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Sadly Yet Another Terror Attack In Istanbul Turkey
Shoshin
No one in particularNowhere Special Veteran
This time a nightclub in Istanbul ...Many dead and wounded ....
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/turkey-terror-attack-live-updates-9544682
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Comments
I wish I could say I was surprised. But sadly, I expected worse
Very sad for all involved. May all beings be safe, well, and happy. It depends on the motivation behind the killings, these people are very badly deluded, twisted minds.
The first thing I saw when I looked at the news on the first morning of the New Year. Very sad.
Of course, the hearts of all reasonable people everywhere go out to Istanbul, that greatest City in the world! However, when is someone going to address the Heart of Darkness which is the current Islamic Jihad? It's clear that it Will not come from the politician class.
I hate to say this, but I know it's true. The American people have invited more of this terror upon themselves with their election of the hatred-spewing, trouble-making Donald Jeepers Trump. America will be the next target, as is clear from the reaction in the Mideast to his election. It was bad enough of an insult for the "Infidel" to set up camp in Saudi Arabia during George H.W. Bush's tenure in the White House. They really should have set up an embargo against Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait, rather than going against all these Muslim sensibilities. But no, Oil seemed more important at the time!
Then, years later, because some Iraqis tried to kill his ex-president daddy, George W. comes along and jumps at the chance to believe the worst about Saddam Hussein's arsenal...
When will the nations ever learn, and why do people vote for people who have absolutely no knowledge of history? It's bound to be repeated if the politicians are not held in check by higher knowledge.
May, Somehow, The Great Force Be With Us!
why do we make such a big deal about these so called terror attacks. how many people died from terror attacks in the last 10 years? how many people die from gun violence , war , hunger etc. honestly, there are many bigger problems in this world than worrying about isis and terror attacks.
The chances of being killed in a terrorist attack are about 1 in 20 million. A person is as likely to be killed by his or her own furniture, and more likely to die in a car accident, drown in a bathtub, or in a building fire than from a terrorist attack.
there will always be some nuts in any religion. remember the oklahoma bombing? they were christians. in burma, you wirathu, the buddhist bin laden. in india, they have shiv shena who wants to create a hindu nation.
Moderator note: Successive posts combined.
Wow hermit, who pissed in your wheaties this morning?
Regressive strategy #1. Ignore problem, point to other problems...
@hermitwin We make a big deal out of these terror attacks because they are a problem. Look at the stats. People are being killed nearly every day. And the overwhelming majority of attacks are being perpetrated by Muslim terrorist organizations. Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and Jews kill nowhere near the amount of people that Muslims are killing.
Gun violence and war are separate issues. The number of deaths that occur because of them are alarming as well. But please don't muddy the waters here.
People die in accidents all the time. It's part of life. There will always be risk involved in driving, or working, etc. We understand that these deaths are preventable, and take measures to reduce them.
With that kind of attitude @hermitwin , no wonder your visits are few and far between. [Last here Sept. '16. Before that, June '16....]
Speaking as an ordinary member, I must say it suits me just fine.
@hermitwin your comments make an interesting point regarding how we can perceive things differently...I guess this would also depend on the mood one is in at the time...
In war torn countries where the killing of large numbers of people is commonplace eg, by terror attacks , it is sad, but it is also the nature of the beast of war, that is, to be expected...a sad truth...
In countries where there are no wars, but as you have already mentioned people are dying through accidents, murders, starvation etc, terror attacks are a problem because if one wants to carry on living a 'normal' life, one is at risk anyplace anytime (soft targets) and really have no means of preparing for such an attack, and this is where fear & paranoia can creep into the populous , normal life is disrupted, many will stop going places and doing things...
A population is made of 'individuals' and for many people being shot, blown up or mutilated/butchered is a concern and some will take this concern more seriously than others, that is fear & paranoia becomes part of their daily living....They feel that they could be the "one" in the million who will be killed....
True...nobody is disputing this....However the vast majority of people being killed by Muslim extremists in terror attacks are other Muslims...
Istanbul/Constantinople where East meets/blends with West...Turkey so it would seem is in/on the front line when it comes to Muslim extremist terror attacks in Eurasia ....
Why try to cure cancer when there are other diseases?
But seriously @hermitwin, I think most of us are more concerned about the people that are being harmed than worried that we will be next.
Life is dhukka, said the Buddha.
Life/material world cannot be fixed. It is what it is. That's why buddha preached liberation from samsara, not solutions to samsara.
So we just let this stuff happen and don't do anything about it?
So the next time your car breaks down, leave it be. The next time you might lose your job, let it be.
The next time anyone does or says anything against your family, let it be.
Can't be fixed. Right?
The Buddha spoke of empathy, Compassion, Kindness, equanimity and Wisdom.
He didn't say anything about avoidance or turning your back on Life.
What an effing copout. Don't twist the Buddha's words so you can hide behind them.
What the hell is wrong with some people in here lately? Did we cop a wanker virus with the start of 2017 or something?
Language, Madam.....
Yes Mum
This morning atheist friend sent this video about labelling
This to me is about alignment. Even though I have a lot of time for secular and devout Islamic mysticism, I have little patience for militant Buddhists, evangelist Christians or demented Jihad bombers. Shame on them. Such anger, such distortion, such hateful and counter productive actions.
However I also feel little good comes from my righteous anger and utter condemnation.
Just as FUD, negativity and manipulation, radicalisation and extremism are easily resonated with, we can also choose and resonate and amplify the kind, good and improving of peoples well being found in and out of religion. To most of us it is a simple choice.
It doesn't need to be fixed, it needs to be understood.
Are you going to single-handedly stop the bad guys à la Rambo?
That's not actually the point, is it? The main point is your interpretation and understanding of what the Buddha taught. You're the one at odds, here, not us....
No. Of course not!
@federica is correct. If you think what the Buddha taught was that we just let stuff happen without doing anything then you don't understand the teachings.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2011/may/11/buddhism-bin-laden-death-dalai-lama
She is. It is us. [who guessed?]
The world revolves around fat cats, internet cat memes and the latest 'world improver' blowing up their ego and themselves. Painful, useless, nonsense it is.
We are the balance, the Jedhi. We will not be seduced by the Dank side of the Farce ...
Did the buddha advise us to waste time on things over which we have no control?
Well said @techie Bravo.
Be kind and concerned where it makes a difference. Ourself as a start. Selfish?
Real more like.
A transformed person is our aim. A transformed society is our potential.
I thought you were implying we should just let stuff happen to ourselves and those around us in general life. Not specific to this case.
Apologies of I misinterpreted your post.
Carry on......
You're mangling your understanding again. It would be nice if you revised your original post and elaborated a bit on what you actually meant, rather than responding with monosyllabic one-liners.
How is being concerned for the welfare of others and recoiling from horrors visited upon them wasting time? It's true that we haven't much say in how every derned thing turns out, but what we do and say and how we react Does make a difference. Who warned you, @techie, to be such an Idolater of Time?
If caring about strangers and victims of violence is wasting time, then what's the point of believing in justice, that human enterprise par excellence? Sending condolences and donations makes a difference. Look, we're all in this together. People suffer, come what may; and this suffering informs us, or rather should inform us, of the need to be kinder and gentler with others. Intentional horrors visited on people by others are especially odious and egregious. (And then, there is the Spectre raised by each odious attack, which is the Terrorist's chief objective: A future monstrously huge Terror event. For that very specter's sake alone, we should not minimize any casualty —but should care even more.)
The Lord Buddha and those who followed him did inform of us of our Need Not To Be Callous Spectators, but Involved with humankind in our own specific calling or manner.
That is not what is occurring.
Every day people are dying, being killed in wars, government sponsored suffering, through starvation, atrocious civil wars, ignorance in every sphere etc.
Posting a selected atrocity is just the usual ineffectual, 'isn't it terrible'. Of course it is, of course it is repulsive, despicable behavour.
The solution is of value. It involves going to the mosques, dialoguing and dealing with the radicalisation. Engaging. In other words we can be involved in solutions in some minor capacity or just the usual armchair metta providers ...
and now back to the concerned
Ditto
Death by violence is at a tiny fraction of what it was centuries ago and even much lower than only decades ago. We can't really get any kind of good sense of how bad a problem this kind of thing is by reading headlines, we really have to look at the broad overall trends.
It's not that we shouldn't make efforts to stop attacks like this, the question is how much effort, money and freedoms should we give to do it? If lone wolf terror attacks kill 50 or 100 or 1,000 people each year should we spend more than we spend on heart disease (17.5 million in 2014) or cancer (7.6 million in 2013) because it is scary? Isn't that why they call it terrorism, because it is meant to cause fear? So if it causes us to act disproportionately because we're afraid then isn't it accomplishing its goal? As a Buddhist are you alright with making decisions based in fear?
Edit: Having looked a little more into it, in 2015 there were 11,774 terrorist attacks worldwide killing 28,328 people.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/11774-number-terror-attacks-worldwide-dropped-13-2015