There appears to be quite a few learned and wise Buddhists in
this forum. But I noticed something strange when I found regular
Buddhists in this forum behaving so aggressively on a daily basis
in another SGforum: Eternal Hope (http://www.sgforums.com/forums/1381). I'm not
sure if such behaviour also appears in other similar forums
elsewhere.
I'm sure other regular and peace-loving readers of this forum
will also like to know: what's Buddhism's views about aggression
towards people of other faiths and religions?
Will the moderators or learned Buddhists in this forum like to
share your views, and provide relevant quotes to support or condone
such aggressive behaviour towards people of other faiths?
PS: I am a regular reader of SGforums, and I didn't feel
the need to post, until now, as it's a pretty disturbing situation,
especially for new Buddhists.
Dear TS,
Generally most Buddhists do not behave in such ways; not just
because of their faith in the Buddha's teachings, but they also
believe in self-discipline, self-respect and respect for
others.
Most Buddhists also do not react aggressively when others
(religious members or not) are harsh or fierce towards them.
If you are a Buddhist, then it would be in your best interest to
remind yourself about what anger does to oneself and others using
the Buddha's teachings. And then take the opportunity to understand
the nature of anger and strive to transform it into something
equally strong but yet positive and truly beneficial - compassion
and equanimity.
Speak up and quote relevant teachings from wise people of
ancient and modern time about anger and how it affects peace and
harmony whenever it is appropriate to defuse the tense situation at
that time.
If you are a non-Buddhist, then you can also understand anger
from a secular perspective - it raises your blood pressure, creates
unnecessary mental and emotional disturbance in oneself and/or in
others, etc.
But take note, even Buddhists are humans. Not all are saints or
enlightened people. Even I can make mistakes of saying things that
make fellow Buddhists feel uncomfortable even though I don't have
the real intention to...
To sum up, we can only keep on learning how to deal with our
emotions (through self-reflection for example), and how to respond
with peace and love when experiencing the raw negative emotions
from others, online or otherwise.
It is very hard to do, no doubts about that. I had failed many
times, and am still making mistakes. But hey as long we are truly
willing to learn to understand our emotions and the real
consequences that have come to us or will eventually come to us, we
will know what we should really do to enjoy real peace and harmony
with all fellow human beings, one day.
All the best, TS. =)