If I see the Buddha on the road, is it acceptable to kill him?

Question

Yeah mark - I'm the retard. But at least I know the answer to this question, and you don't.

Mallary: I asked the question to see if anyone else knows the answer. There are MANY reasons to ask a question, not knowing the answer is just ONE of them.

And so far I've been called "stupid" once and it's been implied a second time.

Answer 1

"If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him."

Who's that Buddha? What does it mean to "meet" the Buddha? What does killing the Buddha imply?

The historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, on attaining enlightenment, is said to have realized that all beings, just as they are, are Buddhas. If that's so, meeting a Buddha on the road should be a pretty commonplace event! So should being a Buddha on the road! But that's where the word "meeting" comes in. It implies encountering something or someone outside or other than oneself. We all come to practice carrying around images or ideals of who we should be and what we imagine a Teacher or Buddha should look like. And we may chase after individuals that for a while seem like they live up to our image, ignore those who do not, and generally treat ourselves with contempt for not living up to the standards set by our imaginary inner "Buddha." All this may keep us pretty busy, but it has nothing to do with real practice, which is an awareness of who and what we actually are, not the pursuit of some ideal of who we think we should be. So "killing the Buddha" means killing or wiping out this fantasy image, and "the road" is two fold: the road outside where we look outside ourselves for the ones who have all the answers, and the inner mind road, where we set up all the "shoulds" we must obey to turn ourselves into the Buddhas we don't believe we already are, but think we must become.

It is said that Shakyamuni's last dying words to his disciples were, "Be a lamp unto yourselves." Be your own light, your own authority, your own Buddha. Kill off every image of the Buddha, see who and what you are in this very moment, see that there is no Buddha other than THIS MOMENT.

A psychologist friend recently complained that Buddha's last words themselves were a trap. (Actually he called them something much less polite!) How can anybody TELL you to be your own authority? In the guise of liberation, these words become just one more dogma that the disciples submit to. Anybody who TELLS you to "Kill the Buddha" is giving a command as self-contradictory as "Be spontaneous!" It's a good point, and one that shows that this koan and Buddhism in general can't escape a more complex involvement with issues of authority. Our psychological reality is that we have to learn and practice to achieve our independence, and that learning almost inevitably has to take place within the context of some kind of disciplined practice. Remember we have to "kill the Buddhas" inside as well as outside ourselves. If we take this saying to mean only that we should reject all forms of external authority, we will end up leaving ourselves at the mercy of all sorts of, often unconscious, inner "Buddhas." Isaiah Berlin distinguished two kinds liberty he called positive and negative liberty. Negative liberty is freedom FROM, freedom from outside interference of one kind or another. Killing the outside Buddha may give us a version of this negative liberty. Positive liberty is freedom TO, the liberty of enabling conditions. And these are what are provided by a Teacher, a practice, a discipline. Berlin emphasized that the two kinds of liberty were conceptually at odds with one another, and an increase in one automatically meant a decrease in the other. And yet, we cannot thrive without both. Without a formal practice, we will never engage the deeply ingrained unconscious determinants of our character. But any practice, any teacher inevitably offers the risk and the temptation to hand over responsibility to someone or something outside of ourselves. The middle way is our balancing of these two truths. There is no one correct way to balance them, and every teacher, every discipline will offer a unique mix. No one can tell you how you, as a particular individual, ought to practice. Each of us must decide and take responsibility for the balance works best for us. That is how we truly can be a "lamp unto ourselves."

Answer 2

In the Church of the Subgenius, killing their leader 'Bob' is a part of their traditions. They are a group of non-conformists, which is actually a contradiction. They circumvent this by self-heresy and blaspeming against their own most Holy things.
It would not be acceptable, to me, for you to kill someone with it being in defense of yourself. However, I am a rather hawkish American Liberal. If you were a soldier and Buddha was planting Improvised Explosive Devices, then I would accept the need to kill him. It's not like Buddha to do that, however. His Holiness the Dalai Lama exemplifies this by forbidding any violent resistance to Chinese occupation. I would question your reasons for wanting to kill the Buddha. Knowing what I know about Him, it is unacceptable.

Answer 3

It's a good idea to find out first what skills the Buddha has. Is it possible that he has any powers that you could use or bo staff knowledge or something. If so, killing him might be impossible, but perhaps you could find a way of using them to your advantage, especially if he's distracted with, like, meditating and stuff.

Answer 4

You might not be able to do so. The folk story goes that one person named Anguli Mala tried to. But the energy around a Buddha is so much that the energy source it self takes care of the negative situation. Apart from that, a person who attains Buddha hood, sights the past, present and the future. Being non violent, they would avoid such situations.

Answer 5

Yes - "If" you "can" see Buddha on the road. With the thought of violence in mind and with the absence of love, you will never see Buddha anywhere.

So do not worry, as the situation will never arise!

Answer 6

That's called murder and not acceptable by law.However, if you live in certain countries you might need to get in line for that deed.

Answer 7

That is so wrong in so many ways...

He'll probably reincarnate into an ugly stick and crawl up your butt.

So watch out behind ya, kid!!

Answer 8

If he is coming towards you with a gun, sword or knife saying "I am going to kill you" then yes, under the Islamic law, you are allowed to kill him.

Answer 9

if you know that answer why are you asking it?it seems stupid to ask a question you already know the answer to.

Answer 10

We are all buddhas according to the buddhism teaching. So who are you killing this time?