Retaliation – Just Don’t Even Think About It
February 14th, 2009 by Jarrod in General
Down here in Australia we are going through a series of bush fires which have caused the loss of hundreds of lives and entire towns.
One fire in particular has been identified as deliberately lit and a man arrested and charged for it.
Understandably people are very angry at this individual.
Watching the news in the town where this man was arrested I was stunned by a comment from one of the residents (probably around 50yrs old).
‘If I had him in my hands I would pour petrol on him and burn him’.
I wish people would not think like this. It just makes all of our lives worse.
The only way to move forward is to look for ways of improvement, not destruction.
Develop compassion and help those in need, that is how the world has to work.
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February 15th, 2009 at 2:29 am
Hey mate, it truly is a horrible thing to happen, and like you said people would understandably be furious, especially if they lost a loved one or a house. I don’t know what to say. Hope no one you know is affected by it.
Cheers,
Albert
February 16th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
I thought many times about such situations and I also talked about such situations with friends. Finally I came to a conclusion that is basically what also the Dalai Lama suggests:
“Sometimes it is necessary to use forces to avoid bigger suffering but it is very important to use the forces only against violent actions and never against the creature in general.”
See also http://1-2-solved.blogspot.com/2007/12/eye-for-eye.html
February 16th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
@Martin: A quote that has to carefully read indeed.
February 18th, 2009 at 5:54 am
Jarrod, tragedy has the power to bring people together and teach lessons in the power of love and forgiveness. You do not have to aspire to be like a person to recognize the fallibility in yourself. As Lao Tzu says, “Silence is a source of great strength.”
February 18th, 2009 at 9:51 am
I can empathise with the people affected by these fires sentiments as it is such a terrible amount of destruction that this person has caused. I could use some unprintable language to describe those at fault myself. But of course I agree with you at the same time – revenge is never a productive path to take, for either party.
February 18th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
@Liara: I always enjoy Lao Tzu
February 20th, 2009 at 11:19 am
Thanks for this post. Many of us do seem to have “they hurt me, so I’ll hurt them” as our first instinct, even if it has nothing to do with protecting ourselves. Maybe just becoming aware that we have this unconscious attitude will help us transform it.
February 20th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
@Chris: Sometimes it doesn’t even come out explicitly but rather just sits as a negativity. Which can be quite harmful and is certainly not pleasant for anyone.