Monks say 'If we have guns we will shoot back'

As the Buddha said, "You must find liberation from suffering".

Hey they can have my Mauser rifle 8mm

This does seem to be quite contradictory to Buddhist teaching, but you can't really expect these people to not defend themselves.

Sshhhh... don't let the Myanmar generals hear it; they are very likely all too eager for an excuse to launch a pre-emptive attack against 'terrorist-monks'

A lot of people will say that the monks have gone too far if they start using violence, but that's ignorant of history. Limited violence for a definable social purpose has been used effectively throughout the whole of human history. George Washington used violence to achieve his goals. Was he wrong?

We’ll I hate to be an ass but I can’t resist. Every first world pacifist needs to put this story in their peace pipe and smoke it. Or you should stand by your convictions and denounce these monks for desiring to protect themselves with firearms.

If the first world is so enlightened then we shouldn’t be surprised by a bunch of third world pacifists who want guns. Everyone should be allowed to protect their life and in this case a gun would probably help out. What I find interesting is that the luxuries of the first world have perverted the ideals of pacifism to the point where having a gun or wanting to protect yourself is somehow evil.

The first world pacifist doesn’t protect their own life; they rely on the police to safeguard their wellbeing. Yet the police are more inclined to not only kill without justification but to get away with such a killing! I believe these monks have recognized their life is their responsibility.

So I agree with these men because as a first world citizen I know that all the money and police officers and army units are not going to protect you as well as YOU can.

That's the spirit.

As they should, I do believe that there comes a time, when all else fails, that we sould arm ourselfs. When there is no other choice, then it is an easy choice to make.

damn guys if they monks have to get violent whas this world coming to!

Teach peace through peace, not aggression. There is no gray area allowable.

I am quite concerned that fellow buddhists would want
guns to fight their dictator, but I do understand the distress of the situation. Our situation is also comming
dangerously close to revolution in our country and I would be torn between violence and peaceful means too.

Next hit of the summer... Renegade Monk.

I dont think it is proving very educational for the oppressors to have the monks teach pacifism through allowing themselves to be tortured man.

monks packing heat? the possibility has to be one of the most incongruous mental images ever.

Violence begets violence
Live by the sword die by the sword
etc..
etc..
etc..

go monks! i think its good that they are defending themselves but they need to be careful about not losing their culture

Teach peace through peace... so simple it must be true.

If the fighting goes foward, the monks might want to think about investing in some camo robes. I don't think that bright orange blends in with the streetscape too well.

I think if the Monks do this they will become the monster to fight the monster. I think they will lose themselves in it. I dont want them or their way to be destroyed but this doesnt seem right to me.

I understand their situation and trying to find ways to fight back. I'm neutral on this situation because it's hard to choose sides on this one. But one of the main rules if you're a monk is not kill any living creature. This is why they refuse to eat any meat and refuse to kill ANY insect. For them to pick up a gun and begin fighting back is breaking one of their most sacred rules.

You have to understand the desperation these people are experiencing. Yes, Buddha taught that you must overcome violence with peace, but to say there is no "gray area" is to deny reality. Just because they are monks doesn't mean they aren't human and shouldn't have human responses to situations. People are being slaughtered and these Buddhists know it's going to take a lot more that sitting around meditating to stop it. This wouldn't be the first time Buddhist monks were pushed to use violence to protect themselves- just look at the origins of Shaolin Kung Fu.

Freedom is worth fighting for. Freedom is worth dying for.

One could make the arguement that resorting to violence is simply a lack of imagination.

The "bad guys" can't think of a better way to deal with these monks other than shooting them.

What does it say when the "good guys" can't come up with a more elegant solution other than to....shoot back? As monks they aren't ordinary people. They have taken vows to protect life and thus have the extra burden of not eganging in violence. Taking an oath of nonviolence isn't an easy life.

The monks want freedom and security -- we shouldn't fall into the trap of thinking that there is ONLY one method to achieve those aims. Guns, snipers and suicide bombers aren't the only solutions to their problems.

On the eve of Buddha's ascencion into Enlightenment his enemies shot arrows at him -- but the arrows turned to flowers before they reached him. Not literally, of course. The moral of the story is that Buddha didn't deal with his enemies by rolling behind a burned out car and then popping up with a 357 Magnum in each hand picking off his enemies muttering, "This time....it's personal!" BANG! BANG!

This isn't a question of whether or not the monks deserve freedom and security. It's a question of achieving those results without becoming indistinguishable from the non-enlightened.

Kinda like how America is trying to proclaim itself a beacon of hope, justice and morality -- but then ass raping Iraqi terrorists at GitMo and denying them legal rights for years until, oops, turns out we ass raped the wrong guy. Sorry!

Hopefully the monks learn from our mistake and don't become their enemies in order to defeat them.

I fail to see how anyone can take a serious oath of nonviolence and then, the next day, stand over their enemy and pump two bullets into their heads.

He is right, they can only take so much before stress takes over and things get ugly.

They are frustrated and they just want things to be done with. They want to have a life like other people with freedom from oppression.

The problem is if you shoot a dictator in the head and he dies he's viewpoints do not die with him, they continue to live in the minds of those that follow. You can't kill them all. It'll only be a breeding ground for more problems in the future. The solution does have to be higher.

They area heading in the wrong direction and putting their karma at serious risk on this, imho. It is the shame of the rest of the world that we have not come to their aid on any real level, and as a buddhist I bear that pain every time I hear of something happening in the area. I lived in Thailand for some time and connected with many of the monks whe I lived, and we talked about what was happening in Myanmar. Without some sort of formal intervention on the part of either the UN or a major world power, the monks are doomed and we all will carry that shame with us.

This cracks me up.......a thread of westerners that has some people judging the monks who are planning a revolution against tyrants who are torturing their fellow citzens. How pretentious are you? You read about something or take a class on a certain issue or you go and visit a country for a short time and all the sudden you are the authority. So now, these monks who's brothers and sisters are locked up in cells having their bones crushed by a giant roller and who knows what else by a dictatorship, you are telling them just to suck it up.....one day the regime will see a dove fly by their window and they will just suddenly have a change of heart and all will be better in the world. Tell me....what kind of karmic backlash will you suffer when you watch people who are beatin, raped, and tortured and yet you stand by and do nothing? I'll be the first to start a Guns for Monks program and celebrate when Naypyidaw burns to the ground with it's leaders trapped within the flames. If the world listened to people like those attacking the monks the world would be controlled by the British Crown.....or worse, Nazi Germany. "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it's natural manure" - Thomas Jefferson

I believe you're proceeding from false assumptions, nogodsnomonsters.

Your first false assumpition is this: Disapproving of the monks using firearms is exactly the same as advocating for the total capitulation and surrender of the monks.

No one is suggesting the monks a) deserve to be tortured or b) should take zero action to defend themselves and/or overthrow the government.

The only thing being debated here are techniques.

Your second false assumption is that firearms are the ONLY way to achieve freedom and security for these monks. There are others ways to both honor the vows of nonviolence they've taken and achieve freedom and security.

If (some) of the monks decided that a nuclear warhead detonated in the middle of their country was the only way to achieve their aims -- would you make the arguement that anyone who disagrees with the monks are advocating their total surrender and submission to their enemies?

Of course not.

What if the monks decided that suicide bombers sent to crowded market places were the "only" solution to achieve their ends? Would disagreeing with that particular technique be advocating for the monks to totally surrender?

Of course not.

Using firearms is simply one more technique that is being put in the unacceptable category -- it is not advocating surrender. It's inconsistent with....being a monk! If you don't want to be a monk and you want to instead be a freedom fighter, well, that's a different story.

Just like banning the torture of POW's at GitMo isn't advocating for the total surrender of the United States to Osama bin Laden -- it's merely a practice that is in direct contradiction to our national morality.

The Monks who are willing to fight against oppression are enlightened. Confucius told a story of a group of people who lived outside of society near a man-eating bear. When he asked the people why they lived near a man-eating bear, they replied... "It is better to live amongst a man-eating bear than to live under an oppressive tyrant.

Ah, but the story doesn't say the monks killed the tyrant. Nor did they take up guns.

And don't get me wrong, i'm all for non-violent action

but that's a choice I made, and if oppressed fellow humans choose otherwise I think it is their right to defend their freedom by the means they deem necessary

i am no one to judge,

it is their suffering...

A Monk, the most sacred persons in the world, that should be the example of all Life... Shooting Back?

No way.!

As an activist for a less violent world, the way I see it is that we have a great deal of work to do in order to reduce all of this gun violence and it's not going to happen unless we take action and take it NOW. This pertains to ALL of us in this world....monks included.

What should we do? well whoever is serious and wants to actually do SOMETHING instead of nothing, the first step on the ladder begins in our very own homes, the second in our classrooms, via non-violence/conflict resolution classes.

We need to educate our children on how to treat one another with respect, understanding and tolerance and we need a complete mindset change as we relate to relying upon guns and for that matter ALL lethal weapons to solve our problems and our differences. We need to replace lethal weapons with less than lethal weapons until guns filter down to where they become merely objects to be found in history books and collections. This is the ONLY way less people will be maimed and/or killed and our future generations will be able to perpetuate this beautiful planet that we so cherish.

If I could re-write the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, this is precisely what I would love to see:

"We, the people of the United States, in order that we shall have the right to preserve a State free for all races, shall achieve this end by the use of less-lethal weaponry only for our continued survival as human beings. This free State entails our personal self-defense as well as our right to our food consumption. In keeping with current government law, if we so choose to possess a less-lethal weapon (be it either upon our persons or within our private homes), we are obligated to store these aforementioned weapons plus any ammo relating to its use in a manner which will serve to protect the welfare of a minor child."