Worthy bodhisattva,
"Husband & wife, both of them
In 2001, the Taliban destroyed two statues of the Buddha in Bamiyan, Afghanistan dating from the third century. Note that there were no riots in response to this action, which was presumably worse by degree than the publication of the now-famous cartoons (since arguably the Bamiyan Buddhas were cultural relics of historical value to us all). Here's a good article by the International Humanist and Ethical Union.
I came down with a cold this weekend and woke up this morning with a sore throat, achy back and joints and that "run over by a Mack truck" feeling.
One day, a young mother came to see the Buddha. She was overcome with grief and carried her dead infant in her arms. Having heard of his great powers, she begged him to bring her baby back to life. He agreed to do so, and told her that he needed only a single mustard seed from a household that had known no suffering.
by Carolyn Chute
This is another in a series of guest columns that examine the forging of public policy in the nation's capital. Carolyn Chute has written "The Beans of Egypt, Maine," "Letourneau's Used Auto Parts" and, most recently, "Merry Men."
Congress, we were told when we were in our formative years, is where the senators and representatives go to represent us. We live in a democracy which means when it comes to the sovereign power of our government, we are that power. Not a king. Not a queen. Not a dictator. But us, THE PEOPLE. Through our votes we have our voice. And through our freedom of speech and the rights to assemble and to petition.
Also those fiery idealistic ingenious hardworking radicals of our past cooked up another wonderful idea for us: state govenunent. This was nice. More personal. More handy. More part of the local grapevine. Easier to keep tabs on.
But the best thing of all about state government was its job of approving or disapproving and revoking corporate charters. For years and years, if corporations didn't do things in the best interests of communities, but treated their workers like animals, made nasties in the rivers, bullied', cheated or lied, THE PEOPLE made a racket and their legislators tore those charters up into confetti.
Meanwhile, rich folk were paying income taxes and property taxes like the rest of us and life went on.
Have you had a queer feeling lately that the sovereign power of THE PEOPLE has shifted? Have you felt as though corporations have become people and you are just a concept? Seems nobody in government even recognizes the existence of "employees," small farms or small business today. Or small anything. (Oh, excuse me. Today your small business is called micro-biz.) Welfare, real welfare, goes to corporations instead of your family or neighbors when they need it. Your grown kids can't afford a house. Lucky if they can afford a camper. (But then try living in a camper and the government will fine you.)
Meanwhile, your local and state tax bases aren't stretching because the people who pay the taxes are losing their jobs or working part time, and the people who make mountains of money pay NO TAXES. Your little squeaks of dismay are unheard. Your values are being called "provincial." Your grandfather's 32 Special hanging on the wall is being called "dangerous." Your kids are being called "unprepared." Your fears are being called "silly," "neurotic" or "fringe." Hundreds of articles are telling us that America is cynical . . . that cynicism is naughty, is unpatriotic, is ungrateful. "Look" they say, "just look at the starving masses in Bookibimmi. Look at the country that has the wild-man ruler and women who wear things over their faces and aren't allowed to show off their legs. Feel lucky!!!"
So you feel chastened. You hang your head. But you don't have a job! Or your job is in a place with no windows. No benefits. Practically no pay. Or just no variety, a job where one day is the predictable echo of the last, a living-death job. Your nghts in the shadow of corporate rights are only a notch above animal rights and you are aware that animal rights are dismal. Inflation is dogged. Government deficits billow. Advertisers expand our children's minds with all that they shall covet in the guise of all that they shall NEED. You dismantle your TV. But now TV is in the schools! Two paper companies own the state of Maine, two hog companies own Iowa, one chemical company owns Wisconsin.
Three hundred percent profit on your heart medicine. Machines answer the telephones wherever you call. Machines have all the jobs. Machines are getting all the trees, all the fish, shipping all your state's resources off to Wakakawasakimawa and there's nothing left but stumps and highways and Wal-Much and Video-Grab-N-Go. Your babies are in day care, then school, then colleges, then gone. Gone where? To Ploontooki, Minn., or San Crisco, Calif., or some "neighborhood" of the vast global corporate village, yes, your children gone, raising your Polaroid grandchildren and keeping the Mother's Day card corporations joyously dancing.
"But listen!" the articles remind you. "You are not the starving Bookibimmians! You have food! Pretty food. And supermarkels with aisles as wide as city streets. And you can show off your legs. Stop complaining. In this country you have opportunities everywhere. Stop thinking negatively. You make your own luck.
"What do you mean every five years things are worse so therefore in five years it'll be worse and then in five more years . . . You need therapy maybe? Or one of the publishing industry's books on how to breathe differently in order to control your thoughts? You say you are worried there won't be enough money for basics like breakfast. And the computer which soon will be required to keep you in touch. Hogwash. Things are getting better. The recession is over! Congress is fixing things! And the president . . . if only we can find the right president, he'll FIX it all for us!!"
Yeah, I've been reading these articles and, my friends, I'm a little tired of this double-think bull.
First of all I should confess to you that I read only articles and newsletters that don't have pictures. And I have no TV. So if Bill Clinton, Jesse Helms, Bob Dole and O.J. Simpson all walked into this room right now, I would not know which was which. I consider their faces and their three-line quotes to be as trivial as sports stars and sports scores. I'm not the kind of radical that believes in blowing up government buildings. In the 1990s if you think for yourself, you're a radical.
I have a solution. Hear me out. Shut off the TV a minute. Listen. I would like to see the doors to Congress locked. For 10 years. Yes with our elected officials inside. They can't get out. We'll keep them comfortable. Lots of nice foods. Music. Movies. The ballet. Comedians. Big bands. Big orgies if they want. I don't care what they do in there. As long as MEGATROPOLIS INSURANCE MUTUAL AND TRUST and DUOTRON FOODS and MATRIX COMMUNICATIONS and CHEVASAKI AUTO and MONSANTDUPONZINCMECURICO CORP. can't get in.
Same with the State Houses. Doors locked.
Meanwhile, THE PEOPLE get busy as bees. ALL TVs are off. Instead we MEET. We get educated on what our sovereign rights really are. We learn the real history of business and business-charter making, where it's been and where it is now. There would be a great stir in all our households and meeting places and in the streets. We would be writing up proposals to our state legislators that would sound somcthing like this:
"We urge local and state elected officials to adopt this Resolulion: `Whereas only citizens have sovereign authority to grant charters of incorporation: now, Therefore, be it resolved, that the legislature of this state redefine, the process and criteria for granting corporate charters to our specifications; restore civic authority over the governance of existing corporate charters to our specifications; and finally, revoke the charters of harmful corporations and revoke the certificatcs of authority of harmful foreign and alien corporations operating in our state.'"
Then we write out our demands of Congress that the rich be taxed . . . REALLY taxed.
We decide also to challenge the prevailing judicial doctrines
And we strengthen ourselves against the blackmail that corporations always use on us if we don't let them do anything they want: They'll leave the state and take all our jobs. Good riddance! Where the great oak falls, many little cheery saplings will sprout.
Now THE PEOPLE surround the State Houses and Congress in huge mean-looking mobs, vast masses of Americans filling filling the streets.
"Silently, our eyes stare straight at the doors that are being unlocked. Out steps the Congress men and women, slightly older. They look down from the doorways and see THE PEOPLE. We are shoulder to shouder, rank and file. We call out, "HELLO THERE SENATORS! REPRESENTATIVES! WE HAVE SOMETHING WE WANT YOU TO DO!"
The senators and representatives, of course, are all smiling. They say happily. "Anything you want, you can have! It's really such a great idea, this democracy idea . . . once you give it a bit of thought."
We are watching that clash of civilizations in real time as Muslims across Europe and the Arab world take to the streets to protest twelve editorial cartoons that appeared in a Danish newspaper in September. One cartoon in Denmark's Jyllands-Posten showed the Prophet Mohammed with a headdress shaped like a bomb. In another, Mohammed says that paradise is running short on virgins for suicide bombers. That’s both funny and sad. In other words, a good editorial cartoon.
After death threats began arriving at the offices of J-P, newspapers in Germany, Netherlands, Spain, France, and Italy decided to reprint the cartoons in a spirit of solidarity and in the name of freedom -- both of the press and of expression. Germany's Die Welt editorialized that the "right to blaspheme" is firmly anchored in Europe's democratic freedoms.
Since then the furor has increased considerably. On Thursday, February 1, Palestinian gunmen surrounded the offices of the EU in Gaza. European embassies across the Arab world shuttered their doors while Arab embassies in Europe recalled their ambassadors. Muslims are boycotting Danish goods and Danish flags have been burned in nearly every Arab city. Syria demanded that those responsible for the cartoons be punished. The offices of Jyllands-Posten closed Thursday after two bomb threats. The staff at the Norwegian newspaper Magazinet has also received death threats, and more threats seem likely.
Many are curious why the protests have begun now, more than four months after the cartoons' original publication. The Brussels Journal reports that the pot was stirred by a band of Danish Muslim clerics that have been touring Arab countries handing out copies of the offending cartoons (and even more denigrating cartoons that did not appear in any European paper, such as one's depicting a praying Muslim being raped by a dog, and Mohammed with a pig snout.) Apparently September's relatively mild reaction to the cartoons, largely confined to Denmark, was not sufficient for the rabble-rousing clerics.
Westerners, watching the scenes of protest and mayhem unfold, are doubtless wondering why these Arabs are so riled up over some silly cartoons published in a Danish paper. Many Arabs, meanwhile, see this incident as a deliberate provocation against Islam, a faith in which it is not just the content of an image of the Prophet that is potentially blasphemous, but the very act of depiction. It doesn't matter whether the images appear in a newspaper in Riyahd or on the planet Mars. Any image is sacrilege, so someone must pay.
Someone already has. On Thursday, the Egyptian owner of the newspaper France Soir, Raymond Lakah, sacked the paper’s managing editor for reprinting the cartoon, under the headline, "Yes, We Have the Right to Caricature God." The paper's staff rallied to their editor's defense, publishing a front page editorial which said in part that "religious freedom gives people the right to practice their faith or not, but should not become a means to impose the rules of a single religion on society as a whole."
It now seems the death threats and armed protests are beginning to have their desired effect. The editors of Jyllands-Posten have apologized for offending the Muslim religion and promise to consider Muslims' feelings before they run anything that might be considered offensive. Some European governments, notably the French, have criticized the press for publishing the cartoons. But the fact is there is a lot of truth in the Danish cartoons. Suicide bombers do find justification in the words of their prophet. The protests, however, have not concerned the content of the cartoons, so much as the simple depiction of Mohammed. The question now becomes whether Western societies decide to adopt Islamic traditions at the expense of its own traditions -- such as satire -- so as not to give offense.
Westerners do lots of things that are antithetical to various world religions. They eat pork and beef and drink gallons of booze. They fornicate freely and dress like floozies. They keep their stores open on the Sabbath. All of this offends the fundamentalists of one tradition or another.
It is not uncommon that great conflicts begin over trivial incidents. The Great Indian Mutiny of 1857 began after Muslims and Hindus were ordered to use rifle cartridges supposedly greased with pig and cow fat. The loss of a ship captain's auditory appendage sparked the War of Jenkin's Ear (1739-1742). This cartoonish row may blow over soon, but its consequences may echo for years to come.
Western observers are undecided whether the editors of European newspapers have been courageous or foolhardy. Why publish the cartoons in the first place? Carsten Juste, the Jyllands-Posten editor, said the cartoons were a test of whether the threat of Islamic terrorism had limited the freedom of expression in Denmark. "We wanted to show how deeply entrenched self-censorship has already become," he told Der Spiegel. But if thousands of Danish workers are laid off because of the boycotts, or if a newspaper office or embassy is attacked and hundreds of innocent people are killed will the "test" be worth it? On Thursday Der Speigel asked Jyllands-Posten's political editor that very same question.
"Yes, it was worth it," he said.
Christopher Orlet, a columnist for The American Spectator Online, runs the Existential Journalist website.
(From www.killingthebuddha.com)
As indicated in a prior post, I am quite concerned with the violent response to the publication of certain cartoons by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. Several of the cartoons were critiques of fundamentalist, militant Islam, like the now-famous illustration of Mohammed wearing a bomb-shaped turban. Some of them were surely offensive to Muslims.
I have heard some say that there can be no moral compass without God (or Jesus). I disagree, and the universality of moral principles supports my view. The "Golden Rule" is echoed throughout most of the world's religious and spiritual paths, whether they posit the Abrahamic God, Jesus, the multitude of Hindu dieties, pantheism or no god at all.The Dalai Lama
Here are some statements of the Golden Rule from different spiritual traditions:
Bahá'í:
"Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not." "Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself." Baha'u'llah
"And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself." Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
Brahmanism: "This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you". Mahabharata, 5:1517
Buddhism:
"...a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how could I inflict that upon another?" Samyutta NIkaya v. 353
Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." Udana-Varga 5:18
Christianity:
"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." Matthew 7:12, King James Version.
"And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." Luke 6:31, King James Version.
"...and don't do what you hate...", Gospel of Thomas 6. The Gospel of Thomas is one of about 40 gospels that were widely accepted among early Christians, but which never made it into the Christian Scriptures (New Testament).
Confucianism:
"Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you" Analects 15:23
"Tse-kung asked, 'Is there one word that can serve as a principle of conduct for life?' Confucius replied, 'It is the word 'shu' -- reciprocity. Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.'" Doctrine of the Mean 13.3
"Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence." Mencius VII.A.4
Ancient Egyptian:
"Do for one who may do for you, that you may cause him thus to do." The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, 109 - 110 Translated by R.B. Parkinson. The original dates to 1970 to 1640 BCE and may be the earliest version ever written. 3
Hinduism:
"One should not behave towards others in a way which is disagreeable to oneself." Mencius Vii.A.4
"This is the sum of the Dharma [duty]: do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you." Mahabharata 5:1517
Humanism:
"(5) Humanists acknowledge human interdependence, the need for mutual respect and the kinship of all humanity."
"(11) Humanists affirm that individual and social problems can only be resolved by means of human reason, intelligent effort, critical thinking joined with compassion and a spirit of empathy for all living beings. " 4
"Don't do things you wouldn't want to have done to you, British Humanist Society. 3
Islam: "None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." Number 13 of Imam "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths." 5
Jainism:
"Therefore, neither does he [a sage] cause violence to others nor does he make others do so." Acarangasutra 5.101-2.
"In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self." Lord Mahavira, 24th Tirthankara
"A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated. "Sutrakritanga 1.11.33
Judaism:
"...thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.", Leviticus 19:18
"What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. This is the law: all the rest is commentary." Talmud, Shabbat 31a.
"And what you hate, do not do to any one." Tobit 4:15 6
Native American Spirituality:
"Respect for all life is the foundation." The Great Law of Peace.
"All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to ourselves. All is really One." Black Elk
Roman Pagan Religion: "The law imprinted on the hearts of all men is to love the members of society as themselves."
Shinto: "The heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your own form"
Sikhism:
Compassion-mercy and religion are the support of the entire world". Japji Sahib
"Don't create enmity with anyone as God is within everyone." Guru Arjan Devji 259
"No one is my enemy, none a stranger and everyone is my friend." Guru Arjan Dev : AG 1299
Sufism: "The basis of Sufism is consideration of the hearts and feelings of others. If you haven't the will to gladden someone's heart, then at least beware lest you hurt someone's heart, for on our path, no sin exists but this." Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh, Master of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order.
Taoism:
"Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss." T'ai Shang Kan Ying P'ien.
"The sage has no interest of his own, but takes the interests of the people as his own. He is kind to the kind; he is also kind to the unkind: for Virtue is kind. He is faithful to the faithful; he is also faithful to the unfaithful: for Virtue is faithful." Tao Teh Ching, Chapter 49
Unitarian: "We affirm and promote respect for the interdependent of all existence of which we are a part." Unitarian principles.
Wicca: "An it harm no one, do what thou wilt" (i.e. do what ever you will, as long as it harms nobody, including yourself). One's will is to be carefully thought out in advance of action. This is called the Wiccan Rede
Yoruba (Nigeria): "One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts."
Zoroastrianism:
"That nature alone is good which refrains from doing unto another whatsoever is not good for itself". Dadistan-i-dinik 94:5
"Whatever is disagreeable to yourself do not do unto others." Shayast-na-Shayast 13:29
...And from some non-spiritual sources:
Epictetus: "What you would avoid suffering yourself, seek not to impose on others." (circa 100 CE)
Plato: "May I do to others as I would that they should do unto me." (Greece; 4th century BCE)
Socrates: "Do not do to others that which would anger you if others did it to you." (Greece; 5th century BCE)
Seneca: "Treat your inferiors as you would be treated by your superiors," Epistle 47:11 (Rome; 1st century BCE)
(From religioustolerance.org)
“Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the Government’s purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.”
