tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595253270791554701.post8503397826334415830..comments2023-10-31T09:50:07.091-06:00Comments on Marko Polo: Euthanasia and ethics in practice...Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072259264111848667noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595253270791554701.post-74298839645866085612007-06-04T16:26:00.000-06:002007-06-04T16:26:00.000-06:00Hmm, I don't think you were being a very good Budd...Hmm, I don't think you were being a very good Buddhist here. When early Buddhists set out to regulate monastic life from the teachings and sutras of the Buddha himself, they established a small handful of sins that could get you kicked out of any Buddhist monastery; one of which being that you should never take a life. That's why Buddhist monks adhere to a vegetarian diet, so they never have to destroy life to sustain their own.<BR/><BR/>On top of this, a fish does not have the cognitive capacity to see his own life/death dilemma, and therefor couldn't even make that decision for itself. Who are you to decide what's best for the fish? He was going to die anyway? We're all going to die, and I for one don't believe that life is pointless. Yes, I saw <I>Million Dollar Baby</I>, and I really liked it, but at least Hillary Swank got to make the decision for herself, something the fish could never do.<BR/><BR/>Also, Lazarus smelled <I>terrible</I> when he emerged from the tomb. This means he had already started decomposing a bit, or at least that a goodly amount of bacteria had taken up residence in his body. Jesus brought him back to life as a testament to the blessing that is life, regardless of the fact that in the year 30 they lacked the antiseptics to properly clean the newly arisen Lazarus. I'm sure he suffered a little after coming back from the dead, but it was enough that Christ had given him back the most precious gift: life.<BR/><BR/>It's noble of you to desire to end the suffering of an innocent animal, and it sounds like your heart is in the right place. But sometimes life is suffering, and maybe we need that sometimes to know that we are alive. One way or the other, it wasn't a justification of death in this case. The phrase "justification of death" seems ludicrous to me anyway.gabrielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10723323234192457442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595253270791554701.post-82755296235953219902007-06-01T09:38:00.000-06:002007-06-01T09:38:00.000-06:00Sorry about being a brat. I've been thinking abou...Sorry about being a brat. I've been thinking about this for awhile, but no real conclusions yet. A few things though...<BR/><BR/>First, karma isn't instantaneous, especially not in Buddhism. You won't be a fish in your next life time because you helped that fish die, but it may come back in another way. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not this life time, maybe not the next fifty life times. Karma isn't just about rebirth. It affects the blessings and woes we experience in our day to day lives.<BR/><BR/>Second, I'm trying to understand this whole "It was better to make the wrong decision than no decision" thing. That sounds dangerous to me. <BR/><BR/>So what you're saying is it would be better for me to make a decision that I believe in God and God wants me to kill another race of people than to be agnostic and stay in my bed all day?<BR/><BR/>Inaction might be a tragedy...but I'd rather be guilty of not acting than harming something. <BR/><BR/>And finally...have a little compassion and loving-kindness towards me and my fish fear. I promise I'll never chew on chalk around you. Irrational or not, fish still give me the heebee jeebees.Lindsey in Lawrencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16220858560908806487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595253270791554701.post-5729765022194576322007-05-31T16:58:00.000-06:002007-05-31T16:58:00.000-06:00I hope you come back as a fish.I would totally flu...I hope you come back as a fish.<BR/>I would totally flush you out of compassion. <BR/><BR/>I can't even seriously comment on this blog entry I'm so irrationally freaked out. Thanks.Lindsey in Lawrencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16220858560908806487noreply@blogger.com