..............................The Phoenix arises from the flames and is born anew..............
You may be interested in the daily vows I take. They are not like the Ten Commandments which read as 'Thou shalt not...' but should be read as 'Wouldnt life be better if....' See what you think:
You may be interested in the daily vows I take. They are not like the Ten Commandments which read as 'Thou shalt not...' but should be read as 'Wouldnt life be better if....' See what you think:
The Five Main Vows
1. Not to kill or harm any sentient being
2. Not to take what is not offered
3. Not to get intoxicated by drink or drugs
4. Not to have sex which is harmful to others or yourself
5. Not to lie or use harsh language
Plus 5 Supplementary Vows
6. Not to criticise the faults of others
7. Not to praise oneself at the expense of others
8. Not to succumb to anger
9. Not to withold spiritual or material help
10. Not to blaspheme against Buddha, Dharma and Sangha (This can be diffierent for non-buddhists)
I am not saying I am able to achieve all these, I definitely have trouble with numbers 5 and 6, but I think it is very beneficial to bring them to mind each day as they are good stepping stones on the path.
As a discussion topic you mish wish to think about the first one, Not to kill or harm any sentient being (sentient I take to mean any creature that is aware of its own existence). Now this is applied differently in Buddhism than in Christianity.
Christians believe that killing humans is a mortal sin and that you will go to hell for doing so, but they also believe that animals are acceptable victims.
Buddhists take a different view. The Buddhist view is focusssed on relieving suffering, so if someone was in extreme suffering it could be a beneficial act to kill them, eg in assisted euphanasia. Also if, in an extreme situation, an animal had to do to keep a higher life form, eg a human alive, this too would be acceptable.
It may focus your thoughts to know that in the 20th Century 100 million people died at the hands of other humans.
Maybe you think the answer lies somewhere between the two. Over to you guys, what do you think about Vow number one... and any others you may wish to comment on.
3 comments:
Thanks Bruv for raising this.
I personally do not believe in killing any sentient being, however this makes me a hypocrite because I do eat meat. i justify this by leaving the killing to someone else and I dont like to think about it. If I did think about it, it would be unacceptable to me.
On the subject of euphanasia, I strongly believe that this should be allowed to those who are suffering with terminal illnesses, but only if it is their own wish.
I do not believe that we need wars and killing in the 21st century because all problems should be capable of being resolved without bloodshed.
My view on capital punishment is that no-one has the right to take another's life. Although I might feel differently if it was someone close to me who had been murdered.
The punsihment for the crime can be carried out by us but of course karma will produce its own results without human intervention.
As you can see, my thinking is somewhat contradictory on this issue. But I as a libran I am forced to see both sides of a situation!
Many interesting points are being raised here. Just a few random thoughts:
(When I said I had difficulty with Vow 5, it wasn't that I lie, which is something I hate, but that I sometimes use harsh language - and wish that I didnt!)
It may be worth setting out the Budhhist view on eating meat. The Buddha was questioned many times on this and never suggested that we should be vegetarian. In his time many people would probably not have survived without eating meat. Of course many Buddhists are vegetarian and I am too, as long as you agree that fish are vegetables!
On the idea about giving the death penalty for the murder of policemen, I believe all lives are of equal value and that it is an insult to the families of civilians who have died to value their loss lower.
I too admired the mother of young Anthony who has forgiven her son's killers and I remember the father in the Omagh bombing who did the same. There is much for us to learn in such examples.
I am not in favour of any death penalty, as I believe all human life is sacrosanct and any retribution will come from karma.
Take Saddam Hussein, he did terrible things, he will be found guilty and executed; but might he not learn more about his crimes by being made to spend the rest of his life incarcerated? Might he have the chance then of knowing remorse and perhaos even repentance?
These are matters of life and death and I am sure we all have much to say on them.
I am afraid that as a man I do not feel qualified to have a view on abortion. I know many people for whom it was the right thing to do and one person who, in my much younger days, I advised to have an abortion which was the wrong thing to do as she gave birth to a wonderful son and she never spoke to me again. So I lost a very close friend over this. If you do not mind, I will not dip my toe into these particular deep waters again but leave it to you ladies to debate.
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