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a few thoughts on responsibility
genkaku
Northampton, Mass. U.S.A. Veteran
I imagine everyone has favorites inside Buddhism and out ... words that just ring and sing for you. Perhaps they changed over time, but the ringing and singing always feels pretty good.
One of my favorites in Buddhism comes from a guy who, as far as I know, was not a Buddhist at all. Charles Monroe was a mail clerk in New Marlborough, Mass., when he was interviewed in 1939. He was well-respected in the community of 500 but didn't seem to be a show-off. His ranging and responsible views on small town living, Christianity, song, forgiveness and other aspects of his life are offered here in the interview.
And here is an excerpt I particularly like:
I try to be a good citizen by performing certain public and personal duties which most of my friends would throw up their hands at if I suggested they perform along with me. In my opinion there's too much 'passing the buck' going on today. I don't like many of our laws - capital punishment, for instance - but since I'm a voter and a sustainer of our form of government, I of course automatically make myself as responsible as any other individual in the upholding of our laws. As a sort of an 'accessory to the fact' I once forced myself to attend an execution down in Sing Sing prison where my brother-in-law holds a good job. It was an ugly business. One witness fainted and another vomited, and it was a big relief to get out of there. I felt like the executioner myself, as I was partly, for the fact that we do not press the button or cut the rope doesn't let any of us off.
But if I can't convince you that I was a killer in that instance, you'll have to grant that I'm a killer of pigs and cattle, for I've often helped farmers butcher their live stock. I've done this to satisfy my own conscience, for I'm a meat eater, and being a meat-eater, why shouldn't I assist with the dirty work? You smile!
Not all of the interview is as indelicately in-your face as the above, but I cite it because life has a way of getting in your face no matter how delicate anyone might be.
One of my favorites in Buddhism comes from a guy who, as far as I know, was not a Buddhist at all. Charles Monroe was a mail clerk in New Marlborough, Mass., when he was interviewed in 1939. He was well-respected in the community of 500 but didn't seem to be a show-off. His ranging and responsible views on small town living, Christianity, song, forgiveness and other aspects of his life are offered here in the interview.
And here is an excerpt I particularly like:
I try to be a good citizen by performing certain public and personal duties which most of my friends would throw up their hands at if I suggested they perform along with me. In my opinion there's too much 'passing the buck' going on today. I don't like many of our laws - capital punishment, for instance - but since I'm a voter and a sustainer of our form of government, I of course automatically make myself as responsible as any other individual in the upholding of our laws. As a sort of an 'accessory to the fact' I once forced myself to attend an execution down in Sing Sing prison where my brother-in-law holds a good job. It was an ugly business. One witness fainted and another vomited, and it was a big relief to get out of there. I felt like the executioner myself, as I was partly, for the fact that we do not press the button or cut the rope doesn't let any of us off.
But if I can't convince you that I was a killer in that instance, you'll have to grant that I'm a killer of pigs and cattle, for I've often helped farmers butcher their live stock. I've done this to satisfy my own conscience, for I'm a meat eater, and being a meat-eater, why shouldn't I assist with the dirty work? You smile!
Not all of the interview is as indelicately in-your face as the above, but I cite it because life has a way of getting in your face no matter how delicate anyone might be.
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