The Buddhist Soldier
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- Опубликовано: 10 ноя 2020
- Can a Buddhist be in the military? Yes! Learn more about Buddhists in the military in this video, and more in-depth in my article: alanpeto.com/buddhism/buddhis...
To all my fellow Veterans who have served and sacrificed to protect, save, and help others - Thank You!
Contact Alan: alanpeto.com/contact
Video Disclaimer: alanpeto.com/legal/video-disc...
I appreciate your efforts to teach the Buddhism....
Thank you!
No kidding, my first language is spanish and I just met Bhikkhu Sanathavihari for a mexican channel about Buddhism called Dharmatic.
It's incredible the peace this Venerable spreads.
As another veteran who's recenrtly begun to learn more about Buddhism, I definitely appreciate the nuanced explanation here (and I've already got your longer article about it open). Thanks for what you do!
Thank you, Karl! Let me know if you have any questions! This video was quite short, and I have plans for a longer one to make in the future.
As a currently serving military member, and a Buddhist. I thank you for putting this well made video together. "The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him." - GK Chesterton. (Sorry about the sexist language in this quote.)
Thank you, Jeff! I plan to do a longer video in the future for this, but glad this one worked well! Also, I have a [long] article about Buddhism/Buddhist and the Military. You can check it out here: alanpeto.com/buddhism/buddhist-soldier-military/
Thank you for the video sir i still have one more question will they ever get another human life?
Welcome! You can think of it this way: In Buddhism, all sentient life is respected - not just human. So with that in mind, take the example of there being many Buddhists who eat meat - which comes from animals which are sentient beings, just like humans. Can people who eat meat come back to the human realm? Of course. It is the intention of the act that is important as it relates to karma (etc.). So if a soldier kills with hatred, greed, anger, etc., that is wrong action, thinking, etc., and can have an unwholesome karmic impact. Will they come back in the human realm? Again, it depends - just like anyone else in any profession or lifestyle. Just being a soldier does not mean one kills, or their actions are unwholesome. A soldier who has no other choice but to kill in order to save the lives of people who are about to be killed by a destructive army, and acts out of compassion to save those people, would not be doing this out of hatred, etc. There have been Buddhist leaders/monks who have explained it similarly as well.
Those in the military who face combat have often encountered karmic impacts that affected them in the human realm - such as physical or mental (i.e., PTSD). A soldier does not want war, because they have seen the side of it that many people have not. They wish for peace perhaps more than anyone. Of course, there are people, armies, soldiers, etc., that have wrong views, actions, etc., and that is a different story (we can look at historical wars and the world wars as an example). And even in those examples, it took military forces to stop those destructive armies otherwise their wrong actions would have continued and caused more harm. Did this cause long term affects to those who fought against the other army that was causing destruction? Yes. But it was necessary to stop even greater suffering. Soldiers take on this karma so that others may have a future. The future is not always perfect, but if wrong actions continue, then non-action to stop them would in-fact be wrong action. This can be very "gray" meaning there is no black and white answer as to when or when not to act, or even what the outcome is, even though most people would want to know that.
Of course, we cannot look into the minds of every single individual, so this is just a general discussion.
Now a monk or nun is a different story. They have numerous vows/precepts they are to keep as they have renounced the householder life and life of a layperson. So they are not permitted to be in the military as a soldier, etc. That is mainly because they are religious figures, and no longer a regular layperson.
In the world we are in now, our actions move us between the realms. So we can easily be in the 'animal realm', for instance, based on our actions. We should always strive to ensure our thinking, actions, etc., keep us in the human realm where we have the rare opportunity to follow the path of compassion and to be free of delusion.
You might find my article about Buddhism and violence helpful which can explain more about this: alanpeto.com/buddhism/violence-in-buddhism
@@AlanPeto Thank you so much for this sir this is the answer i was looking for