Mosquitos more worthy of mercy than bin Laden: Dalai Lama

Source: Raw Story

The Dalai Lama, the leader of Tibetan Buddhism, implied at a talk that the Obama administration's targeted killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was justified.

During a talk at the University of Southern California Tuesday, the Dalai Lama was asked about bin Laden's killing, and whether that could be rationalized in the context of Buddhism's dharma of forgiveness and compassion.

"Forgiveness doesn't mean forget what happened," he said, according to the LA Times. "If something is serious and it is necessary to take counter-measures, you have to take counter-measures."

In the same talk, titled "Secular Ethics, Human Values and Society," the Dalai Lama also said he tries to avoid killing mosquitos when they land on him, "when my mood is good and there is no danger of malaria."

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/05/04/mosquitos-more-worthy-of-mercy-than-bin-laden-dalai-lama/

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The emphasis is mine: "If something is serious and it is necessary to take counter-measures, you have to take counter-measures." Please note the conditional introductory word (if), the conjunction (and) and the imperative that ensues only after the first two are satisfied. Then, note that nothing is specified except counter-measures. What is a counter-measure? Is it an acceptable counter-measure to go blasting away into the house where your suspected enemy is, take him unarmed, and then shoot him in the head? I am afraid I don't read that in the Dalai Lama's comments. I would have strong suspicions about anyone who read that into them.