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what would Buddha make of Ted Bundy
SE25Wall
London Explorer
slaughtered his way around the states, tourturing victims, raping, murdering.
He had no diagnosable mental illness (i.e. non psychotic), but was obviously an extremely personality disordered individual. A classic psychopath.
If there's non-self, if we cannot control our own minds, if even wanting and craving are just concepts...
...what would Buddha make of someone like Ted Bundy?
Would he punish him?
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There is no punisher. Ultimately we "punish" ourselves through our actions.
In the case of Ted Bundy, I think the argument could be made that deep down, he was actually miserable. Regret and remorse are cruel tormentors. Or perhaps he was 'dead inside', as they say. Either way, I wouldn't want to peer inside his mind.
In traditional Buddhist cosmology, it would be argued that he was headed for one of the hell realms. Some Western Buddhists would argue that he was in a hell of his own making while he was alive.
The thing is, would Ted Bundy still be Ted Bundy after death? His whole personality might have changed.
As far as the Buddha is concerned, perhaps he would find a way to make him serve the common good. He might have made a good ascetic, using that psychopathy on himself. It’s difficult to say, since we are not the Buddha.
The buddha was a mortal human being like you and I who offered a roadmap to transcendence. I don't believe the buddha will do anything with anybody after they die as the buddha was a person and not a god....
Great answer @nakazcid
To clarify why I use the word human rather than man for the buddha is because its the human condition that counts. Transcending the human condition knows no boundaries of gender or any other kind. The buddha was a man of course but more importantly he was human. I certainly don't think he was "mansplaining" when he gave his talks...
https://www.lionsroar.com/great-enlightened-lady/
I think that what is more scary about men like Ted Bundy, as is the case with most psychopaths and sociopaths, is that at some level, they can function pretty well in our society with a high degree of normality.
They are proficient manipulators and charmers.
What would the Buddha make of him...?
What should he?
Angulimala, one of Buddhism's revered arahats, set out in life as a ruthless killer, very much like St Paul, who then turned into a venerated saint.
Religions and Philosophical creeds show us time and again that people can change for the better when the Enlightenment bulb suddenly clicks.
In real life, this is seldom the case, and we have seen many cases of recidivism among criminals.
The Buddha would probably display a compassionate attitude.
We, instead, might feel safer knowing that most of this men are locked away.
In Buddhist teaching (some) the cosmology is that there are vastly more beings in the lower realms of hell, hungry ghost, and animal than in human.
So there are many many beings like Ted Bundy and many even worse than him. These beings are in the hells and so forth because of their karma.
Buddhas try to connect those beings to the dharma somehow so they can stop going in a downwards cycle and instead go back upwards into a realm that they can practice the dharma.
Once in a lower realm it's hard to get out and back upwards into human realm, asura realm, or god realm. That is one reason why to make use of your opportunity here and now and create merit and create aspirations to practice in future lifetimes. And also be good to other beings and help them.
But many Buddhist teachings conceive that even hell beings and beings like Ted Bundy (or worse) can potentially improve and if they continue to improve and improve eventually can become good beings and enlightened.
This question reminds me of the story of one of Buddha's disciples name Aṅgulimāla.
Aṅgulimāla who had killed 99 people before meeting Buddha ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aṅgulimāla
@SE25Wall This may answer your question
A Mi Tuo Fo
@NMADDP , thank you for contributing, but if you read the previous comments, you might like to note that @buddhadragon already referred to him...?
Que? What does this mean?
What would you make? A nice pie perhaps?
Personally I don't know of him. I will not waste my attention. You?
He would consider him as suffering craving and deeply in a samsaric personal self-made hell.
Of course. Being Buddhist doesn't mean you don't implement the law.
The Law must be applied in every case where the law is broken, and if the person is guilty, they should be punished according to legal results.
A wise man once declared "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's."
So give the Law its due and permit it to act accordingly. But that doesn't preclude the Compassion and empathy the Buddha - or any Buddhist - would demonstrate.
A person who is deserving of great compassion because he is and will continue to experience great suffering.
No. Buddha is a monk not a policeman.
Great post as always @NMADDP .
Never mind the bluntness that followed. I always appreciate your input
A Mi Tuo Fo.