Newtown Shootings

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plwk
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Newtown Shootings

Post by plwk »

Image

Barely has the last Oregon incident happened, now we have Newtown....

Twenty schoolchildren were slaughtered by a heavily armed gunman who opened fire at a suburban elementary school in Connecticut yesterday, killing at least 27 people including himself in the one of the worst mass shootings in US history. The 20-year-old gunman, who law enforcement sources identified as Adam Lanza, opened fire on a classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which serves children from ages 5 to 10.
More here



Timeline of deadliest U.S. mass shootings

Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta Jinapañjara Gāthā
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poto
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Re: Newtown Shootings

Post by poto »

It's a shame that we don't have a more comprehensive mental health system in place to help prevent these one-off events.

Also, I'm always very put off by the sensationalism in the media coverage. As horrible as these events are, I can't help but to feel the way the media presents it only furthers collective dissonance on the matter of violence in our society.

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." -- C. S. Lewis
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Polar Bear
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Re: Newtown Shootings

Post by Polar Bear »

"Having killed what
do you sleep in ease?
Having killed what
do you not grieve?
Of the slaying
of what one thing
does Gotama (the Buddha) approve?"
[The Buddha:]
"Having killed anger
you sleep in ease.
Having killed anger
you do not grieve.
The noble ones praise
the slaying of anger
— with its honeyed crest
& poison root —
for having killed it
you do not grieve."
— SN 1.71
I'll list the deeds that bring remorse,
that are far from the teachings.
Listen!
An angry person kills his father,
kills his mother,
kills Brahmans
& people run-of-the-mill.
It's because of a mother's devotion
that one sees the world,
yet an angry run-of-the-mill person
can kill this giver of life.
Like oneself, all beings hold themselves most dear,
yet an angry person, deranged,
can kill himself in many ways:
with a sword, taking poison,
hanging himself by a rope in a mountain glen.

Doing these deeds
that kill beings and do violence to himself,
the angry person doesn't realize that he's ruined.

This snare of Mara, in the form of anger,
dwelling in the cave of the heart:
cut it out with self-control,
discernment, persistence, right view.
The wise man would cut out
each & every form of unskillfulness.
Train yourselves:
'May we not be blotted out.'

Free from anger & untroubled,
free from greed, without longing,
tamed, your anger abandoned,
free from fermentation,
you will be unbound.
— AN 7.60
Sad stuff.
"I don't envision a single thing that, when developed & cultivated, leads to such great benefit as the mind. The mind, when developed & cultivated, leads to great benefit."

"I don't envision a single thing that, when undeveloped & uncultivated, brings about such suffering & stress as the mind. The mind, when undeveloped & uncultivated, brings about suffering & stress."
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Thanavuddho
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Re: Newtown Shootings

Post by Thanavuddho »

Even if you have a view that everything is meaningless, why would you shoot down small children?
“Tasmātihānanda, attadīpā viharatha attasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā, dhammadīpā dhammasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā.”(DN16)
Forum: http://www.avoinsangha.fi
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Kusala
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Re: Newtown Shootings

Post by Kusala »

Rest in peace...
"He, the Blessed One, is indeed the Noble Lord, the Perfectly Enlightened One;
He is impeccable in conduct and understanding, the Serene One, the Knower of the Worlds;
He trains perfectly those who wish to be trained; he is Teacher of gods and men; he is Awake and Holy. "

--------------------------------------------
"The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One,
Apparent here and now, timeless, encouraging investigation,
Leading to liberation, to be experienced individually by the wise. "
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DNS
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Re: Newtown Shootings

Post by DNS »

:candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle:
daverupa
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Re: Newtown Shootings

Post by daverupa »

:candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle:
I took one candle away; it now represents the number of children who die, worldwide, every two minutes or so.

:meditate:
  • "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

    "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
Reductor
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Location: Alberta, Canada

Re: Newtown Shootings

Post by Reductor »

:weep:

For all the kids dying, and for those that love them.
Mawkish1983
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Re: Newtown Shootings

Post by Mawkish1983 »

Right now I feel nothing but pure, raging, caustic anger at the killer. Anger of such intense magnitude that it has completely overwhelmed my senses. THEY WERE CHILDREN. NOW THEY ARE CORPSES.

[Swearing removed after typing]
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Dan74
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Location: Switzerland

Re: Newtown Shootings

Post by Dan74 »

Mawkish1983 wrote:Right now I feel nothing but pure, raging, caustic anger at the killer. Anger of such intense magnitude that it has completely overwhelmed my senses. THEY WERE CHILDREN. NOW THEY ARE CORPSES.

[Swearing removed after typing]
That's probably something similar to what the killer harboured for a long time. In our case we have the blessing of the Dhamma to see it for what it is and let go. But someone who can't, who doesn't, becomes that anger, that rage and the only meaning of their existence is naturally, revenge.
_/|\_
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poto
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Re: Newtown Shootings

Post by poto »

Mawkish1983 wrote:Right now I feel nothing but pure, raging, caustic anger at the killer. Anger of such intense magnitude that it has completely overwhelmed my senses. THEY WERE CHILDREN. NOW THEY ARE CORPSES.

[Swearing removed after typing]
If anything I try to feel compassion for both the victims and the killer. The killer in this case seems to be obviously mentally ill, and having a number of family members with mental illnesses, maybe I can empathize more easily. If there is any anger in me, it is directed at our dysfunctional mental health system and the media for their biased sensationalism.

I sometimes fail to understand why people are so outraged when these things happen closer to their homes, yet don't seem to care when it happens to dark skinned people in a far away land. Every day there are events as horrific as these shootings taking place around the world, but with far less media coverage.

The following link is part 1 of 5 videos showing what's going on in Syria right now. The Assad regime is murdering far more children than the gunman in Connecticut. I must warn you it's very graphic and disturbing, so if you have a weak stomach, don't watch it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWSOIXS5o3c

Of course, the difference between the CT shooting and Syria is our leaders have the power to put a stop to Assad's slaughter. Although, that may well give rise to a worse regime... which seems to be the current political logic for not intervening overtly.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." -- C. S. Lewis
Mawkish1983
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Re: Newtown Shootings

Post by Mawkish1983 »

poto wrote:If there is any anger in me, it is directed at our dysfunctional mental health system and the media for their biased sensationalism.
The killer made a choice. He slaughtered those children.
poto wrote:I sometimes fail to understand why people are so outraged when these things happen closer to their homes, yet don't seem to care when it happens to dark skinned people in a far away land.
I sincerely hope this statement is not directed at me.
poto wrote:Of course, the difference between the CT shooting and Syria...
This topic is about the killings in Connecticut, not Syria. My anger was genuine and I should not have to mask it.
daverupa
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Re: Newtown Shootings

Post by daverupa »

Mawkish1983 wrote:My anger was genuine and I should not have to mask it.
The Dhamma does not advise masking it, either, but neither is anger a brahmavihara. This can be difficult, obviously and of course - but this is precisely where the Dhamma is usefully applied, is it not?

:heart:
  • "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

    "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
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ancientbuddhism
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Re: Newtown Shootings

Post by ancientbuddhism »

Adam Lanza was made of the same five aggregates; by delusion could go any of us. A candle should be lit for him as well.

:candle:
I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes.” – Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854

Secure your own mask before assisting others. – NORTHWEST AIRLINES (Pre-Flight Instruction)

A Handful of Leaves
Mawkish1983
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Location: Essex, UK

Re: Newtown Shootings

Post by Mawkish1983 »

daverupa wrote:neither is anger a brahmavihara. This can be difficult, obviously and of course - but this is precisely where the Dhamma is usefully applied, is it not?
Did I say otherwise?

A man picked up weapons, murdered his mother and then walked into a school to kill teachers and twenty children. Twenty children are now dead because of the actions of one man. My inability to extend metta to the killer is completely irrelevent to those twenty dead children. I practice Buddhism as well as I can, but I CAN not and WILL not pretend to be sanctimonious and rightious about employing the dhamma when I feel overwhelmed with rage. I suspect my reaction of blinding, searing anger is a common one.
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