Journal Entry 7/9/10

My favorite piece of literature I read for this class is The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal. I really like the question it poses at the end of the narrative, which reminds me of a philosophical question, as it is so open to interpretation. The responses included at the end of the book were also very enlightening and provided a wide variety of unique perspectives, which gave me some food for thought. One of my favorites was from the Dalai Lama, who stated that one must forgive individuals that have committed atrocities against others and against mankind, but should remember the experiences in order to prevent a reoccurrence. He gave an example of such a scenario by referencing the Chinese government’s invasion of Tibet, during which 1.2 million Tibetans have died due to execution, starvation, and suicide. However, despite these horrible acts of hostility that still continue to this day, the Dalai Lama and his people refuse to fight back with physical force. Instead they stick to their Buddhist values of nonviolence and compassion, and forgive the Chinese for waging a violent one-sided war against Tibet. Finally, he shares a story about a Tibetan monk who spent 18 years in a Chinese prison before finally getting out. He asked the monk what he feared most while in prison and the monk replied that his greatest fear was losing his compassion for the Chinese.

Responses like this one got me thinking critically about the idea of forgiveness, particularly in Simon’s case. I took many factors into account and then was given an opportunity through this class to voice my opinion via journal writing and group discussion. This text was my favorite not only because it was an interesting account of historical events, but also because it got me (and the rest of the people who read it) to reevaluate my belief system by using a real life hypothetical scenario to test my convictions. In the process, I learned a few things about myself and have developed an interest in reading more Buddhist literature in order to better understand their culture and the Dalai Lama’s response to Simon’s prompt. I’ve always thought of myself as a fairly compassionate and forgiving person but after reading this and reflecting upon it, I realized that just like Simon I have boundaries to what I feel is forgivable.