Buddhist Discussion Forum concerning 911 and AFF911T

[Keith Mothersson]

The following is intended to serve as a discussion forum for Buddhists who wish to engage in respectful discussion, enquiry with each other concerning 911 and the issues it throws up for us. Please stay out of it if you aren't a Buddhist, or at least please don't post if you feel tempted to throw abuse.

I will be the initial reference person, but hopefully our numbers will grow!

I begin with the letter I have sent to lots of BUDDHIST ORGANISATIONS AND WEBSITES.

It refers people to look at our All Faiths for 911 Truth Declaration and Appeal, which is on this website at http://www.nineeleven.co.uk/board/viewtopic.php?t=13131
and also at www.mujca.com/allfaiths.htm

Best wishes, and look forward to hearing from you!

Keith Mothersson
AFF911T - acting secretary and initial Buddhist representative


Dear Friends in the Dharma,

As the secretary of a new interfaith body I am writing to religious organizations of all kinds to invite them to mentally re-open the question of what really happened on that tragic day of September 11th, from which such a lot of suffering has flowed. Our founding Declaration and Appeal literature is attached.

As I am also a practicing Buddhist, I thought it might be helpful to add some reflections of a more Buddhist derivation, albeit in doing so I am aware that many of my readers will be much more expert than I in what the Buddha said.

I should also add that I am aware that whatever the truth behind 911 we still need to treat people of other backgrounds as individuals, regardless of their faith or nationality. And we do also need to understand and not hate the perpetrators of 911, whoever they really were.

One preliminary hurdle I may need to surmount can be expressed in the following objection:
‘Don’t such ‘political’ concerns fall under the heading of matters which are unconducive for discussion within the Sangha?’

But if as Buddhists we can make a difference – both through our practice of dispassionately separating what we know from what we don’t (right view, right speech) and through the added-value that people of faith can bring to wholesome non-partisan causes – then maybe the tests we should use are ‘Will this be of service?’ and ‘If we can help reduce the fog of untruth, will this not help to reduce suffering here and abroad?’

‘Dotted lines’ are one thing, but if we draw too much of a big black line separating a no-go zone of ‘politics’ (concerning society, the ’external’ world) from ‘spirituality/faith/dharma’ (concerning us, our ‘inner’ worlds) , then perhaps we risk shoring up the illusion of a separate self, unconsciously buttressed as if often is by (highly political) ‘wegoic’ assumptions about our ‘Free West’ society which is being challenged by those bad guys ....

Another difficulty which some Buddhists raise goes like this: ‘Views are many but Life is short. How can we ever know the truth?’ Assuming that this scepticism isn’t simply directed at those who question the official Bin-Laden-dunnit conspiracy theory of the powerful, I would like to sympathise with this concern. But also to encourage you with my report-back, based on following the 9/11 Truth trail for four years now, that for all the false trails, man-traps and remaining uncertainties, YES we can know some important things for certain (see for example www.911scholars.org/ ) and that these are enough to make a helpful difference both to our cognitive maps and to our world, potentially.

Greed, hate and delusion are not just nouns, existential conditions, but also verbs – unskillful acts and habits of mind, such as dogmatically attaching to unquestioned and widely promulgated views, or expressing impatient contempt for ‘losers’ who espouse unpopular views. And on the institutional plane the three poisons keep turning up as collective practices, e.g. the quite normal scam at the start of wars and dictatorships, of trying to delude the world through deceptive reports, irrational scare-mongering and ‘false-flag’ attacks of one kind or another (e.g. Saddam’s non-existent WMD, the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident, and the 1933 Reichstag Fire.).

So fellow Buddhists, May I humbly invite you to adopt ‘beginners mind’ as you read Our Declaration and Appeal (attached). Join us and help us to walk the middle way, dispassionately ‘seeking truth from facts’ (Dalai Lama) and sifting through each next fact or theory we come across without any predisposition either to believe or disbelieve what we are encountering.

Of course, that is an ideal: but perhaps the main thing is that rather than shrink reality for our own comfort, we allow ourselves to ‘always be disturbed by the truth’.

If you would like to respond to this letter, please do, either directly to me on 01738 783677 or at keith[dot]mothersson[at]phonecoop[dot]coop or at a purpose-created discussion thread on one of the British 911 websites: http://www.nineeleven.co.uk/board/viewt ... 18#108518

Thank you for reading this. May all beings know peace.

Sincerely and with Metta,

Keith Mothersson
Buddhist representative and acting secretary of All Faiths for 911 Truth

[Thermate911]

Excellent initiative, Keith.

Although not mentioning 9/11 specifically, His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso's recent dual book "The Path to Freedom"* could be considered required reading for all searching for a solution to the present criminality and breakdown in human affairs.

A thorough understanding of the full meaning of 'chi sem' would not go amiss in the West!

* ISBN -10, 0-349-11581-8

[Keith Mothersson]

Hi Thermate911,

I am glad you like this initiative. Please could you share a little more on the 'chi sem' notion.

I have been surprised and I confess disappointed by the decision of HH Dalai Lama to accept from the US Congress their medal, and all that praise about being a Peace maker from President Bush. But that is bye the bye in this context.

Have you discussed 911 with any fellow Buddhists, in groups?

In case people are interested, here is the attachment for the final version as now printed of our 8pp A5 booklet (small differences in text, plus added pictures). And I will attach also the doc version as it is easier to excerpt from, in case anyone wants to quote from it.

[Keith Mothersson]

If you would like a PDF, please e-mail me directly at keith[dot]mothersson[at]phonecoop[dot]coop. Gassho!