Military and police whose duty it is to protect the sovereignty of the nation and quell the unrest sometimes inevitably have to wound and kill the thieves. This kind of killing is more or less sinful than general killing?

the military men and women and the police, whose duty it is to protect the sovereignty of the nation and quell the unrest sometimes inevitably have to wound and kill the thieves. But killing and hurting people are necessary. I would like to ask Luang Por whether this kind of killing is more or less sinful than general killing? https://dmc.tv/a3460

Dhamma Articles > Question and Answer for Life
[ Oct 16^th, 2004 ] - [ read : 18268 ]

Question:
Luang Por, Sir, the military men and women and the police, whose duty it is to protect the sovereignty of the nation and quell the unrest sometimes inevitably have to wound and kill the thieves. But killing and hurting people are necessary. I would like to ask Luang Por whether this kind of killing is more or less sinful than general killing?



Answer
by Venerable Dhattajeevo Bhikku

The Lord Buddha clearly stated that the amount of karma accrued by any evil action more or less is measured by the degree of the darkness and cloudiness of the mind as the result of such an action. The clouded mind leads to the woeful state of existence. On the contrary, if the mind is bright and clear, the blessing state of existence will be the destination.

Simply put, one will enter the heaven or hell afterlife or the karma done is either heinous or light depending solely upon the degree of cloudiness of one’s mind. Regardless of the cause of the killing, once one successfully kills another, the more cloudiness of the mind as a result of the action, the more the karma. The less cloudiness of the mind, the less karma will develop. That is the rule.

In the case of killing others to defend oneself without being overpowered by any hate or anger towards the opponents, for instance, the soldier fights to protect both the lives and the safety of the nation, then that is one thing.

But in the case of fighting while harboring a feeling against the foes, such feeling definitely darkens the mind. That is another thing.

But if the situation has compelled you to kill the enemies in order to save the country, try to kill the least amount or merely cause fewer injuries. Preset your intention in this way, for the degree of karma depends upon the circumstances of the situation, as well as the state of mind of the individual killer. This is the first principal judgment.

The second principal judgment is to consider whether after having committed the killing, how the killers feel. If they triumphantly exult, the karma is doubled. This is because besides having a malicious will to kill others, they rejoice in the cruelty they have committed. Thus their minds are heavily darkened.

On the other hand, when the critical situation forces them to kill the intruders in order to save their lives and protect the nation, they do not delight in killing them. However, they later in retrospect review the cause of the conflict and are settled that it was an efficient measure to prevent a possible reoccurrence. This is because they realize the deterioration of the quality of the mind caused by the merciless conduct, as well as being conscious that both they and their adversaries are human beings.

The worst is when the invaders who intrude the borders to kill our soldiers and our border police were perhaps deluded or deceived by their superior officers to enter into the battlefield. Or they may have been hired or intoxicated with additive drugs. When reflecting on the illusions that lead them into the brutal bloodshed, instead of delight in killing the hostile enemy, they take pity on them. If it happens this way, they who have massacred the foes have less karma than the first mentioned.

Furthermore, after having killed or wounded the opponents, they arrange the burial ceremony for them. Or after having wounded the enemy, they send for the doctors or the ambulances. In addition, they go as far as to perform some meritorious deeds and dedicate the merits and the goodness to the souls of the deceased.

Most of all it would be the best, after the meritorious dedication to try not to recall the cruelty. Let it be the end of it and don’t even think about it because it is a rule that whenever one recollects the days of wickedness, the quantity of karma in his/her mind is multiplying because his/her mind is redarkened by the recollection. On the opposite end, each time one recalls one’s good deeds conducted in the past, one’s mind is accumulating brightness. Once the unpleasant event has been settled, delete its record from your memory.

How do you delete it? You delete it firstly, by forever not thinking about it.

Secondly, you delete it by thinking only of pleasant experiences such as meritorious deeds and wholesome actions you have performed in the past.   The best way is to practice meditation every night and visualize the crystal ball or the image of the Lord Buddha continuously in the center of your body. This is the method to upgrade the quality of the program in your mind so that karma will have no chance of developing, and instead your merits will be growing day and night.