Former monk on armed mission

Bangkok Post ^ | Tuesday 01 November 2005 | WASSANA NANUAM JETJARAS NA RANONG

[injin]

Pattani _ His parents hoped monkhood would help him appreciate the Lord Buddha's teachings, but an attack on Wat Phromprasit on Oct 16 gave Charoen Prathumthes an answer to what he should do with his future. After spending some three months during the Buddhist Lent, he left the monkhood on Oct 24 and immediately joined 43 other villagers as a member of a village defence volunteer team in Ban Nok in Panare district where the temple is located.

[injin]

finally!.....lay Buddhists are realizing they cannot meditate , or merely make merit their way out of this situation in the South.

[2banana]

The crazy muslims have even forced the monks to fight them...

[MeanWestTexan]

So basically guys who vow of a life of poverty, chasteness, service, and peace have to take up arms against muslims.

Tells you something.

[ExcursionGuy84]

Reminds me of an Old American Proverb...

"A Patriot ain't nutin' but a Pacifist that done got itself shot at."

[ClearCase_guy]

In the Thai movie "Ong Bak" there is a young man trained in the fearsome art of Muay Thai. His master makes him promise that he will never use these deadly skills for any reason. The young man agrees. But then, bandits from the city steal the sculpted head of Buddha which brings blessings to the village.

Clearly, someone must go to the city, kick some ass, and bring back the head. The young man trained in the Buddhist temple steps forward ...

It's a shockingly violent movie. Buddhists can open up a can of whoop-ass when they need to.

[madconservative]

"So basically guys who vow of a life of poverty, chasteness, service, and peace have to take up arms against muslims."

Makes you wonder if there is a chance the American public eventually will...

[ASA Vet]

It's a shockingly violent movie.

Back in the 60's many Thai movies were very violent.
I remember one in which the hero got machine gunned.
He must have had 40 bullet holes in him, but he still managed to crawl up
several flights of stairs to save the poor little village girl, (beautiful of course,)
victimized by the terrible bad guys.
He died in the end, so he didn't even get the girl.

[magslinger]

What I needed to learn from the military was how to shoot and become good at handling shotguns so that I won't miss my target as a village defence volunteer

What a wise man. With all the modern weapons available, (I'm assuming a shotgun is a choice, and not a legal neccessity. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.) he learns the shotgun. IMHO a man with a shotgun he knows well is a serious hazard to those who would do him harm.

A shotgun is relatively easy to use effectively, and it looks and sounds impressive. I say that last because (again IMHO) the acme of self defense is to never have to draw a weapon. Even an Islamofascist bomb delivery system would be dissuaded if he knew it was likely he would die before killing any Infidels.

[dagogo redux]

Buddha Shakyamuni himself killed a man in one of his last incarnations before reaching Buddhahood.

On a voyage he saw with his clairvoyance that a man aboard the ship planned to sink the ship and kill all the crew and passengers. He could find no other way to stop the man, and so, out of compassion for the future suffering this man would incur through his actions, so he killed him to prevent the man's karmic suffering.

So, it can be done in a karmically clean way, but the intention must be completely pure. This degree of purity is hard to attain, but maybe some Buddhists can do so in this situation.

[ASA Vet]

So basically guys who vow of a life

Pattani wasn't a life time monk. All Thai males are supposed to do the monk thing sometime in their life. I've known some from wealthy families who do it for only 2 weeks.

[madconservative]

"IMHO a man with a shotgun he knows well is a serious hazard to those who would do him harm."


Agreed... Hence my Mossberg M590.

[ClearCase_guy]

On a voyage he saw with his clairvoyance that a man aboard the ship planned to sink the ship and kill all the crew and passengers. He could find no other way to stop the man, and so, out of compassion for the future suffering this man would incur through his actions, so he killed him to prevent the man's karmic suffering.

Just try to explain THAT in a court of law!

[injin]

great parable , thanks

[magslinger]

I was a Buddhist monk for a day. VP Algore was in town and some FReepers (this was the day I first heard of FR) and some of us MIGOP types got together and went down to make him feel at home, and he wouldn't even wave at us!

[magslinger]

JC Higgens. It's a family heirloom.

[Cicero]

The original martial arts specialists were the Shaolin Buddhist Monks. Buddhism is not necessarily a pacifist religion. It practically invented the arts of self defense against political tyrants.

[Threepwood]

Either way, he is man who has been pushed in a violent direction by uncomprimising psychos. I can respect his
decision, and I hope he's successful at protecting the things he cares about.

[injin]

I understand the tenets of Buddhism , never-the-less it should not allow itself to be dominated and cruelly exterminated by Islam again . This happened once , in ancient India where the invading Moslem hoards ,from what is todays Afghanistan , overran India and reserved their most cruel and brutal treatment for the Buddhist ,whom they viewed in their ignorance as a-theistic. Even the Hindus were not treated as badly. Buddhism was run from the land of it birth as the point of a bloodied sword. Those that couldn't escape were slaughtered without mercy , monks , nuns , men women and children laity. This is how Buddhism found it's way to Tibet and SEA , via fleeing practitioners!
In ensuing centuries of Moslem rule in India cruel rulers
did all they could to extinguish Buddhism and it's monuments, dismantling them for their bricks to build horrid
mosques to their false god, throwing precious relics into rivers , repressing communities into paranoid undergrounds.
Islam has carried forth this targeted atrocity against Buddhism until these days . The murders in Thailand , the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan. In an Islamic world
(God forbid it!) Buddhism would be totally snuffed out without any remainder . And yet Buddhism is a vastly more enlightened , humanity friendly set of beliefs and practices than islam could ever aspire to be. It is well that modern day Buddhist humbly accept the negative karma of defending
their Faith with force, even if to kill is necessary , rather than let the sub-humans and their vile corruption prevail . After all
what is a few lifetimes of 'penance' ?

[Larry Lucido]

His master makes him promise that he will never use these deadly skills for any reason.

I never understood that logic. Why know it if you can never use it for any reason?

[ctdonath2]

It's a cheap plot point for a movie.