Mea Culpa about Islamic Terrorism.

[Kirran]

It can be a bit tough to get one's head around the fact that these people really do believe what they say they do. The leaders of IS are doing what they are doing because they believe they are following the Qur'an absolutely.

 

[Bunyip]

I suppose you are right. Thank you for humoring me at that dark moment.

No worries. Any time. For all the darkness, the world is full of scintillatingly beautiful things, and amazing people - never forget that.

 

[Kalibhakta]

It can be a bit tough to get one's head around the fact that these people really do believe what they say they do. The leaders of IS are doing what they are doing because they believe they are following the Qur'an absolutely.

I suppose it is very strange to see Sufis do their religion, and the Shia...and then see these IS people do it.

No worries. Any time. For all the darkness, the world is full of scintillatingly beautiful things, and amazing people - never forget that.

Which is why I strive to live by my Pacifistic worldview. If I do no harm, then the world will be better then when I left it

 

[Kirran]

I suppose it is very strange to see Sufis do their religion, and the Shia...and then see these IS people do it.

It is strange. But look at how variable Christians are. The older a religion gets, the more varied it becomes.

The Shia aren't without their own extremists, of course.

Which is why I strive to live by my Pacifistic worldview. If I do no harm, then the world will be better then when I left it

Very laudable.

 

[Bunyip]

I suppose it is very strange to see Sufis do their religion, and the Shia...and then see these IS people do it.



Which is why I strive to live by my Pacifistic worldview. If I do no harm, then the world will be better then when I left it

No. We all do some harm. We make mistakes, we fail, we break - this is how we learn. What is important is not to do no harm - but to learn from what harm we do and do better. That is why you are here. Nobody can be you like you can - nobody can replace your unique perspective on existence.
Sorry if I seem like I'm lecturing you - you seem down.

 

[Kalibhakta]

You are right, in the sense of that one cannot avoid doing harm, but one can minimize it.

I was. Normally I am not shaken like I was today. I suppose that everybody gets a curve ball like that. I try not to go public like this on the silly little things like this but I figure if somebody could talk to me about this to get me to calm down, it was the nice community here, it is good to see the people here be so understanding

 

[Kirran]

You are right, in the sense of that one cannot avoid doing harm, but one can minimize it.

That's why the Jains filter their water, but acknowledge they're still killing a few bacteria in the process

I was. Normally I am not shaken like I was today. I suppose that everybody gets a curve ball like that. I try not to go public like this on the silly little things like this but I figure if somebody could talk to me about this to get me to calm down, it was the nice community here, it is good to see the people here be so understanding

Hope you're calmed down now.

Do you meditate?

 

[Kalibhakta]

I do a few rounds of Japa before bed, and often when I get up, but I never got the hang of still-mind formless meditation. I suppose that is a good idea to try to refocus on that.

 

[Kirran]

I do a few rounds of Japa before bed, and often when I get up, but I never got the hang of still-mind formless meditation. I suppose that is a good idea to try to refocus on that.

I would recommend the latter.

 

[Looncall]

Is it a stupid belief to want to believe that people have faith in terrible things because they are misguided and not actively malevolent? If this is turning people bad and not, say, people being war victims or oppressed and clinging to an ideology where they can vent....if it is just people being turned bad by the ideology and not the other way around I have some serious questioning to do in my life.

I find it useful to regard religion as a way that people outsource their thinking to religious leaders and/or to holy texts. It can happen through sheer intellectual laziness but also through lack of education and through cultural indoctrination. It leads to moral atrophy.

Where the leaders or holy texts promote evil behaviour, those who have outsourced their thinking follow right along. Otherwise, how could some obscure imam send thousands ravening into the streets to commit murder?

I think it a duty to despise and oppose the religious systems and cultures that bring hapless people to evil. However, that said, individuals still bear responsibility for their actions. Each has a duty not to be lazy, ignorant, gullible, or to blindly follow tradition.

 

[LuisDantas]

Is it a stupid belief to want to believe that people have faith in terrible things because they are misguided and not actively malevolent?

It seems to me that being malevolent is ultimately just a particularly strong manifestation of misguidance.

People need a measure of certainty to deal with life. Unfortunately, that certainty isn't always rooted in sensible parameters.