Poll: To kill or to be killed

Buddhist ethical conduct including the Five Precepts (Pañcasikkhāpada), and Eightfold Ethical Conduct (Aṭṭhasīla).

To kill or to be killed?

To kill
3
14%
To be killed
18
86%
 
Total votes: 21

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DNS
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Re: Poll: To kill or to be killed

Post by DNS »

kenteramin wrote: Tue Nov 23, 2021 12:22 pm So I think an Arahant would watch their spouse or children be tortured and killed right in front of them.
An arahant wouldn't have a spouse and children. They might have a former spouse, from the time before they ordained, though.

An arahant is a very special being, not your ordinary lay person. Not even your ordinary monk or nun.
kenteramin
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Re: Poll: To kill or to be killed

Post by kenteramin »

DNS wrote: Tue Nov 23, 2021 3:57 pm An arahant wouldn't have a spouse and children. They might have a former spouse, from the time before they ordained, though.

An arahant is a very special being, not your ordinary lay person. Not even your ordinary monk or nun.
Sure, I meant a former spouse. But one can't become a former child 😄

Yes, I'm aware that an arahant is different from an ordinary being
Nanny85
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Re: Poll: To kill or to be killed

Post by Nanny85 »

DNS wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 9:18 pm It completely depends on the circumstances. The question as it is written is too open-ended.

If someone comes up to you and says kill this (unknown) person or I'll kill you. I imagine most would just be killed. If it's a self-defense situation, more would probably be willing to kill. If it's in defense of one's family and children, I imagine the percentage would be even higher than for one's own well-being. It all depends on numerous situations and circumstances.
I agreed. It really depends on the situation.
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Thao Lah
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Re: Poll: To kill or to be killed

Post by Thao Lah »

This is a lose lose situation it seems. If I was told to either kill someone or be killed, I would choose not to kill anyone including myself. If I get killed as a consequence so be it. Less karma involved on my part.
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Re: Poll: To kill or to be killed

Post by Alino »

Thao Lah wrote: Wed Nov 24, 2021 2:43 pm This is a lose lose situation it seems. If I was told to either kill someone or be killed, I would choose not to kill anyone including myself. If I get killed as a consequence so be it. Less karma involved on my part.
Very wise détail ! 🙏
We don't live Samsara, Samsara is living us...

"Form, feelings, perceptions, formations, consciousness - don't care about us, we don't exist for them"
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lavantien
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Re: Poll: To kill or to be killed

Post by lavantien »

Alino wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 5:00 am This is a question I like to ask Buddhists.

It case if they have à choice - to kill someone, or to be killed - what would they choise?

I ask this question because I think that it's an important one, that must be reflected upon, because when it could occur - it may be to late to make a choice.
If someone were to truly follows the Buddha teaching, it's clear about the answer: Never to kill, or encourage other, or praise, or justify the killing of living being whether it is for self defense or to defense your loved ones or to revenge or whatever the justification.
https://suttacentral.net/mn21 wrote: "Even if low-down bandits were to sever you limb from limb, anyone who had a malevolent thought on that account would not be following my instructions. If that happens, you should train like this: ‘Our minds will remain unaffected. We will blurt out no bad words. We will remain full of compassion, with a heart of love and no secret hate. We will meditate spreading a heart of love to that person. And with them as a basis, we will meditate spreading a heart full of love to everyone in the world—abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will.’ That’s how you should train.

If you frequently reflect on this advice—the simile of the saw—do you see any criticism, large or small, that you could not endure?”

“No, sir.”
https://suttacentral.net/ud5.5 wrote: The ocean is consistent and doesn’t overflow its boundaries. In the same way, when a training rule is laid down for my disciples they wouldn’t break it even for the sake of their own life. This is the second thing the mendicants love about this teaching and training.
"Then the Teacher, being sympathetic, and having compassion for the whole world,
said to me, “Come, monk!” That was my ordination.
Staying alone in the wilderness, meditating tirelessly,
I have completed what the Teacher taught, just as the victor advised me.

In the first watch of the night, I recollected my past lives.
In the middle watch of the night, I purified my clairvoyance.
In the last watch of the night, I shattered the mass of darkness."
- KN Thag 12.2
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Re: Poll: To kill or to be killed

Post by Alino »

lavantien wrote: Sat Nov 27, 2021 10:08 am
Alino wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 5:00 am This is a question I like to ask Buddhists.

It case if they have à choice - to kill someone, or to be killed - what would they choise?

I ask this question because I think that it's an important one, that must be reflected upon, because when it could occur - it may be to late to make a choice.
If someone were to truly follows the Buddha teaching, it's clear about the answer: Never to kill, or encourage other, or praise, or justify the killing of living being whether it is for self defense or to defense your loved ones or to revenge or whatever the justification.
https://suttacentral.net/mn21 wrote: "Even if low-down bandits were to sever you limb from limb, anyone who had a malevolent thought on that account would not be following my instructions. If that happens, you should train like this: ‘Our minds will remain unaffected. We will blurt out no bad words. We will remain full of compassion, with a heart of love and no secret hate. We will meditate spreading a heart of love to that person. And with them as a basis, we will meditate spreading a heart full of love to everyone in the world—abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will.’ That’s how you should train.

If you frequently reflect on this advice—the simile of the saw—do you see any criticism, large or small, that you could not endure?”

“No, sir.”
https://suttacentral.net/ud5.5 wrote: The ocean is consistent and doesn’t overflow its boundaries. In the same way, when a training rule is laid down for my disciples they wouldn’t break it even for the sake of their own life. This is the second thing the mendicants love about this teaching and training.
🙏🙏🙏😑
We don't live Samsara, Samsara is living us...

"Form, feelings, perceptions, formations, consciousness - don't care about us, we don't exist for them"
thepea
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Re: Poll: To kill or to be killed

Post by thepea »

Aloka wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 12:43 pm
Alino wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 5:00 am This is a question I like to ask Buddhists.

It case if they have à choice - to kill someone, or to be killed - what would they choise?

I ask this question because I think that it's an important one, that must be reflected upon, because when it could occur - it may be to late to make a choice.
Instead of speculating about imaginary choices in imaginary situations, it might be better to ensure that one doesn't make any enemies in the here and now, and practice loving kindness and compassion towards all senient beings.


:anjali:
Yes, work on that.
Does the farmer kill the fox or allow the fox to repeatedly kill the ducks and chickens?
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