What is Justice? Can change be brought about by punishment and force?

[charlie cho]

Krishnamurti says, "there is no justice where there is no compassion, love and mercy." 

Then, through our love, compassion, and mercy, do we have the right to kill? In the manga I posted above, the main character believes people have the right to kill for justice. In other words, he may have associated love, compassion, and mercy with punishment/or even death. I saw one of Leo's posts where he said to discount ever killing criminals from undertaking vile acts upon us might as well be unwise also. 

Lao Tzu said that when man holds in his responsibility to decide if another has the right for life and death, it is like a carpenter trying to be a a fisherman, saying man has no business associating with the workings of heaven. 

Or, maybe Lao Tzu wasn't talking about life and death, but was talking about birth and death. These are two completely different things. The former is about people who are enlightened/awakened and who are not awakened: can be interpreted as dead because he or she is not awakened to Truth. The latter is about the existential nature of the physical body. 

After all, God gave man the ability to kill another man. There is no sufficient evidence where God forbids us to kill another person. In the bible, Koran, and the Hindu scriptures, there are many instances where man kills another man and God has no objection to him. Sometimes, God blesses him amidst his vile act of murder because he may have killed some other person who was truly evil and malevolent. 

I would like to talk about whether we have the right to kill in order to fulfill our compassion, love, and mercy. Can there ever be love, mercy, and compassion in murder? 

I'll quote from what a character in the manga to have us think about this in a more deep way. "Whatever the reason maybe, murder is always wrong." 

 

Edited September 4, 2021 by charlie cho