> > > > b) he's taking the most measured approach yet in recorded history, to > > bring principles of capitalism to charity. >
> > I have been thinking seriously about such issues, and feel that > one could make a convincing case that Bill Gates, through the work > of his foundation has done more tangible good than the free > software movement. [snip] this is true. sometimes i feel the historians of the future may just label him the robin hood of the software industry, since history does tend to gloss and distort facts over time. in any case, the facts speak for themselves. the incredible wealth he amassed is being distributed by his own hands into, and i repeat, the most measured approached yet in recorded history, of capitalism for sustainable development. > > While I do not at all accept Microsoft's predatory policies, > nor the attempts of institutions like Microsoft India to > claim that somehow the charity of the Bill and Melinda Gates > Foundation means that governments should buy more Windows > desktops, ... oh! i'd love citations and references on this point. for a lot of other stuff i tend to study. do you have any? > > > > c) gautam buddha, mahavir, and a few saints who thought hard about the > > inequality of wealth always found an easy way to equality: donate > > wealth and become poor themselves. alas, all the wealth given away > > through thousands of years by hundreds of wealthy people has not > > eradicated poverty. yet. it has only made the wealthy poor by their > > own choice, and helped quite a few assuage their 'money guilt' perhaps > > because, as mario puzo once said 'behind every fortune there is a > > crime.' > > Double bah! > > Anybody who hides behind any kind of -ism, or resorts to invoking > the names of great people, has already abdicated any personal > responsibility. not true. i mention *only* buddha and mahavir, as these were very very rich and wealthy kings. buddha was like the billgates of his kingdom. not only did he donate his wealth, he actually walked his own kingdom as a beggar living in turn completely on the charity of his own former people. that *is* awe-inspiring. buddha did not donate what he could spare, he donated everything. the other reason why i mention these two, is because in my personal dignity and perspective of life, i find inspiration in the life and works of enlightened people, just like you may find with the works of richard stallman and gora. each to their own. we call it freedom, eh? finally, inspiration does not mean we necessarily abdicate personal responsibility, but i do understand that there could be cases where this happens. let me clarify, not in my case. i cite them for their approach to wealth and charity, to study and draw our conclusions. >It does not matter whether it is Hinduism, > Buddhism, capitalism, Marxism, or even Gora-ism. Not that there > weren't great people that did great things. However, the world is > a living, breathing, dynamic, thing, and at every moment poses > unique challenges. If your response is driven by any kind of > ideology, it is bound to be inadequate. Gautam Buddha never had > to contend with the Internet, though I would have liked to see > his response to the ubiquitous availability of pr0n. great question. the answer is simple. the approach of buddhism, especially zen, is 'yes to everything'. i presume buddha would have said if you find a problem with poPcORN on the internet, then obviously the problem is not with the internet, it is with you. use this as an opportunity to wake yourself up. or words to that effect. Find Nirvana in poPcorn over the web. so Zen! ok, we're so way off-topic, but gosh! this topic is fun. so those interested to discuss this further, we should meet offline over chai and coffee, and also touch on a topic that i find equally fascinating: what would have been the response of enlightened people to the world of free software, copyrights, and DRM? this especially because such individuals have almost always given birth to the publishing and dissemination of scriptures and techniques and even medicine. so, if buddha was alive today and contending with the internet, i'd ask him to point his Inner Browser to http://freed.in, and submit a talk. > Regards, > Gora regards niyam bhushan _______________________________________________ ilugd mailinglist -- ilugd@lists.linux-delhi.org http://frodo.hserus.net/mailman/listinfo/ilugd Next Event: http://freed.in - February 22-24, 2008 Archives at: http://news.gmane.org/gmane.user-groups.linux.delhi http://www.mail-archive.com/ilugd@lists.linux-delhi.org/
