What’s the Sixth Commandment?
Neither of which I said - I merely indirectly pointed out that the First Precept definitely says something about non-violence. You said “Basic Buddhism doesn’t say anything about non-violence or harmlessness.” Are you saying that the First Precept doesn’t address this?
Implicit in my saying “many”, not “most”.
Did you leave out a “not”, there?
Thou shalt not murder.
Which has nothing to do with the much more restrictive First Precept, but if your gotcha point was that other religions also have prohibitions against killing, my reply would be “Yeah, and…?”
When I was younger I received Kung Fu classes from a Chinese buddist immigrant. He was an old guy of over 70 years in good health both physically and mentally.
It was his believe that in order to master our minds, we must first gain ful control our body.
Classes included meditations, visualizations and old fashioned daily work outs.
According to him Kung Fu was cure and prevention for various western mental illness.
I think the point is, “and if those prohibitions didn’t keep the members of those religions from being ok with killing, why would you think the First Precept would for Buddhists?”
This. Non-violence isn’t making yourself helpless- it’s choosing to not be violent. It’s mastering violence so you almost never need to actually use it. A very Zen thing.
I’ve never seen it happen myself. There have been news reports about monk “gangs” and such, but these generally make the news because they’re so unusual and not at all the norm.
For the same reason all serious martial artists in any discipline train: self-control, confidence, self-discipline, courtesy, perseverance, etc. We learn to fight so that we can learn how to not fight.
Not exactly Buddhist, but close. Here’s the 31st chapter of Tao Te Ching:
This is the most ridiculous claim I’ve read in a while. It might be what you heard in your family friendly karate school so that little Timmy would get his green belt and continue paying dues without scaring mommy that they are learning something bad, but the martial arts were for going to war and/or killing people and only later did they get watered down into glorified aerobics classes.
I didn’t say it would. Reread the post I was replying to, and the specific part of it I addressed. I quoted it and everything. Then reread what I posted, especially where I said “Having said that, nobody’s perfect” - I am well aware that many Buddhists are OK with killing. That doesn’t mean Basic Buddhism (whatever that is, I’m sure it has to include the Precepts) doesn’t say anything about the subject.
men sana e corpore sans?