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Graduation Present?!
Well, it won't quite be a gift since I'll have to pay for it, but it will certainly top any graduation present that I might get this week.
My uncle is a big time gun collector. His expertise and subsequently, his arsenal of weapons, consist mostly of WWI up through the end of the Korean War. He said he'd be happy to sell me one of his guns for just $100! I get to see him this weekend, and we're going out shooting at a range in the next couple weeks hopefully. I don't know what exactly he'd be willing to sell, but I'd personally love to get the German Kararbiner 1898, better known as the Kar 98. It was used from the Great War up through the fall of the Third Reich.
I'm looking forward to being a collector myself as I get older. Any other collectors out there?
*That is not me by the way. It's just a random picture I found of the gun.
My uncle is a big time gun collector. His expertise and subsequently, his arsenal of weapons, consist mostly of WWI up through the end of the Korean War. He said he'd be happy to sell me one of his guns for just $100! I get to see him this weekend, and we're going out shooting at a range in the next couple weeks hopefully. I don't know what exactly he'd be willing to sell, but I'd personally love to get the German Kararbiner 1898, better known as the Kar 98. It was used from the Great War up through the fall of the Third Reich.
I'm looking forward to being a collector myself as I get older. Any other collectors out there?
*That is not me by the way. It's just a random picture I found of the gun.
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Comments
Modern weaponry is intensely ugly. In more ways than one.
I didn't think it was you in the 'photo.... The Avatar is obviously the portrait..... I knew that....!
I'll reserve judgement on the suitability of collecting weapons, if you don't mind. Others more experienced in Buddhist teaching might be able to comment on the mindfulness of that.
I hate to tell you, but the K98 along with most of the Great War weaponry was unbelievably accurate for its time. Its predecessor, the smooth bore musket, was lethal at around 50 meters or so. In contrast, the gun pictured (K98) is accurate anywhere up to 600 meters! That's a pretty big leap to make in a single generation.
On the bright side, it's not too modern.
Naturally!
Don't forget who the teddy bear was named after; a raving jingoist who hunted elephants!
But don't worry. I can't remember the last time I've heard of anyone being killed around here with a rifle of any sort, let alone a German Mauser.
Ted Kennedy?
Palzang
Try a Republican!
And indict another!
Palzang
Oh, KoB, I know how you feel. I purchased a katana some time back, it was WWII era. It was awesome, the first time I held that sword, knowing that a Japanese Officer had carried it into battle. It's safely stowed away right now, but knowing it's still there gives me the chills still.
He is certainly one of my personal heroes thanks in part to the rugged lifestyle he pursued and his philosophy in general. The most astounding thing to me is the fact that he was nearly assassinated during the 1912 presidential run. The bullet was slowed down somewhat by his eye glass case and his prepared speech in his breast pocket. He was bleeding somewhat, but he shrugged it off and continued on with his 90 minute speech. He was quoted shortly after as saying, "It takes more than a bullet to kill a Bull Moose!"
You can't help but admire that.
But isn't that precisely the problem, Bushi? Look at the 'certain things': the inferiority of non-white 'races' and of women as one example. On the other hand, am I not right that President Theodore Roosevelt believed in universal health care centrally funded? Did you mean that?
And, of course, as you point out, the pernicious, fraudulent and genocidal doctrine of "manifest destiny" gives one little confidence in the 'good' in "good old days".
As for Teddy Roosevelt favoring universal healthcare, he never followed through with it because he saw the same problem I did. Take the profit out, and you take the desire to innovate new technologies, therapies, and treatments. And health insurance was unheard of in his day, so subsidizing something that didn't exist wasn't an option.
Captain Bligh (of Mutiny on the Bounty fame) was considered by his superiors a real "softie" by his superiors because, compared to the normal conditions on HM ships, Bligh treated his men very well and it was even suggested at his Court Martial that it was his own fault the mutiny happened because he hadn't been hard enough on his men. It was only his excellent seamanship in getting his loyal crew to safety in the small boat in which they were set adrift, that got him off.
And, of course, we cannot forget Bligh's enormous contribution to botanical knowledge from his subsequent voyages: Kew Gardens would not exist without his discoveries.
But...keep in mind that he also won the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating a peace between Russia and Japan. We have him to thank for many of the national parks in America today. Remember too that he was sharply criticized for having invited a black man to come dine with him in the White House. So in a way, he was a bit ahead of his times.
We shouldn't 'Judge'.
Full stop.
No, we shouldn't. Doesn't stop us now and then though, does it?
I was expecting this response sooner or later. But I don't see how it plays out practically. Consider this example....
Mr. Jones is 50 years old. He is a loving father and grandfather. He volunteers at the animal shelter and helps his elderly neighbors with their house upkeep. Despite his fondness for drinking, he is otherwise a very good man.
Full Stop!
Who am I to judge such a person as being good? His actions might be good, but that does not mean that he is necessarily good. He certainly can't be good all the time. So it would be very unwise to label someone like him as "good." We shouldn't label anyway, right?
I believe judging people is not only a good thing, but a necessary thing. Everybody judges other people. If people treat us well, we judge them as being good. If they don't treat us well, we judge them much less favorably.
How is one supposed to commend the good if we cannot judge, or condemn the evil for that matter? We judge genocide as bad for good reasons and we judge selflessness and charity as good for good reasons. Is it wrong to think this way?
Judge the deed, not the do-er.
The guy is not stupid.
he just does stupid things.
The man is not Good.
But he does Good things.
And then we discover we're talking about the same person.
So who's right?
It's all relative.
You're right.
It doesn't.
But it should.
I will be the first to agree and admit that I have done this.
Repeatedly, and often.
but I have a tendency to keep "judgemental" discussions private.... that is, with people I feel very comfortable discussing such issues with.
I don't generally make my feelings known on public fora, if I can possibly help or avoid it.
But even this might be construed as hypocritical, and two faced.
Private or public, it's the same thing.
I can't, I suppose, in any way justify doing one thing, and doing the other....
Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech...
Public, private.
It's the same thing.
Mindfulness.
Ok, that's food for thought......
Thanks KW...!:thumbsup:
My original post was wrongly worded too - I should have said "judging people's actions", not judging people. Hate the sin, not the sinner.
As for striving for the highest ideals and failing, finding ourselves indulging in less that Right speech, thought etc ............... umm, isn't that just being totally human, but the realisation that it is wrong is the path which will lead to enlightenment?
There was a discussion on another Forum about the importance of remaining "in the Moment".
One of the board elders, (my term) posted this comment...
So whilst we need to remain 'In the moment', that in itself, is insufficient, not to say completely useless, unless it is underpinned by Mindfulness.
Mindfulness, Moment by Moment.
What a Challenge.....!!
I too have problems following my own precepts - trying to kind, trying to treat everyone the same and as if they were my close family ........... it's not easy. But we try. We keep on failing and we keep on trying. Otherwise we might as well give up and be as selfish and greedy and materialist as everyone else ............... and then what kind of mess would it be?
I think I might have taken poor KoB's thread a little off-topic...
Sorry 'bout that, KoB!
If you'd rather I trimmed the thread, I'll put the posts elsewhere....
we do tend to chat on here tho' don't we?
Which I don't think is an entirely bad thing, because we do get some great discussions going...
But let me know if you'd prefer to have them moved, and I'll create a new thread, maybe....
It's a Russian rifle typically used by snipers in the 2nd World War. I got to see it the other day and hold it for a while. It's such a strange feeling holding these old guns, knowing almost without a doubt that the weapon you are firing killed someone over 60 years ago.
That's very true. With the German rifle at least, you can be almost absolutely certain that whoever originally owned the weapon died. Most of the imported German Mausers actually come from Russia and were originally confiscated from German prisoners. Hardly anyone survived the Soviet prisons.