs we drop and the more innocents we kill in the name of "freedom lovers" the more bad karma we will create for ourselves as a society.
My weapon is compassion and I wield it like a sword to cut through ignorance.
Be skeptical of the politicians (but still show compassion for them)
Be skeptical of the media (but still show compassion for them)
Trust your own heart
Re: Dalai Lama Suggesting Terrorism could require a violent response
I would like to clear up this discussion. As a buddhist it made me very sad that some falsely implied that the Dalai Lama would promote violence.
His holiness the Dalai Lama views terrorism not as an action but as a perversion of the mind, in other words "wrong thinking". In order to counteract terrorism we as individuals must counteract this wrong thinking by cultivating right thinking in our own minds. We must learn to cultivate unconditional compassion for all beings. If all of us do this it will spread like a wildfire. If you don't believe me then try it for yourself. Tomorrow find 5 strangers and pay them a sincere compliment. When you are done,look at their faces and look within your heart and see how you feel.
Taking revenge for terrorist acts will be an endless cycle of death and unhappiness for everyone. Ghandi put it nicely when he said, " an eye for an eye and the whole world will be blind".
September 11, as awful, tragic, and evil as it was, had its roots. These terrorists are angry over years of misdeeds, apathy, and short term selfish interests (oil) of the US actions in the middle east since the mid 20th century. When we understand the causes then we can begin to develop solutions. Rather than dropping bombs and pre-emptively invading countries (except in the case of defense of an immediate attack on us) we should learn to open a dialogue with all people in the middle east. Through this dialogue we could spread the belief of terrorism as an unpopular concept and people would abandon it as it would no longer server their purpose. Politicians really need to be thoughful about their policies and actions in the middle east, and we need to take the politicians and the media to task for their wrong thinking and mis-representation of the truth.
The more bombs we drop and the more innocents we kill in the name of "freedom lovers" the more bad karma we will create for ourselves as a society.
My weapon is compassion and I wield it like a sword to cut through ignorance.
Be skeptical of the politicians (but still show compassion for them)
Be skeptical of the media (but still show compassion for them)
Trust your own heart