Dear Maung Zarni,
Whilst I understand your argument perfectly well, and I have always said ‘Religion is the poison of the human mind’ as well as “in order for humanity to survive, Religion must die”, I have come to realise that in the modern world, Religion is a very mild creator of violence when compared with Militarism.
Religion has simply become the main ‘ingredient’ the war industry need in order to prosper. Other ingredients are also important, ethnicity, skin colour (Racialism) inequality, injustice, etc, but none is as important and powerful as Religion. And the Buddhist religion is not an exception. History of wars involving Buddhist armies abound.
Many civil wars are fought by members of the same Religion. They fight, torture and kill each other because their government has organised the game, openly armed and trained their official army, clandestinely armed and trained the unofficial fighters (call insurgents) and off they go, the poor soldiers have to kill simply in order not to die. Military personnel are simply modern style slaves.
As long ago as 1935 Smedley D. Butler, a retired American military who fought in WWI said “War is Racket” and gave a long speech on the subject explaining in detail why people have to fight, injure, torture, kill and die, destroy families, societies, buildings, infrastructures and Nature.
People have been brainwashed – I call it ‘brainsoiled’) to believe the war industry can create a world of Peace. it is as if they believed that we can plant an apple tree that yields bananas.
