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Northwestern Debate Institute

2011 File Title

1NC
Being one who advocates killing and violence of anyone is an action that is against the teachings of the Great Buddha. The avocation of violence and killing goes against the noble eightfold path that the Buddha laid out, which is the true path for ending suffering. The first precept of this is to refrain from the killing of any living thing. The idea behind all this is that improper physical actions leads to an unsound mind, so that in order to have a sound mind and attain Enlightenment, one should act properly with the physical body. The path to enlightenment is reached when one relinquishes all attachments, and of them includes the perverse notion of violent actions and the taking the life of another. Among the teachings of the Buddha to the world, the foremost was "Ahimsa" (not causing harm to anyone). Non-violence has to be practised with purity of mind, tongue, and body. There should be no ill feelings which is a form of violence. To cause harm to others through the body is also violence (Himsa). All actions should be helpful to others. Buddha has enlightened us

Their acceptance of violent reaction is hella badthis makes unity and justice imposibleonly respect for others and interconnectedness and using Ghandi as a model can solve Malkin 4 [John, social activist, "Buddhism is the Most Radical and Civilized Choice", http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?
option=com_content&task=view&id=1528, RCB]
We have to understand that violence is not just physical, which is the way it comes off in the newspaper. Before it was physical, violence was psychological. Theres violence in the way that we speak to each otherwith disrespect. Theres violence in our comediesthe humor is often at the expense of another human being. So we have to look inward and ask ourselves three questions before we speak. The first question: Is what we are about to say true? Second question: Is what we are about to say necessary? The third question: Is what we are about to say something that will cause no harm? If you answer affirmatively to all three of thoseit is true, it is necessary and it will cause no harmthen we should speak. Otherwise, we should consider our speech before we utter it. Violence begins in the mind. It begins with anger. It begins with fear. And those things begin when we think dualistically. When we think in terms of them versus us. When we believe in our own separate ego, our separate life, not connected to anyone else. We have to meditate on this question, on the delusion of separateness and how it leads to psychological violence within us and then to external violence that causes so much harm in the world. John Malkin: Even in movements for social change, people have taken up arms to defend themselves. I think of the Black Panthers or the Sandanistas. What is your view of movements that have advocated violence or a defensive violence? Charles Johnson: Im glad that you use that word defensive. Defensive about their position, right, and what they believe? One of the things critical to the Buddhist Eightfold Path is the first step: right view. Right view is the understanding that my view is not the only view that represents truth in the world. Its understanding that other peoples views can be equally true. Martin Luther King, when he would talk to his staff and other civil rights workers, made a big point of asking them to consider the criticism that was coming their way. They knew that some of it was biased and not to be taken seriously. But if there was something that was truly critical and helpful, then that should be paid attention to. One of the things we have to do, I think, if we want to implement social change, is give up the ego. We have to be more concerned about truth than we are about maintaining or defending our position or our own ideas. Buddhisms practices of meditation and mindfulness help us give up our sense that my view is the only view, and I will kill others or impose my views on others, if they dont accept them. I think it is very important for people to look at that.

AND, nuclear war is inevitable absent striving for human solidarity Ikeda 7 [Daisaku, Buddhist philosopher and president of Soka Gokkai International. Restoring the Human Connection: The First Step
to Global Peace,http://www.sgiuk.org/resources/PeaceProposal2007.pdf] The challenge of preventing any further proliferation of nuclear weapons is 8 just such a trial in the quest for world peace, one that cannot be achieved if we are defeated by a sense of helplessness. The crucial element is to ensure that any struggle against evil is rooted firmly in a consciousness of the unity of the human family, something only gained through the mastery of our own inner contradictions. It is this kind of reconfiguration of our thinking that will make possible a skilled and restrained approach to the options of dialogue and pressure. The stronger our sense of connection as members of the human family, the more effectively we can reduce to an absolute minimum any application of the hard power of pressure, while making the greatest possible use of the soft power of dialogue. Tragically, the
weighting in the case of Iraq has been exactly the reverse. The need for such a shift has been confirmed by many of the concerned thinkers I have met. Norman Cousins (191590), the writer known as the conscience of America with whom I published a dialogue, stated with dismay in his work Human Options: The great failure of educationnot just in the United States but throughout most of the worldis that it has made people tribe-conscious rather than speciesconscious.8 Similarly, when I met with Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in November of last year, he declared powerfully: we continue to emphasize our differences instead of what we have in common. We continue to talk about us

Northwestern Debate Institute


2011 File Title
versus them. Only when we can start to talk about us as including all of humanity will we truly be at peace. In our

correspondence, Joseph Rotblat posed the question, Can we master the necessary arts of global security and loyalty to the human race?9 Three months after writing these words to me, Dr. Rotblat passed away. I believe his choice to leave this most crucial matter in the form of an open question 9 was an expression of his optimism and his faith in humanity. When our thinking is reconfigured around loyalty to the human raceour sense of human solidarityeven the most implacable difficulties will not cause us to lapse into despair or condone the panicked use of force. It will be possible to escape the snares of such shortsighted thinking. We will be empowered to engage in the kind of persistent exertion that Max Weber viewed as the ideal of political action, and the door will be open to the formation of consensus and persuasion through dialogue.

Our Alternative is to negate all acceptance of violence.

Northwestern Debate Institute


2011 File Title

AT: Not priority


The Buddhist prayer must be properly understood. The real meaning of the prayer is: You must divert your mind (Buddhi) towards Dharma (right conduct). And the right conduct should aim at serving society. When this is done, society gets purified. It is not enough to read the lives of Avatars and Messiahs. Their teachings should be put into practice as much as possible. People must outgrow their material attachments and develop divine love. Buddha has enlightened us

Northwestern Debate Institute


2011 File Title

2NC Overview
One should strive to see only that which is sacred and pure. What man sees are like seeds sown in the heart. Evil scenes give rise to evil thoughts. Good scenes evoke good thoughts. When sacred seeds are implanted in the heart there will be no room for bad feelings or thoughts to grow in the heart. This was the first lesson Buddha taught. Buddha wandered all over the country in search of spiritual peace and liberation. After many years of enquiry he came to the conclusion that the secret of spiritual wisdom was not to be got from scholars or by study. He realized that spiritual understanding can only come from mastery of the senses. From developing sacred vision, man should proceed to sacred speech. Buddha declared that only sacred thoughts can lead to sacred speech. The tongue has not been given to man to pamper the palate with delicious sweets. It is not given for talking as one likes. It is not to be used for causing displeasure to others. Nor is it to be used for indulging in falsehood. the tongue has been given to man to speak the truth, to be sweet to others, to praise the Divine and enjoy the bliss derived from such sacred speech.

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