Veterans Day: "Fight Till Death" (sutra)

Pfc. Sandoval, Seth Auberon, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly; Ven. Thanissaro (trans.); Slayer

Soldier crying after glories of war -- killing, brutalizing, imposing rule (gettyimages.com)

(Slayer) "Fight Till Death" (lyrics and music by Jeff Hanneman) from the album "Show No Mercy"

LYRICS

Metal and men clash once more to the end

Warriors above with power to kill descend

Militia of blood troops of hate march to die

Soldiers of hell, VETERANS of death, arise!

CHORUS: Prepare for attack/Your bodies will burn/In this war there's no return/Prepare for attack/Death will arrive/Your orders are clear/No way to hide/Fight till death!
 

Senseless death of all mankind overtakes

Armored assassins destroy at will your escape

Children of sorrow are trampled onto the grave

There is no future, no f*cking world to be saved.
CHORUS. (To reign in hell!)

Gods of steel unleash their destruction on man

Reign of death what is the final command

Scepters of hate are dropped upon this earth

Clouds of terror destroy all hope of rebirth.

Fight till death. Fight till death. Fight till death.

Wrong livelihood: I want to be a killer slayer soldier

Our little murderer has been killed in war!

Right livelihood (samma ajivo) is the fifth of the eight path factors that comprise the Noble Eightfold Path, belonging to the virtue division of the Buddhist path.
 
Definition

"What is right livelihood? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones [ariyas = enlightened ones], having abandoned karmically harmful livelihood, keeps life going by right livelihood: This is called right livelihood." — SN 45.8

Balance

"Herein [within this Doctrine], Vyagghapajja, a householder, knowing one's income and expenses, leads a balanced life, being neither extravagant nor miserly, knowing that in this way one's income will be in excess of one's expenses and not expenses in excess of income.

• (WQ) Sink not in debt like a stone in water (Sigalovada Sutra). For "if your outgo exceeds your income, your upkeep will be your downfall."

I never meant to kill; you have to believe me!

"Just as the goldsmith or goldsmith's apprentice knows, on holding up a balance, that by so much it dips down, by so much it tilts up, even so a householder, knowing income and expenses, leads a balanced life, neither extravagant nor miserly, knowing that by this much income will be in excess of expenses and not expenses in excess of income." — AN 8.54

Wrong livelihood for lay followers

"A lay follower is wise to refrain from engaging in five types of business. What are the five? They are doing business [dealing, trading, profiteering] in weapons, human beings, meat, intoxicants, and poisons." — AN 5.177

Want to be a killer soldier? You may want to reconsider...

Althouse: The Crying Soldier

Then the chieftain Yodhajiva went to the Blessed One [the Buddha], bowed, sat respectfully to one side, and said:

"Venerable sir, I have heard that it has been passed down through the ancient teaching lineage of warriors that, 'When a warrior strives and exerts himself in battle, if others strike him down and slay him while he is striving and exerting himself in battle then, with the breakup of the body, after death, he is reborn in the company of devas [angels, beings of light] slain in battle.' What does the Blessed One have to say about this?"

 

"Enough, chieftain, set that aside. Do not ask that."

 

I'm going to knock in some heads (AP)

But a second and third time...the chieftain Yodhajiva [persisted and repeated the same question...] "What does the Blessed One have to say about this?"

 

"It seems, chieftain, that I have been unable to dissuade you by saying, 'Enough, chieftain, set that aside. Do not ask that.' So I will answer plainly:

Live by the sword: 'TIl death do us part (Slayer)

"When a warrior strives and exerts himself in battle, his mind is already seized, debased, and misdirected by this thought [intention, volition, motivation]:

"'May these beings be struck down, slaughtered, annihilated, and destroyed. May they cease to exist!' If others strike him down and slay him while he is striving and exerting himself in battle then, with the breakup of the body, after death, he will reborn in a hell called the realm of those slain in battle.

Live by the gun as a soldier then a cop (AP).

"But if one holds such a view as this: 'When a warrior strives and exerts himself in battle, if others strike him down and slay him while he is striving and exerting himself in battle then, with the breakup of the body, after death, he is reborn in the company of devas slain in battle' -- that is his wrong view.

"Now, I tell you, there are two destinations for a person possessed of wrong view -- hell [the downfall, which includes many different types of increasingly bad worlds] or the animal realm [rebirth as any of the many diversified types of animals]."

 

They lied to me, cheated me fooled me!

When this was said, the chieftain Yodhajiva burst into tears and sobbed. [The Buddha then said:] "That is what I could not get you to set aside by saying, 'Enough, chieftain, set that aside. Do not ask that.'"

 

"Venerable sir, I am not crying because of what the Blessed One said to me, but because I have been deceived, cheated, and fooled for so long by that ancient teaching lineage of warriors who say [that one would be reborn] in the company of angels [or heroes] slain in battle.'" — SN 42.3

Oh, our little killer was killed while trying to kill others for his government!