XPost: alt.philosophy.zen, alt.society.liberalism, alt.society.kindness   
   XPost: talk.politics.theory   
   From: jack_foreigner@yahoo.com   
      
   Them Amish are very impressive.  Very, very impressive.   
      
   Reminds me of that book "Revenge" by Laura Blumenfeld, though her   
   forgiveness was "motivated" and thus not "pure" (which I "suspect" of   
   the Amish as well, in a manner of speaking -- but not "really")....   
      
   Anyway, it makes me wonder whether Zen must mean what we'd recognize as   
   a kind of "liberalism"...a perspective of, well, forgiveness and   
   kindess, for society, in terms of politics...I know Asoka outlawed war   
   in ancient India upon his conversion, but what would a "truly" Buddhist   
   society look like?  Zen Buddhist, anyway.  How would you punish   
   something like murder?  Sex crimes?  Would one still "punish" -- and   
   would imprisonment, however "comfortable," be part of that?   
      
   What is the "Buddhist response" to such "practical" matters of crime   
   and misdemeanors?  Have another cup of tea?   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)