Shooter at DC shipyard was Buddhist
Re: Shooter at DC shipyard was Buddhist
the mind is incredibly complex, with that being said we cant pigeonhole this case as "oh he heard voices that's the reason he killed people".
Take care of mindfulness and mindfulness will take care of you.
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Still Searching
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Re: Shooter at DC shipyard was Buddhist
@Pacific
I have to agree. A lot of people use Buddhism as an accessory, they'll call themselves a Buddhist and do not study, they'll fill their home with Buddha sculptures and light candles everywhere and then they go partying with friends, do drugs and such.
But yes, a Buddhist can be unwell, I'm a lay Buddhist and I suffer from depression and anxiety. I stress a lot too.
You're right, he was still a human being. I'm sure somewhere deep down, he's hurting too and feels bad.
Sometimes people snap for no reason out of nowhere and it's unexplainable.
I have to agree. A lot of people use Buddhism as an accessory, they'll call themselves a Buddhist and do not study, they'll fill their home with Buddha sculptures and light candles everywhere and then they go partying with friends, do drugs and such.
But yes, a Buddhist can be unwell, I'm a lay Buddhist and I suffer from depression and anxiety. I stress a lot too.
You're right, he was still a human being. I'm sure somewhere deep down, he's hurting too and feels bad.
Sometimes people snap for no reason out of nowhere and it's unexplainable.
"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." ~ Siddhārtha, Gautama Buddha
Re: Shooter at DC shipyard was Buddhist taking SSRI?
According to his father, Aaron Alexis suffered from PTSD since he actively participated in rescue efforts on 9/11 and was treated for mental health issues ....
The father along with the rest of Aaron Alexis family are some of the victims of the tragic events, along with the deceased, their relatives, coworkers .... regardless of the circumstances Aaron Alexis is accountable for the suffering of all those his action affected. It is natural that the father would be suffering along with others affected and would be trying t0 seek reasons why his son acted as he did. The point is that the father said his son had PTSD but we dont know the basis for that statement - we can only speculate. If he did have PTSD we dont know what he was being treated with, we can only speculate. If he was on medications we can only speculate. If he was on medication we can only speculate what medication. If he was on prescription medications we can only speculate if they were prescribed to him. If they were prescribed to him we can only speculate if he was taking them as prescribed. If both of those conditions are met we can only speculate what other non prescription drugs he was taking and what effects the interaction of drugs and his medication and medical conditions were. So in short we have speculations based on speculations ........
PTSD is normally associated with long term exposure to traumatic events - typical military active duty over time or people who are victims of long term abusive violence such as women who have suffered domestic violence over time. In the 9/11 events there were those that were involved in the rescue for a matter of hours and those that were involved over months - it is likely that it would be ones with the long term involvement that would be more likely to suffer PTSD - even then many would not suffer PTSD especially if they received ongoing counselling as i would speculate would be the case.
What the emerging body of evidence from a wide range of sources would indicate is that Aaron Alexis was suffering from a mental disorder - hardly surprising when nearly 30% of of population do in any given year. Most are not diagnosed, many are misdiagnosed and many try to self medicate often making their problems worse. Some of the reasons for this is self denial, denial by families, poor access to doctors and medication (often associated with costs in the USA). We all add to this problem by the way that we respond to mental disorders and those who suffer from them. Our actions/intentions are part of the problem - so we all have to take some responsibility for the outcomes. We have aversion to those with mental disorders - think about this in the context of what The Buddha taught, we should reflect on out own actions!!!
What the emerging body of evidence from a wide range of sources would indicate is that Aaron Alexis was abusing alcohol. this is a problem in its self as alcohol is proven to be a cause of violence through intoxication, its effects on mental disorders and the effects of its interaction with other drugs (prescription medications included). When treating PTSD one of the first things that needs to occur is for the sufferer to resolve the alcohol issues before treatment for the actual PTSD can really begin.
The tragedy of the death of the victims happens on that day but the tragedy was many years in the making. The tragedy not only consists of the action of Aaron Alexis, it also includes the actions and inaction of many others. For example the Navy discharged him because of his behaviors, they could have used their authority over him to ensure that the problem were identified and treated. The security at the yard could have prevented the guns getting into the facility. Even as a society we share in the blame for the guns - we allow people who have no legitimate right (think about the first precept) to have guns to own them. Without guns this tragedy could not have happened on the scale that it did.
When we talk about people with mental disorders we should be mindful !!!! There are many different mental disorders with many different effects and the choices that the suffers make also vary. We need to be mindful in regards to the truthfulness of what we are sayings but we also need to be mindful of the suffering that we can cause other people (sufferers, families and friends). When we make statements that marginalizes or denigrate people in such circumstances we reduce the probability of them seeking treatment making the tragedies more likely to occur. The facts are that most people with mental disorders do not engage in acts of violence, most of those who do commit violent acts direct the violence at them selves. Often the disorders themselves make violence difficult - take for example severe clinical depression - most people who commit suicide do so as they start to recover because in the depths of depression they can not get their act together to even harm them selves.
When we talk about the side effects of medications we discourage those suffering from mental disorders from seeking diagnosis and treatment. Our actions increase the suffering of other people - how does this sit with the Dhamma.
Mental disorders are a set of disabilities - failure to be able to have metta and compassion for ALL is a disability in the context of the 8 Fold Path. As ones who aspire to follow the path we should be mindful of our own action. Please!!!
metta
paul
The father along with the rest of Aaron Alexis family are some of the victims of the tragic events, along with the deceased, their relatives, coworkers .... regardless of the circumstances Aaron Alexis is accountable for the suffering of all those his action affected. It is natural that the father would be suffering along with others affected and would be trying t0 seek reasons why his son acted as he did. The point is that the father said his son had PTSD but we dont know the basis for that statement - we can only speculate. If he did have PTSD we dont know what he was being treated with, we can only speculate. If he was on medications we can only speculate. If he was on medication we can only speculate what medication. If he was on prescription medications we can only speculate if they were prescribed to him. If they were prescribed to him we can only speculate if he was taking them as prescribed. If both of those conditions are met we can only speculate what other non prescription drugs he was taking and what effects the interaction of drugs and his medication and medical conditions were. So in short we have speculations based on speculations ........
PTSD is normally associated with long term exposure to traumatic events - typical military active duty over time or people who are victims of long term abusive violence such as women who have suffered domestic violence over time. In the 9/11 events there were those that were involved in the rescue for a matter of hours and those that were involved over months - it is likely that it would be ones with the long term involvement that would be more likely to suffer PTSD - even then many would not suffer PTSD especially if they received ongoing counselling as i would speculate would be the case.
What the emerging body of evidence from a wide range of sources would indicate is that Aaron Alexis was suffering from a mental disorder - hardly surprising when nearly 30% of of population do in any given year. Most are not diagnosed, many are misdiagnosed and many try to self medicate often making their problems worse. Some of the reasons for this is self denial, denial by families, poor access to doctors and medication (often associated with costs in the USA). We all add to this problem by the way that we respond to mental disorders and those who suffer from them. Our actions/intentions are part of the problem - so we all have to take some responsibility for the outcomes. We have aversion to those with mental disorders - think about this in the context of what The Buddha taught, we should reflect on out own actions!!!
What the emerging body of evidence from a wide range of sources would indicate is that Aaron Alexis was abusing alcohol. this is a problem in its self as alcohol is proven to be a cause of violence through intoxication, its effects on mental disorders and the effects of its interaction with other drugs (prescription medications included). When treating PTSD one of the first things that needs to occur is for the sufferer to resolve the alcohol issues before treatment for the actual PTSD can really begin.
The tragedy of the death of the victims happens on that day but the tragedy was many years in the making. The tragedy not only consists of the action of Aaron Alexis, it also includes the actions and inaction of many others. For example the Navy discharged him because of his behaviors, they could have used their authority over him to ensure that the problem were identified and treated. The security at the yard could have prevented the guns getting into the facility. Even as a society we share in the blame for the guns - we allow people who have no legitimate right (think about the first precept) to have guns to own them. Without guns this tragedy could not have happened on the scale that it did.
When we talk about people with mental disorders we should be mindful !!!! There are many different mental disorders with many different effects and the choices that the suffers make also vary. We need to be mindful in regards to the truthfulness of what we are sayings but we also need to be mindful of the suffering that we can cause other people (sufferers, families and friends). When we make statements that marginalizes or denigrate people in such circumstances we reduce the probability of them seeking treatment making the tragedies more likely to occur. The facts are that most people with mental disorders do not engage in acts of violence, most of those who do commit violent acts direct the violence at them selves. Often the disorders themselves make violence difficult - take for example severe clinical depression - most people who commit suicide do so as they start to recover because in the depths of depression they can not get their act together to even harm them selves.
When we talk about the side effects of medications we discourage those suffering from mental disorders from seeking diagnosis and treatment. Our actions increase the suffering of other people - how does this sit with the Dhamma.
Mental disorders are a set of disabilities - failure to be able to have metta and compassion for ALL is a disability in the context of the 8 Fold Path. As ones who aspire to follow the path we should be mindful of our own action. Please!!!
metta
paul
Re: Shooter at DC shipyard was Buddhist
This is a perfect example of clinging to self view.Jhana4 wrote:Nobody likes it when people with the same affiliations/demographics as theirs publicly does things they and everyone else would object to.
chownah
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beeblebrox
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Re: Shooter at DC shipyard was Buddhist
Hi all,Still Searching wrote:Agreed! That man is no Buddhist. Hopefully he was sick or had psychological problems and will learn from his mistakes.appicchato wrote:A 'Buddhist' would not have done what this guy did...end of...
Buddhism would not teach this man such an act of cruelty, Buddhism only promotes Truth, Peace & Tranquillity.pilgrim wrote:Who taught him to use a gun? Buddhism or the Navy?
What did the Buddha use to lead us to these: the truth, peace and tranquility?
I think the first noble truth gives us a big clue... without it, I don't think other noble truths are even possible at all...
It's not really appropriate to judge someone as "not Buddhist" just because he seemed unable to follow the practice as well as others... I don't think that's really useful for our practices.
Re: Shooter at DC shipyard was Buddhist
Judging people as being Buddhist or non-Buddhist is a perfect example of clinging to self view.
chownah
chownah
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Still Searching
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Re: Shooter at DC shipyard was Buddhist
That is a fair debate.beeblebrox wrote:Hi all,Still Searching wrote:Agreed! That man is no Buddhist. Hopefully he was sick or had psychological problems and will learn from his mistakes.appicchato wrote:A 'Buddhist' would not have done what this guy did...end of...
Buddhism would not teach this man such an act of cruelty, Buddhism only promotes Truth, Peace & Tranquillity.pilgrim wrote:Who taught him to use a gun? Buddhism or the Navy?
What did the Buddha use to lead us to these: the truth, peace and tranquility?
I think the first noble truth gives us a big clue... without it, I don't think other noble truths are even possible at all...
It's not really appropriate to judge someone as "not Buddhist" just because he seemed unable to follow the practice as well as others... I don't think that's really useful for our practices.
"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." ~ Siddhārtha, Gautama Buddha