Dalai Lama: Bin Laden’s death may have been justified

[AsahinaKimi]

The Dalai Lama—the face of Tibetan Buddhism and a religious leader known for espousing compassion and peace—said the U.S. move to kill Osama bin Laden may have been necessary.

His Holiness answered a question about bin Laden’s death while speaking at the University of Southern California,

As the leader of Tibetan Buddhism, the 14th Dalai Lama says he practices compassion to such an extent that he tries to avoid swatting mosquitoes “when my mood is good and there is no danger of malaria,” sometimes watching with interest as they swell with his blood.

Yet, in an appearance Tuesday at USC, he appeared to suggest that the United States was justified in killing Osama bin Laden.


more...
http://blog.chron.com/believeitornot/2011/05/dalai-lama-bin-laden’s-death-may-be-justified/
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Interesting response..

[blondeatlast]

1. There are simply no easy answers to terrorism. I think the Dalai Lama

recognizes this and recognizes that there is no easy response when innocents are killed. I found the reference to the mosquitoes ("when there is no danger of malaria") thought-provoking.

Indeed. "No danger of malaria."

[EFerrari]

3. I love his sense of humor.

[AsahinaKimi]

4. Here is a perfect example of that...

[EFerrari]

5. LOL! Yes.

:hi:

My nearest neighbors are a Buddhist monastery -- The Golden Sage. I've always wondered what kind of activities they have up there but their website isn't in English. They seem to be open to the public on Sundays. They also drive like maniacs in and out of their driveway. :)

[NYC_SKP]

2. I so love and respect the Dalai Lama.

He was my first Facebook Friend!

And I was honored to be able to attend one of his public events, at the Shoreline Amphitheater.

:P

[Gunny1]

6. The interesting quote in that story was...

"As a human being, Bin Laden may have deserved compassion and even forgiveness, the Dalai Lama said in answer to a question about the assassination of the Al Qaeda leader. But, he said, “Forgiveness doesn’t mean forget what happened. … If something is serious and it is necessary to take counter-measures, you have to take counter-measures.”

I can't quite get at whether he's suggesting that Bin Laden was simply a danger that had to eliminated or if he's suggesting that retribution following forgiveness is appropriate in some cases. Personally I can see either being consistent with my understanding of Buddhist spirituality although probably violates some rules of formal Buddhist dogma (if there is such a thing).

[ismnotwasm]

7. Thank you for your threads

They are thoughful and informative. We don't want to 'celebrate', at least some of us don't, but we want an end to such bloodshed everywhere.

[AsahinaKimi]

10. I was amazed at how many

blogs by Buddhists, how they were as perplexed by all of this as I had been. I think the Dali Lama put it in perspective for me... for I was clearly having inner conflict over my feelings about this whole affair.

[socialist_n_TN]

11. It is a puzzler, but I don't think you'll see many Buddhists........

celebrating this action.

I've learned some dangerous self defense techniques over the last 30 years, all under the philosophical underpinning of Zen. So I come down on the mindfulness side of it. You do what you have to do in self defense all the while being mindful of all the consequences you can think of. And that includes karmic consequences for yourself and others.

I don't have enough information to make a good judgement here, so all I can say is if I had an unarmed man helpless before me, I wouldn't kill him, no matter how bad he was and no matter how much I hated him. I hope. That's why I wouldn't make a good soldier. I can only obey orders if they fit with what I think about it.

[blondeatlast]

12. I don't think many, especially Buddhists, are celebrating this

contrary to the popular "wisdom."

What I find interesting was the DL's "mosquito" analogy.

[AsahinaKimi]

14. I agree

If you have followed any of my posts of late, I have already stated I felt very bad when I saw people dancing and jumping for joy. This was not the GIANTS winning the world Series..or Someone winning the Superbowl. No one DIES in those games.. There is a difference, and even if by chance someone did, no one would be cheering...

[socialist_n_TN]

16. Yes, I have followed your posts on this and yes.......

I have noted your perspective and yes, I agree with it. Never mind Buddhist, it's not even a CHRISTIAN thing to do. I also can't condemn the attitudes though. I just can't go along with them.

Actions DO have to be taken, but they must be taken with all the mindfulness you can muster.

[SidDithers]

8. K&R...

wonder if he'll get called the Da-Lie Lama, or the God-King of Tibet at some point in this thread.

Sid

[Gregorian]

9. That's good. Feet on the ground.

I live in an ethereal, theoretical world of beauty. It doesn't exist. I want it to. I still swat mosquitoes.

Thanks for posting.

[SidDithers]

13. Kick...nt

Sid

[Lucian]

15. Hmmm...if His Holiness the Dalai Lama said that, maybe it was good.

:shrug:

Now I have to reflect...

[Vehl]

17. I look at this issue through the filter of Dharma

Dharma differes from person to person.(Based on whom they define themselves to be)

The Dharma of President Obama was to protect and serve his country and people
The Dharma of the Seal Team soldiers was that of the Kshatriya, to protect and serve the nation by eliminating its threats
The Dharma of the human rights lawyers is to ensure that no human rights violations(like water-boarding) happen..and if they do, to ensure they do not happen again/hold those who did that accountable
The Dharma of the news media is to report the news about this event without putting their own version of spin
The Dharma of the Taliban/AQ bodyguards of Osama was to defend him(regardless of who he is cos they agreed to be his bodyguards) and die in the process if needed

As you can see, the Dharma of the myriad players often contradict that of the others. At the end of the day one has to be honest to oneself(one's own definition of who he is). If he/she is thus, then he walks the path of Dharma. To deviate results in Adharma


pS( Dharma = roughly translates to "duty/truth/way of life/law" in Hindu/Buddhist lexicon )

[suffragette]

18. Appreciate this thread and your thoughtful perspective

in your posts.
K&R

[Call Me Wesley]

19. Self-defense is no contradiction to Buddhist beliefs.

I don't swat mosquitoes (no malaria here,) but I took the death of Osama bin Laden as justified as well. He sure wasn't/isn't worst of the worst in history and present times, but he ignited fear (of Muslims, of terrorism, etc.,) for the past ten years, turning whole countries into obsolete wars and neighbor watches. If we now can stop with this and take a step further away from being afraid, Osama's death was more than just justified.

On edit: These are rational thoughts. I've read the news on last Monday morning, came to my conclusions, and then I looked at the weather like always. There was no celebration of death.

[Luminous Animal]

20. Unfortunately, you've been duped.

The Dalai Lama was answering questions.

One question dealt with Osama. The other question dealt with the Dalai Lama's own unethical acts he may have committed. There is no indication that the answers were linked in any way.

http://www.dalailama.com/news/post/672-his-holiness-talks-about-secular-ethics-and-human-development-at-university-of-southern-california

"His Holiness then answered questions, some of which were submitted through the Internet. The first question was on His Holiness’ emphasis on compassion as a basis of ethics. It asked whether in some situation ensuring justice is more important than being compassionate to the perpetrator of a crime. It referred to the news of the death of Osama Bin Laden and the celebrations of it by some, and asked where compassion fit in with this and ethics. In his response, His Holiness emphasized the need to find a distinction between the action and the actor. He said in the case of Bin Laden, his action was of course destructive and the September 11 events killed thousands of people. So his action must be brought to justice, His Holiness said. But with the actor we must have compassion and a sense of concern, he added. His Holiness said therefore the counter measure, no matter what form it takes, has to be compassionate action. His Holiness referred to the basis of the practice of forgiveness saying that it, however, did not mean that one should forget what has been done.

His Holiness then answered a few other questions, including one relating to how a student should approach the issue of holding on to one’s principles while facing the reality of having to repay student loans and earn a living working for corporations whose principles did not complement his thinking. Here His Holiness said he wanted to quote the Buddha’s teaching that you are your own master and said the student should judge. To a question on whether His Holiness could think of any unethical acts that he had committed, His Holiness responded in the positive referring to “my relation with mosquitoes,” much to the amusement of the audience. His Holiness expanded saying if there was no risk of malaria then he would tolerate a mosquito or two sucking blood from his arm but when they come one after another, he would lose his patience."

[Fool Count]

21. "It may have been justified, or again, it may have not

been justified. Who am I to know for sure, I'm just a Dalai Lama. Next question, my faithful."