Caodemarte wrote: ↑Sun Apr 07, 2019 11:34 pm
No Buddhist Sangha in a majority Buddhist country condemns patriotism, but rather encourages it. Love of country or family is fine as long as it Is not perverted into hatred of others, attachment, or grasping. Hopefully, we will expand our ability to love (here meant in its spiritual sense) and to be kind, not restrict it.
What is the expression, patriotism is love of one's country but nationalism is thinking your country is better than the rest. The first is skillful the second isn't.
There are a few reflections here I think are useful: borders and countries are impermanent, man-made concepts.
We have all had innumerable rebirths of all sorts of nationalities, ethnicities, races, identities; including many "countries" that no longer exist, and many that nobody even knows about anymore.
Sometimes, love of one's country can even be twisted into attachment to what one thinks is best for one's country, such as specific leaders, a specific set of ideas. Those are really just things used by politicians and the media to get you to do something they want you to do. It is often better to just try to be helpful and do the best you can with what seems sensible, but leaving the attachments and political agendas at the door.