When I picked up my camera to take their pictures, it seemed as if these innocent children were crying for help. But no one heard their cries. I closed my eyes and placed myself in their shoes. I began to feel pain. I silently asked myself, “Why, why would they hurt them?” In the chamber of death, who wouldn’t be terrified? The Buddha says, “All beings tremble before violence. All fear death.”
Observe the very nature of human beings. We are possessed with three most dangerous weapons: greed, hatred, and ignorance. All reside in the mind. All are diseases. The three lead man to destruction, annihilation, for himself, and the world. With greed, we amass nuclear bombs, to kill whom? With hatred, we intentionally hurt each other. With ignorance, we do not know that by harming others, we harm ourselves.
In a place where there is hate, there is hell. If you had and loved your child, would you hurt him? If love were to truly exist in one’s heart, there would be no intention to hurt others. Only hate creates harms. Imagine there were no greed, no hatred, and no ignorance. There would be no hell. We would be living in a peaceful world.
Regardless of your doctrine, one thing you should know is that intentionally injuring your fellow beings is wrong.
Source of quote:
http://www.geocities.com/phoenixwatlao/dhamma.htmlPhotos taken at Toul Sleng – Kee Music – John Lennon
I looked deep into their eyes and felt great pain in me.
They were our brothers.
