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Florida Man Is Shot to Death for Texting During Movie Previews..30 minutes ago.
Ok, maybe a little harsh for the previews but during the main show...totally get it.
I mean the gunman was assaulted with popcorn and was just defending his family.
sigh...
OK guns don't kill people, people holding guns kill people.
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Comments
It's not the guns that are the problem, it's the human condition packing that gun.
Of course, given these people aren't totally grounded in reality to begin with, what we end up with instead is either a mistaken shooting (every month someone, somewhere shoots a family member coming home unexpectantly thinking it's a stranger breaking in) or pulling the gun in anger because the guy cut you off on the road or, in this case, texted during a movie. The guy could have moved to a different seat, but when you have a gun, you don't retreat.
Importing the ideology of samsara into Buddhism wholesale isn't Buddhism, it's samsara.
The firearms question becomes redundant.
Deaths from fires in UK
In 2010-11, there were A total of 45,000 fires in dwellings with 388 fire-related deaths in Britain.
Deaths from Guns
In 2011 England had 3,400,000 civilian firearms or 6.2 for every 100 people and was ranked 88 in the world for civilian gun ownership. There were 41 homicides by firearm or 0.07 per 100,000
There are therefore nearly 10 times as many deaths from a fire in UK; it makes more sense therefore to own a fire-extinguisher in the hope of saving a life rather than owning a gun and risk taking a life. The logic cannot be denied Dr Watson. As ever you are right Holmes!
I'm sick of angry people having access to guns!
Just no respect for life.......
May there be peace in the world.
May there be peace in my community.
May there be peace in me.
Protect them from having to be raised with loaded weapons close by. Protect them from growing up to expect violence.
I
http://www2.fodian.net/world/1484.html
It's certainly fascinating and though I disagree with it, admirable that a religious sect so fervently denounces any and all violence for whatever reason. Tends to leave a lot less wiggle room for holy war and burning witches.
Chinese Chan = Zen and the Shaolin Monastery of Kung-fu fame was a Chan monastery.
The monks would meditate standing in horse stance & grew incredibly strong legs, so it was much harder for ruffians and thugs to push them around (literally). And thus starts the Asian tradition for unarmed self defense. Some styles are very pacifist judo-- throw them gently on the ground, aikido-- deftly get out of the way, some aren't tae-kwon-do, kick their a$$ and karate (knock 'em out in one punch)
As for Zen and archery, and swordsmanship, one version of the story says in ancient times, upper middle class Japanese sent their kids to the Zen monastery to learn what they needed to learn-- which included sutra reading, calligraphy, but also tea, archery and swordsmanship)-- this is more akin to Catholic schools teaching algebra-- not because Algebra is all that Catholic but because Catholic parents expect algebra. Later on, Japanese intellectuals defending Buddhism from Modernism said, "Hey, don't get rid of Zen, it's the source of the tea ceremony and archery!" This was just a mistake of history.
Sorry I don't have the references.
http://www2.fodian.net/world/1484.html
Theravada does not have bodisattva vows.. Which im glad because that sounds very "though shalt not".. I prefer the panca sila of undertaking training rules to abstain.
Also a parajika offense is from the vinaya, that has nothing to do with lay life.
So yes Paratrooper there are many different types of buddhism that believe in different things. And of course there isnt a" buddhist country" on the planet that isnt bathed in some sort of violence or another.
Does the ideal dhamma practitioner "live with rod laid down"... Yes they do... But history has proven this person to be extremely rare. The rest of us can just do our best to practice.
It is easy to judge others... Much harder to resist judgment and worry about our own practice.
It is not a different take, its conveniently not paying attention to the adjective preceding each spoke on the 8 Fold Path.
Much f...wittery, past and present, has been called Zen by those wishing to excuse their own greed, hate & delusion. it is like calling the crusaders, Christian. Or not seeing that what one interprets as the need to protect ones attachments at all costs (self & family) is actually what endangers all families.
http://www.ymba.org/books/brahma-net-sutra-moral-code-bodhisattva/glossary
http://www.ymba.org/books/brahma-net-sutra-moral-code-bodhisattva/glossary
Hmm, thanks for the information. There is still much i dont know with the mahayana.
Indeed. More of a paddling offense than a shooting offense if you ask me.
I have a fire arm, a glock 23 to be exact, but, it stays in it's little container in a closet of my house. I was a self defense instructor in my department, and studies the martial arts, as a way of life, for over thrithy years, (prefering the Korean Hapkido ) so, the gun is that last thing I need to stop a nut.
Until people realize that the cowboy's of the old west were actually criminals, and we get lawmen and women like the Earps and such, this is going to get worse. In fact, I face many people who see the cowboy as true Amricanism. Sometimes it's hard for me to break their nieve little bubble, that the Earps went to the OK Corall to 'disarm' the cowboys.
I guess we all knew that . . .
:buck:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/14/us/florida-man-is-shot-to-death-for-texting-during-movie-previews.html?_r=0
even if we banned all guns this person would still of died. This is obviously a mental health issue not a gun issue(as most shootings are).
oh and also something I haven't seen brought up. In 40 states in the union regular citizens are allowed to apply for and CCW legally. People say " if everyone had guns it would be the wild west!" yet they never realize how many people legally carry guns on their person daily all over the country. It's never law abiding citizens that do these sorts of things, it's criminals or those with mental health issues(which imo is one of the biggest issues in the country right now that is swept under the rugs)
You also NEVER hear about the stories where people who CCW have saved themselves and others, mostly without ever firing a shot. it happens every day but the news will never report it. There are websites on the internet devoted to collecting these stories since the main stream media never will.
It is a hypocrisy to have the feelings of " the police are the only ones who should have guns", because history has shown that when the government has the guns, it's much easier for the people to be subjugated. This is actually the whole reason for the 2nd amendment in the first place, to keep the government in check, and secondarily for self defense.
There have been no studies that show gun control helps stop crime.. in fact it's been the opposite, and not from " right wing organizations" either , unless Harvard and the CDC are one - http://www.examiner.com/article/two-new-studies-confirm-gun-control-s-worst-nightmare-more-guns-less-crime
According to Bureau of Justice Statistics, there were 31,672 deaths from guns in the U.S. during 2010. Nearly 20,000 of those deaths were gun related suicides.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of Americans are unaware of this decline in firearms violence. The Pew study found that 56% incorrectly perceive that gun crime is actually higher now than it was two decades ago.
The Pew study utilized data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the DOJ National Crime Victimization Survey and the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports.
If you believe all guns should be banned, then the government should destroy all of it's guns too(and all those nice tanks police have been getting as they've become militarized), lets not be hypocrites here and go all the way.
most people outside the country, like brits, can never understand, just like most Americans can't understand the worship of a queen and royal family.
I consider myself a rational person, nevet carried away with emotion, and ive yet to see any rational arguments for banning all guns being a benefit to society. Show me studies, show me proof, and ill have to change my views.
Guns and video games are easy scapegoats when we want to ignore the real problems which are harder to deal with. Its like the Buddha's analogy of the dog and the lion... If you throw a stick the dog goes after the stick.. The lion goes right to the source, you.
In a violent neighborhood? Why not put effort into moving?
Afraid the government is coming after you? Sorry but your guns will have no effect.
I understand that taking guns away will end up with people killing each other with other things but at least most other means (except bombs) require some kind of skill.
A knife is used for all kinds of things but the guns sole purpose is to kill.
According to some news articles, something appeared to be wrong with this man, because now another woman has come forth saying this man followed her to the restroom and back when he spotted her also texting on another occasion.
See, when some of us say people shouldn't be allowed to bring guns to public events and places where people are crowded together, and that there should be a little more control over who gets to buy one, we're not saying nobody should be allowed to have guns. Gun rights people always try to claim that's our mission. Nor are we saying if we tighten the gun laws, it will magically stop all murders and shootings. That's another thing that keeps getting twisted in the debates.
But it's not about logic. For one thing, a person can legally carry a concealed gun that shoots bullets, but if the cops catch you carrying a switchblade, you're charged with a crime. Where are the "knife rights" people pointing out that laws against knifes won't keep criminals from having knifes?
Both sides have varying degrees, on the left the far end of the spectrum is total ban, the far end on the right is no laws or licenses or restrictions at all. The rest o f us are somewhere in the middle.
I live in the most gun restrictive state in the union, New Jersey, and the process was supposed to take 30 days for my license(which i dont mind), but my local pd took 6months. Whenever i buy ammo(which has been once in 3 years, its too expensive to shoot anymore) i have to sign a log that businesses are forced to have, which imo goes too far. There are a few common sense gun laws and many silly ones based out of emotions and ignorance, especially when politicians dont know basic gun knowledge and talk like they do. Meeting in the middle is hard to do.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/14/mexico-drug-war-seized-guns_n_876653.html
I don't mean to sound like a dink but will you be taking a gun with you when you join the ranks of the monastics?
Why or why not?
oh, sorry if I'm not surprised. Sort of reminds me of the recent case where a cop got acquitted in the case of beating a mentally ill homeless person to death. Or the sort of recent case in Chicago where a man was supposedly raped with a gun by police. Or even the case where a family called for help because they were afraid their mentally ill son was going to hurt himself. 70 seconds after arriving on the scene three cops had shot him dead, the kid did not have a firearm. And then there's the litany of cases involving the police and the ATF where they pushed mentally handicapped people repeatedly to sell drugs and weapons to them, and then arrest them. Never mind the fact that if the authorities had not pushed them to break the law in the first place, the mentally handicapped citizens would not have done it.
And people wonder why people own guns. Ever hear hear that absolute power corrupts absolutely? that's more or less what the police and government agencies have. I mean if you see a police officer beating the shit out of some mentally retarded lady on a bus, what can you do? "oh quick! call the po- ...oh..." And that last example was a real goddamned example. Luckily someone had a camera and went straight to the press with it.
There's being paranoid, and then there is simply being aware that incidents like that ones I have listed happen a lot more often than you goddamned think. Remember kids: you're eight times more likely to be killed by police, than a terrorist attack.
You refer to the Bodhisattva Vows being a bunch of "thou shalts". Well, nothing could be farther from the tuth and even a casual study of the Vows as they apply today, would reveal that.
On a different topic, what are you going to do with that gun when you go in the Monastery? I've never heard of any monk, even a Theravedin, who owned a gun of any sort. While I don't believe there's anything in the Vinaya that prohibits owning a weapon, it just doesn't seem right. Guns are meant to kill sentient beings. What would a monk be doing with such a thing?
And for the record, I own a gun. It's an old, Spanish-made 16ga double-barreled shotgun. I haven't fired the gun in 20 years and won't in the future. I keep it for sentimental purposes; it's a heirloom of sorts. It was a gun my Dad bought for my Mom, who never used it herself, which was probably the whole idea in the first place. I hunted with the gun as I grew up and I brought it to Colorado after I moved here. I hunted pheasants, once, with it, cleaned it and put it away and there it's stayed since.
If you believe it will be acceptable to have a gun with you at the monestery I think you are in for a surprise.
As a no-gun person I figured out long ago the US is not going to outlaw guns. So despite my opinions, I've let go of that.
So some of you preach letting go. Now, let go. You're totally spinning wheels on something that in any of our lifetimes is impractical.
You arent the first person to make a comment about me bringing a gun to a monastery, which is as silly as me bringing anything i own... Since im giving it all up.... I cant understand where that comment would even come from logically.
If one chooses to peg the value of a posting on whether it would change USA gun control laws, then perhaps you'd have a point in thinking it's all a waste of time......
But this is a web site that not only extends far beyond the USA borders but it applies mostly to Buddhists who find it's worth more to do with their own Dharmic explorations than with the securing of some political objective.
&
Letting go has little to do with avoiding the discussions which disappoint you but is instead the simple meditative practice of unleashing ourselves from our conditioning.
It also functions more effectively as a personal practice than as an imperial demand.
I was discussing this with some friends the other night who thought that
USA gun control could practically count as a religion in it's own right considering how fervently folks related to it.
I am sure this was how it was with any other past cultural fixations when as much personal investments were at stake. Slavery comes to mind, as one example.
Would you have remained silent about what you thought caused un nessesary suffering just because the subject caused folks to get very intense and emotionally upset over that topic?
Do think that some might of counciled you to remain silent over a topic that you have absolutely no control over?
Being willing to discuss something that is unpleasant to face is doing something about it.
Not being willing to discuss something that is unpleasant to face is not doing anything about it.