wrote:
> --- feste37 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> > You've no idea what Massaoui will be like in 10, 20,
> > 30 or 40 years. To
> > condemn someone of 37 to a life in a dungeon with
> > almost no human contact
> > is out of all proportion to the offense. People can
> > change.
>
> Fanatic sociopaths do not change, but only coil
> tighter around their cherished delusion of intrinsic
> superiority and absolute righteousness.
>
> > You seem to be
> > saying two things here. First, lock them up forever;
> > second, if they show
> > genuine remorse, consider freeing them. Massaoui has
> > no such option. He
> > could become as saintly as Mother Teresa
>
> Right. And if frogs had wings they'd fly!
Saying absolutely *nothing* about Moussoui,
I'm interested in the two points of view
being discussed above. One is stating that
people (or at least some people, whom he
classifies as sociopaths) *cannot* change;
they're pretty much stuck with what they
are. The other is stating the principle
that has been the basis of almost every
philosophy or religion that has ever lasted
more than a few decades on this rock -- that
OF COURSE people can change...sinners can
become saints, slackers can become world-
shapers, the unenlightened can realize that
they're not.
It just strikes me as a fascinatingly contrast-
ing set of point of views to show up on a
"spiritual" discussion group.
Does anyone know the story of Milarepa? Well,
according to what we know about his life
(which probably has the same degree of validity
as anything we know about, say, Christ), early
in life he developed awesome siddhi powers but
not the wisdom to use them properly. As a
result, when a bunch of ignorant villagers
dissed his Mom, Milarepa...uh...overreacted
a bit and wasted the whole damned lot of them.
Big meat course for the buzzards at the sky
burial that day.
And yet.
And yet, according to the same tales, Milarepa
went on to realize his enlightenment and become
one of Tibet's great saints.
Could these events ever have taken place within
a cosmology that preaches, "People can't change?"
If what we are told by ancient teachers about
reincarnation is true, and each of us has hundreds
of thousands of incarnations under his or her belt,
isn't it pretty likely that you would have been a
real lowlife in at least a few of them? Maybe even
a murderer or sociopath a few times, just because
it seemed like a good idea at the time. And yet,
here you are on a spiritual path, and with (as far
as I can tell) just as good a shot at the Big E
as the next guy or gal. Go figure.
I think people can change.
Whether they actually do or not is the real
ball game, isn't it?
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