tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069473.post2058526755859175624..comments2023-11-03T05:25:26.381-04:00Comments on Water Dissolves Water: Shokaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03648991160664931861noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069473.post-68147450175263756332015-11-30T21:00:53.445-05:002015-11-30T21:00:53.445-05:00Good points, Robin. Thanks for your comments.Good points, Robin. Thanks for your comments.Shokaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03648991160664931861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069473.post-6087611254054383272015-11-30T01:38:32.603-05:002015-11-30T01:38:32.603-05:00The real issue over abortion is fetus' interes...The real issue over abortion is fetus' interests vs. mother's interests. At what point is the mother justified in terminating a potential life? (Or a dependent life, from the Evangelical perspective.) It's quandary for anyone concerned about karmic consequences. <br /><br />Here in the West, most Buddhists take the position that the matter is one for interested parties to resolve, not for meddling others. (This is also consistent with the fundamental Buddhist view of morality, though some self-professed Buddhists are delighted to dictate morality to others in other contexts.) <br /><br />If you really want to stir up a hornet's nest, ask a roomful of Buddhists -- particularly Western converts -- whether we have to be vegetarians. After that riot quiets down, take all the vegetarians and ask them _how_ vegetarian we have to be. (New riot.) <br /><br />I confess that I'm a little ashamed that we judge this issue of greater importance than the issue of abortion. While I do cleave to the Buddha's own teaching that it's none of my business what others do, and I recognise that the choice is complex and difficult for those who must make it (and so even less my business), the karmic implications of abortion are much greater than the implications of a BLT. Yet many Buddhists hit the roof over the sandwich, and don't give the potential human life a backward glance. <br /><br />Interesting post! <br /><br />Robin<br />Rusty Ring: Reflections of an Old-Timey HermitRobinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08522501894058291952noreply@blogger.com