[Buddha-l] Re: Buddhist pacifism

[Tom Troughton]

On Thu, 13 Oct 2005 14:21:06 +0200, Joy Vriens wrote:

>Tom Troughton wrote:
>
>> If I understand you both well, you would let loved ones suffer rather
>> than damage your own purity. Is this typical of Buddhist moral
>> thinking?
>
>I am seriously considering giving up my loved ones. As soon as I admit 
>loving someone, an anti-pacifist pops up and wants to me to go to the 
>other end of the earth and throw atom bombs or cluster bombs on people 
>that need my love too. Besides my loved ones have let me know they are 
>are getting fed up with having to pop up and being used as a potential 
>target for aggressors every time I have a discussion with an 
>anti-pacifist.

hehe. A thorough-going renunciation of the world and the suffering of
the beings in it seems to solve one problem while creating another, and
vice-versa. Abandoning a thorough-going engagement with problem solving
also creates problems. What to do? The inference of anti-pacifism is
interesting, but I am more curious if you think that Buddhist moral
thinking revolves around a valuing of personal ontological purity over
and above action.

Best wishes

Tom