The Development of Reggae

[leggo rocker]

Gandhi did indeed take up the non-violent thread that is clear in 'Hindu' philosophy. And both Vedic and Buddhist traditions teach 'compassion and virtue'. But equally clearly the Veda also states that one should protect the weak, and the truth, with action if need be.

Gandhi's use of non-violence was actually a master stroke as the British knew how to deal with armed resistance, with extreme violence! But they were unable to react to non-violence in the same way without risking loosing any support they still retained from the international community.

Like Buddhists they only see material life as temporary, the body being a mere casket for the soul. And this allows them to take a more 'relaxed' stance against oppression, preferring to concentrate on higher matters even at the cost of their lives or those of others.

However, many have pointed to this 'permission' to use force to defend the weak as justification for resistance. And so movements such as shaolin exist, where the philosophy is Buddhist and essentially non-violent (and vegetarian) and yet they train to kill!