FROM A LETTER TO MARTIN LUTHER KING, Jr.— June 1, 1965
I believe with all my heart that the monks who burned themselves
did not aim at the death of the oppressors but only at a change
in their policies. Their enemies are not man. They are intolerance,
fanaticism, dictatorship, cupidity, hatred, and discrimination
which lie within the heart of man. These are real enemies of humans,— not humans themselves. In our unfortunate fatherland we are trying to plead desperately: do not kill man, even in man's name. Please kill the real enemies of man which are present everywhere in our very hearts and minds... You cannot be silent since you have already been in action and you are in action because, in you, God is in action.
Thich Nhat Hanh,
Director of the School of Youth for Social Service
of the Buddhist University in Saigon, Viet Nam.
2 comments:
I wouldn't kill the devil but make business with him
I think man spends too much time 'dancin' with the devil' as it is... but, I don't really believe in "the devil"... just the bad energy that we engage in, due to all the reasons that Thich Nhat Hahn speaks of... we must find ways to deal with those things, because killing one single representation of evil does not solve the problem, negative energy that has already been released will continue to expand, just as all things do, until we find ways to balance that energy... in fact, all the many opinions being voiced in this room, alone, are showing that we each have different ideas regarding the interpretation/definition of just about anything... we must find ways to understand one another's language (internal)... which is, really, the language of the Heart.
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