Stories about racism
2 Buddhist wisdom stories about racism from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- 'Dogs don't have money'Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Near the US base by Ubon, around the end of the Vietnam War, an African-American soldier rides a rickshaw into town. Drunk friends of the driver shout from a bar, 'Where are you…
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the story of the Africanamean soldier who was criticized this was racial abuse. Did I tell that story here? Okay. This was when I first went to Thailand. It was just at the end of the Vietnam War. So about a year before there was a big US army base close to Ubon where Ajentcha lived. And one day there was an Africanamean soldier was in a rickshaw being driven into town for some business or whatever. And a rickshaw driver passed a bar where many of his friends were drinking and getting quite drunk. One of his friends shouted out, "Where are you taking that dirty dog to?" Pointing to the African-American soldier. It was the start of racial abuse. And that uh driver was afraid because if that uh soldier could understand what he was called, there would be a fight. But the the African-American soldier was just looking around just enjoying the view. So the driver decided to have some fun as well and said to his friends getting drunk, "Look how dirty this dog is. He's black. I'm going to take him into the river throwing him in for a good wash." Haha. Everybody started laughing except for the soldier. The soldier was just looking at the scenery. When they got into town, the soldier got out of the rickshaw without paying. And when the driver shouted out at him in the best English he could, "Sir, money, money, sir." And that's the point where the big Africanamean soldier turned around and said in perfect this ean language the local language perfect language dogs don't have money.
- The widow who hugged her husband's killerStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, where those who truthfully confessed their crimes were granted amnesty, a white police officer, shaking, recounts in front…
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That the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa just after aparte was dismantled and Nelson Mandela was made the president of that country and uh instead of seeking Revenge instead of punishing all those people who punished him he with Desmond Tutu establish the Truth and Reconciliation Commission brilliant way of dealing with the past at this commission anybody who had done what would be a crime was able to go to this commission and in front of everybody else to confess honestly what they done and as long as they truthfully said the horendous thing which they did they would be given amnesty you're just being honest admitting and they would be forgiven that's exactly just what I learned in Buddhism so many years ago which these days now so people can remember these things I've called the AFR code you know which you many of you know they acknowledge forgive and learn a forgive and learn from it that's all one needs to do that's basic Buddhist teachings call it AFL because you know that's the Australian football league people can remember those words AFL acknowledge forgive learn that's exactly what they were doing this because uh Reconciliation Commission acknowledging what they done in public amnesty with forgiveness everyone could learn from them and uh one of the most moving events it was most moving but typical of many things happened in that Truth and Reconciliation Commission was when one of the South African policemen was recounting how he tortured and killed a black African activist an activist from the ANC in front of the man's Widow can you imagine this scene there was a woman whose husband had disappeared probably in the middle of the night and she suspected what might have happened but never knew the true story and now she was facing the man who is confessing in detail how he tortured and killed the husband of this woman the father of her children the one she loved and apparently if I remember accurately this police officer this white police officer was shaking trembling as they recounted the details of what happened facing the wife of the man he' murdered at the end of his testimony shaking the wife Rose from her seat and went for him the guards were supposed to stop her but they froze she went for him the murder of her husband and put her big black arms around him hugged him and said I forgive you not just those two people but apparently the whole room wet