[Buddha-l] Subject: the poignancy of Donald Lopez

[Erik Hoogcarspel]

Op 19-1-2010 12:41, Chris Fynn schreef:
>
> Despite their teachings of ahimsa isn't being a warrior one of the
> permitted occupations of a Jain? ~ Being a farmer isn't OK for Jains,
> because that kills insects, but they apparently have some Indic notion
> of  "righteous war" (perhaps similar to that in the Bhagavad Gita).
>
> There were some Jain dynasties in parts of South India that wouldn't
> have lasted as long as they did without an army and it seems unlikely
> that they never used force to conquer neighbouring states.
>
> - C
>    
I think there are a couple of questions mixed up in this thread. If you 
claim that one religion is more peaceful then another, you could mean 
different things:

   1. followers are in general more peaceful
   2. the teaching stimulates more peaceful behaviour
   3. the history is less tainted by conflict

Now 1. is a matter of culture and temperament, 2. is principal and 3. is 
coincidence. In general I think it's safe to say that any religion that 
is based on or appeals to racial, tribal or nationalistic motives is in 
for trouble. The Buddhist teachings have little room for this, but that 
doesn't mean that you cannot use them in such a context. Nothing more 
flexible than creative hermeneutics.
I personally am very suspicious of religions who are not in favour of a 
duplex ordo.

-- 


Erik

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