You Thou Shall Not Kill Murder - Lo Tirtzach - Lo Tirtzack
You shall not kill.
How simple a phrase, but so easily corrupted and misinterpreted by the masses.
Does it mean... do not kill other humans? Or perhaps, do not kill other humans, unless you have to? Or maybe, do not kill any living thing, so far as it is possible.
In this, I do not need to know the exact meaning original author of the phrase in order to use thought, logic, and heart to understand what is meant... and what it means to me. It means that the difference between a human striving for progress, and one who is not, is that the one striving for progress will not kill any living thing.
Think of the bird in the sky. It may have a short life. It may have a small brain. Its thoughts may not become as detailed and complex as our own... but it lives. In its own way, it values its own life. Who am I to deprive it of that? How can I justify that I am any more important... or deserving of life... than this bird?
We are both part of the earth... made separate and alive but for the briefest blink in time. We both come from the earth... every atom of us... and both of us owe our energy and motion only to the sun... and when our bodies are no longer able... we will both return to the land, and the sea, and the sky.
The goal of humanity is progress, and what does that mean? It means that we strive to improve ourselves... which is to say, to make our impact upon the world and universe as positive as it can be... and then to improve it some more. This looks like the cleaning up of the pollution in the air, water, and land. This looks like the eradication our cruelty and its resultant killing and suffering. This looks like a time when all people are free, and equal, and choose to allow all others the same.
You shall not kill.
It is so simple. This means that in all of our actions, each moment of each day, we must strive not to kill... and that we must strive to take action to prevent killing. In addition, by using the word "kill", implied is the sort of physical injury that causes ongoing pain.
For those who believe in this virtue, one goal is that some day all experts in violence, the police and the soldiers, are made peaceful: that no one takes up arms against another.
This implies a battle... one that may go on for years, decades, or centuries. In this battle, it is those who will use violence, versus those who will not. How can such a battle be won? How can such a battle be fought? Is there an inevitable outcome, and if so, is it that the peaceful or the violent prevail? Does the final outcome matter to those who choose peace? Does the final outcome matter to those who wish to see the planet restored to that which it once was... fresh, clean, full and overflowing with life?
You shall not kill.
This may be the core virtue, the one of utmost and highest belief, in the value system of tomorrow. As such, it is the one that deserves and demands the most scrutiny. Does it allow for so called "self defense"? Does it allow the interference with someone ending a pregnancy? Does it prohibit euthanasia? To all of these, the answer is "no". To understand the reason behind each answer is the most important understanding of all.
In the Jewish and Christian old testament bible, the original phrase was "lo tirtzach/k".
Today, we must search for the meaning and understanding of this principle.
How simple a phrase, but so easily corrupted and misinterpreted by the masses.
Does it mean... do not kill other humans? Or perhaps, do not kill other humans, unless you have to? Or maybe, do not kill any living thing, so far as it is possible.
In this, I do not need to know the exact meaning original author of the phrase in order to use thought, logic, and heart to understand what is meant... and what it means to me. It means that the difference between a human striving for progress, and one who is not, is that the one striving for progress will not kill any living thing.
Think of the bird in the sky. It may have a short life. It may have a small brain. Its thoughts may not become as detailed and complex as our own... but it lives. In its own way, it values its own life. Who am I to deprive it of that? How can I justify that I am any more important... or deserving of life... than this bird?
We are both part of the earth... made separate and alive but for the briefest blink in time. We both come from the earth... every atom of us... and both of us owe our energy and motion only to the sun... and when our bodies are no longer able... we will both return to the land, and the sea, and the sky.
The goal of humanity is progress, and what does that mean? It means that we strive to improve ourselves... which is to say, to make our impact upon the world and universe as positive as it can be... and then to improve it some more. This looks like the cleaning up of the pollution in the air, water, and land. This looks like the eradication our cruelty and its resultant killing and suffering. This looks like a time when all people are free, and equal, and choose to allow all others the same.
You shall not kill.
It is so simple. This means that in all of our actions, each moment of each day, we must strive not to kill... and that we must strive to take action to prevent killing. In addition, by using the word "kill", implied is the sort of physical injury that causes ongoing pain.
For those who believe in this virtue, one goal is that some day all experts in violence, the police and the soldiers, are made peaceful: that no one takes up arms against another.
This implies a battle... one that may go on for years, decades, or centuries. In this battle, it is those who will use violence, versus those who will not. How can such a battle be won? How can such a battle be fought? Is there an inevitable outcome, and if so, is it that the peaceful or the violent prevail? Does the final outcome matter to those who choose peace? Does the final outcome matter to those who wish to see the planet restored to that which it once was... fresh, clean, full and overflowing with life?
You shall not kill.
This may be the core virtue, the one of utmost and highest belief, in the value system of tomorrow. As such, it is the one that deserves and demands the most scrutiny. Does it allow for so called "self defense"? Does it allow the interference with someone ending a pregnancy? Does it prohibit euthanasia? To all of these, the answer is "no". To understand the reason behind each answer is the most important understanding of all.
In the Jewish and Christian old testament bible, the original phrase was "lo tirtzach/k".
Today, we must search for the meaning and understanding of this principle.