Buddhist response to a monstrous act of rape?

Exploring Theravāda's connections to other paths - what can we learn from other traditions, religions and philosophies?
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metta_noob
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Buddhist response to a monstrous act of rape?

Post by metta_noob »

Last week a rape was reported in our newspapers. The rapist was a 51 year old school bus driver and the victim was a 10 year old girl. The rape was committed in the rapist's school bus in broad daylight ... he was ferrying the girl on a school day and had driven to a side road, parked and forced himself onto the poor girl. I guess he didn't realise that he had parked right next to a building that housed a kindergarten because the teachers in the kindy heard the girl's screams and figured something was amiss. Fortunately some good samaritans driving down that road stopped and accosted the rapist. You can see a video interview the newspaper did with a lady at the kindergarten at the bottom of this page http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?fi ... sec=nation" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Sorry I don't know how to embed the link.

This morning I attended a dhamma talk where the speaker told us to focus on others' good even if it is only 1% in a sea of bad. She also gave us the example of Angulimara the murderer who became an arahant. She said that good needs to be nurtured and nourished just like grain crops as opposed to weeds (ie bad) which will thrive without nourishment.

At the same time, the newspaper reported that "Facebook users slam alleged rapist" and some are baying for his blood ie death sentence ... others suggested castration. I feel repulsed, fearful (for the little people I know) and angry that this guy can actually succumb to his sexual urge and force himself upon a 10 year old child. Barbaric and bestial are two words that come to mind.

So as a noob, I'd like to ask you what your response would be as a Buddhist. Before delving into the dhamma, I would also have bayed for blood in anger ... and in fact, I still find it difficult to suppress my feelings of anger against this man. How do you deal with this anger?
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tiltbillings
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Re: Buddhist response to a monstrous act of rape?

Post by tiltbillings »

The full force of criminal law will fall on his head. That is simply part of the contract we abide by as members of a society. Once in jail this man's life will be hell, given that pedophiles are on the bottom of the prison pecking order and are seen with loathing and disgust by the other inmates. Now, if there is a good Buddhist (or other) chaplain at the prison in which he finds himself ensconced, maybe that good can be nurtured. Whatever the case this man has brought a world of ugly down upon himself. Finding compassion for him, a good practice.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
Mawkish1983
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Re: Buddhist response to a monstrous act of rape?

Post by Mawkish1983 »

I find it helpful in these situations to keep in mind that extending metta to a person who has committed a disgusting crime, such as this, does not equate to condoning the criminal act, nor the person committing it.

Sounds obvious, I know, but it helps me. Samsara IS disgusting, there IS Dukkha. Rape of a 10 year old girl? It's difficult not to wish pain on him.
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mikenz66
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Re: Buddhist response to a monstrous act of rape?

Post by mikenz66 »

tiltbillings wrote:Finding compassion for him, a good practice.
I agree. Think about how messed up his mind must be, and how terrible it must be to live with such a mind.

Mike
fabianfred
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Re: Buddhist response to a monstrous act of rape?

Post by fabianfred »

In our countless lives we have been both rapist and victim....many times. Have compassion for both...but especially for the one creating new karma....not just the one paying the bill for old karma.
PeterB
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Re: Buddhist response to a monstrous act of rape?

Post by PeterB »

Mawkish1983 wrote:I find it helpful in these situations to keep in mind that extending metta to a person who has committed a disgusting crime, such as this, does not equate to condoning the criminal act, nor the person committing it.

Sounds obvious, I know, but it helps me. Samsara IS disgusting, there IS Dukkha. Rape of a 10 year old girl? It's difficult not to wish pain on him.
Well put. Difficult but not impossible, and yes certainly not even a hint of condoning. Including not speculating that we have all been raped and have raped in former lives. A consideration which does not offer any resolution as far as I am concerned. And certainly is not much use to a actual present ten year old girl or her family.
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mikenz66
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Re: Buddhist response to a monstrous act of rape?

Post by mikenz66 »

Call Me by My True Names
by Thich Nhat Hanh
I am the twelve-year-old girl, refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean after being raped by a sea pirate,
and I am the pirate, my heart not yet capable of seeing and loving.
Whole poem and Thich Nhat Hanh's thoughts: http://www.quietspaces.com/poemHanh.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mike
PeterB
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Re: Buddhist response to a monstrous act of rape?

Post by PeterB »

No he isnt.
Mawkish1983
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Re: Buddhist response to a monstrous act of rape?

Post by Mawkish1983 »

PeterB wrote:
Mawkish1983 wrote:It's difficult not to wish pain on him.
Difficult but not impossible
... which is precisely why I [or maybe we, but I don't want to speak for anyone else] practice.
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mikenz66
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Re: Buddhist response to a monstrous act of rape?

Post by mikenz66 »

PeterB wrote: A consideration which does not offer any resolution as far as I am concerned. And certainly is not much use to a actual present ten year old girl or her family.
Surely for the vast majority here the question is not "resolution" or what is of use to that particular girl, it's about developing our own mindstates. How we can develop real compassion without falling into pointless sadness or rage, and develop equanimity without falling into a "don't care" attitude.
PeterB wrote:No he isnt.
It's a poem, Peter...

Mike
PeterB
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Re: Buddhist response to a monstrous act of rape?

Post by PeterB »

Sorry Mike the idea of some comfortable elderly man implying that he knows what its like to be a 12 year old girl raped and thrown overboard, in stanzas, to make a point, is an idea that I have some difficulty with.
Mawkish1983
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Re: Buddhist response to a monstrous act of rape?

Post by Mawkish1983 »

PeterB wrote:... is an idea that I have some difficulty with.
Me too, but I may partly be biased because I'm not a fan of TNH. Just another issue of mine I need to work on and not related to the OT.
PeterB
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Re: Buddhist response to a monstrous act of rape?

Post by PeterB »

The same thought did cross my mind about me too Mawkish...on the other hand I cant imagine any Theravadin teacher responding to these issues by dashing off a wee poem. No doubt written with his own tears.
This reaction to TNH might simply be an issue for me..I do realise that..
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appicchato
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Re: Buddhist response to a monstrous act of rape?

Post by appicchato »

... is an idea that I have some difficulty with.
Ditto...
In our countless lives we have been both rapist and victim....many times.
Maybe...maybe not...
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mikenz66
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Re: Buddhist response to a monstrous act of rape?

Post by mikenz66 »

PeterB wrote:Sorry Mike the idea of some comfortable elderly man implying that he knows what its like to be a 12 year old girl raped and thrown overboard, in stanzas, to make a point, is an idea that I have some difficulty with.
I don't see the point of such judgement. You could say that about almost any aging Buddhist teacher. By that argument I shouldn't pay attention to the thoughts of Ajahn Chah or Ajah Sumedo on developing compassion because they grew old in relative luxury...

Thich Nhat Hanh isn't just some comfortable elderly man. He grew up with, lived with, and confronted violence from a Buddhist perspective. Clearly he understands these issues a great deal more than I (a reasonably comfortable, heading for aging, man) do.

Mike
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