[Buddha-l] Re: Buddhism & War

[Dan Lusthaus]

Mike,

> >So is not attending to a termite infestation of one's home.
>
> Yes, termites eat wood. This is not the sort of violence to which I was
> referring. Also, it would be born of desire that is already present and
> not of anger stimulated by another being.

That's missing the point. The issue was predictability of violence, and the
issue I raised was the predictability of refraining from violence. Unless
you plan to move everytime a termite appears (and where you see one, there
are droves you don't see - and be careful you don't inadvertently move one
of them along with you), violence will be visited upon the hungry creatures.
Otherwise what happens to your house is as predictable as taking a wrecking
ball to it (only more slowly).

Of course, one could put all the exterminators and their families and their
descendents in quarantined neighborhoods so that their bad karma doesn't
spill on you (unless you call them for their services). Oh, forgot.
Buddhists already did that -- called the discriminated caste Burakamin (and
other labels), and their descendents are still living in those ghettos,
still being discriminated against re: employment, marriage, etc. In fact,
Buddhists even invented special derogatory posthumous names for them to be
placed in the official registers and used in posthumous rituals (and at the
grave). Of course, that sort of discrimination is not violence, is it (on a
par with chewing wood)?

Dan