[Buddha-l] Re: Buddhist pacifism

[Benito Carral]

On Thursday, October 13, 2005, Richard P. Hayes 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?

> It  has  nothing  to  do  with purity. Buddhist moral
> thinking is based on upekkhaa (non-partiality).

   I  think  that we are forgetting something important
about  the Buddhist cosmovision, i.e. karma. If someone
kills  other,  he will get bad karma and be reborn in a
worst  environment.  If  someone practices non-violence
even  to  the extent of offering his relative's and own
life,  he will get good karma and be reborn in a better
enviroment. It is clear that many westerners don't like
such  an  Indian view of karma and so they overlook its
role in Buddhist soteriology.

   Best wishes,

   Beni