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About the monk leading the problem situation in Burma
vinlyn
Colorado...for now Veteran
Comments
Comparing this monk to Bin Ladin is a stretch to say the least!
As long as he never promotes violence (ever!) why can't he be a Buddhist monk with political ideas and opinions? Why can't he be involved in protecting his religion and culture?
Encouraging others of his religion and cultural heritage to support and patronize their own before and/or instead of Muslim businesses, etc.... is called Boycotting. People do it in America - and all over the world - all the time.
Don't think Christians do the same thing? They certainly do, as anyone in the Knights of Columbus or any other "Christian based" organization knows.
When you take the extremist Muslim movement (and we need to admit there IS a radical Muslim movement in the world), and see it as a whole, there really is something to fear going on there.... It's not exactly a secret agenda, by any means.
Does this mean I "hate" Muslims? No, it doesn't. Does this mean I don't want Muslims to live in America or be my neighbors? No, it doesn't. It means I am not naive enough to believe there is no agenda within the radical Muslim community.
There is certainly a very nationalist and even racist direction in what he's advocating. I suppose as an American this sort of narrow national identity cuts against what the US is supposedly about and is only really seen in white supremacist groups and the like. Maybe in other parts of the world where nations are more homogenous and the identity isn't one of a melting pot these views are more commonplace.
there are extremists in every religion.
christian, hindu and buddhist extremists who espouse
violence to achieve their aims.
thank god/buddha, the days of the crusades are gone.
but go to india and you find hindu extremists
who will kill muslims.
and in burma, you find buddhist extremists who want to kill
muslims.
the situation in burma is alarming.
the muslim minority is under attack.
many of them end up as refugees in other countries.
hundreds have been killed.
it is not just a religious conflict, it is also ethnic strife.
the Rohingya people (who are muslims) who have been living as burma for generations are being told
they have to leave the country.
it is sad that such things still happen in 2013.
reminds me of buddha who described the world as mad.
otherwise, they will be mainstream, not extrem or radical.
His words are contributing and escalating the ethnic cleansing going on in their nation right now. The fact that there are muslim extremists out there is irrelevant. These aren't terrorists that are being killed and driven from their homes. They're innocent men, women and children.
By the way, he's the one who proudly calls himself a "Buddhist Bin Ladin", not the press.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/12/world/asia/buddhists-get-prison-terms-in-myanmar.html?_r=0
I'm not saying what he is doing/saying is ok, or right. But he wouldn't be the first person to take his religion and twist it to suit his fears.
I'm not in anyway condoning his words or actions, I just feel like it's the same kind of reaction you see in other countries and he probably thinks he's doing the right thing.
Why our state passed marriage equality, some of the comments from those against it were so, so sad and fearful that I felt bad for them. I still didn't agree with them obviously, but it was hard not to feel their pain and how very strongly they felt about this, and how they honestly and truly believe this is such a horrible thing to be doing. They felt the exact same as I would have it if hadn't passed. Completely sunken. I imagine that is part of how this monk and his followers feel, or are trying to avoid feeling. Doesn't make it right. But to me, makes it more understandable.
It would be interesting to be one of those people for a day, to think what they think and feel how they feel, because to me it looks like SO much fear, fear of losing something that is in constant flux anyhow (culture). It makes me wonder what they think when they read things in their scripture, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, or whatever...and read things that seem so obvious to us to be in conflict with their actions. I wonder what they really think of those things, if they twist them to be ok in their minds, or skip over them, or what exactly.
I am totally confused :scratch: I thought I placed this under the "Buddhist Soldier" thread???
You did. I presumed it was in response to @I_AM_THAT 's comment, (duplicated by him, above) because he flagged it as having been put into the wrong thread. As your post followed directly, I thought you were replying to him, and brought your comment here, accordingly.... (Knit one, pearl three, PSSO....)
said that in the army, you dont kill people.
you just 'neutralise enemy combatants'
the language is carefully crafted to soften the horrors of war.
another favorite is 'collateral damage'.
i wonder how a soldier will feel if the collateral damage was his wife or daughter. (Previous comment posted in wrong thread. I have supplied here, the answer that Theswingisyellow responded with there.)