Judgment on Japan
ETHICAL JUDGMENT
Dear Prosecutor, Public Defender, Ambassador, Secretary and Jury Members of the International Buddhist Ethics Committee (IBEC) and Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights (BTHR), regarding Case 40-2018 against "Japan & Prime Minister Shinzo Abe", on March 4, 2018, it is hereby put on record that the trial has been concluded to analyze the violation of Human Rights and of Buddhist Ethics made by the accused. This Case has been carried out as a result of the "Peace Recognition to Sea Shepherd".
After the analysis of the presentation of the Case and the validation of evidence, the Tribunal has proceeded with the voting of 5 members of the Jury, confirming that there was 1 vote of "Innocent", and 4 votes of "Responsible" to "Japan & Prime Minister Shinzo Abe" for the serious crimes of Ecocide and Crimes against Nature, Violation of International Law and Violation of Buddhist Law. The Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights has been able to verify that "Japan" and its leader "Prime Minister Shinzo Abe" use billionaire economic resources to maintain an ecocidal and illegal regime that violates the rights of non-human persons, especially the rights of animals with super-advanced consciousnesses like dolphins and whales that are exterminated by the Japanese government with total impunity in a systematic and widespread way, even though such an act is not only banned by International Law but also banned by the very Buddhist Law, which has played an essential role in the culture of the State of Japan. In this regard, the extermination of 1 million cetaceans by "Japan" and its leader "Prime Minister Shinzo Abe" are violating not only the international ban on whaling declared by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ), but also violates the Buddhist ethical precept of not harming or killing sentient beings. In addition, the Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights confirms that dolphins and whales are not mere fish devoid of emotions, but actually are mammals very close to the human being, both in their emotions and in reasoning, possessing intelligence and a degree of emotionality much more advanced than that of human children. At the same time, the Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights has been able to verify that Japan is blatantly lying when affirming that this extermination of whales and dolphins is carried out for scientific reasons and for reasons of cultural tradition. This governmental deception and lie has been condemned by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), confirming that the Japanese expeditions are not scientific but are aimed at hunting and commercialization of meat, but also the Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights declares that this extermination of whales is not a Japanese cultural tradition but rather is a Nordic European practice, confirming that the Japanese government is ignoring the fact that its true cultural tradition is Buddhist Spirituality, which is synonymous with mercy and spiritual love to all sentient beings, especially to emotional and rational beings like dolphins and whales. Thus, the extermination of cetaceans not only is a crime of Ecocide and a crime against nature, but also violates the conventions of International Law and the ethical conventions of Buddhist Law, being a violent and psychopathic attack against life, against Mother Earth (Pachamama), against justice and against righteousness. In a planetary context in which humanity is polluting the air and waters, destroying the forests and jungles, overheating the planet, it seems that Japan is willing to also destroy the life of the oceans, which shows a certain remnant of the worst era of Japanese Imperialism, when in the Second World War it allied with Nazism and began to oppress and assassinate several million human beings from other nations, even using Buddhism to legitimize its military campaigns and crimes against peace. Some Japanese Buddhist organizations have recently publicly apologized for having allowed themselves to be corrupted and used by the criminal government of the Japanese Empire during the Second World War, quite often maintaining complicit silence and other times assisting ideologically to validate the crimes, because their nationalism went so far as to pervert Buddhism, by considering that religious worship to the Japanese Emperor was more important than following the Buddhist ethical tradition of Siddhartha Gautama. Few spiritual communities resisted and denounced war by paying the price of arrest and torture, as in the case of Shinko Bukkyo Seinen Domei. In fact, the status quo was defended by some corrupt Buddhist organizations during the era of Japanese Imperialism, keeping complicit silence in the face of crimes against humanity and the war crimes committed by Japan during the Second World War of the 20th century. Even in the seventeenth century the government of Japan carried out a crusade or holy war against the Japanese Christians, realizing a true Holocaust and Genocide against their own people, forcing them to abandon Christianity, torturing and killing thousands of people who refused to abdicate its Spirituality thanks to the complicit silence of Buddhist organizations of that time, reason why this inquisition or purge was so effective that in a few years it completely extinguished the Christians of Japan.
As in ancient Japan reigned the ancient system of Buddhist Civilization, it is important for Buddhism not to be silent facing evil and to judge the acts of Ecocide and crimes against nature made by the contemporary government of Japan as a total Violation of International Law and of Buddhist Law, as happened in the Myanmar Case and in the Thailand Case. The Maitriyana Community does not follow the path of complicit silence and decides to face injustice in order to speak on behalf of those oppressed, offering the present Ethical Judgment to the accused, "Japan & Prime Minister Shinzo Abe", as a teaching way about how a Buddhist and Civilized Nation, in which a proper relationship with nature must be maintained, should truly behave and never deceiving society to commit abuses against ecology. As long as Japan continues to carry out extermination against intelligent, peaceful and evolved beings such as whales, beings that have minds, personalities, language and culture, the government will be totally violating International Law and Buddhist Law. Japan and its leader Prime Minister Shinzo Abe must recover the ethical and spiritual guidance of this Great Buddhist Nation, which should immediately abandon the path of greed, hatred, deceit and ecocide, to lead Japan to be part of a civilization of peace, justice, knowledge and ecology.
The Maitriyana is the result of the encounter and synthesis between Spirituality and science. Therefore, while it is in favor of the survival of those that are most adequate or righteous, simultaneously rejects the idea of the survival of the strongest ones, because this thought could justify all kinds of exterminations and ecocides against animals. Therefore, the Buddhist Law supports Kropotkin's vision, because he considered mutual support as the Force or Purpose (Dharma) of evolution. This scientific theory allows explaining then that the spiritual communities (sanghas) are the most evolved organisms on the planet, being guided by compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajña) and not interfering (wuwei) with the Universal Natural Order (Tao). This perspective allows considering the Maitriyana as a scientific, postmodern and socially committed movement, recovering once again the empirical spirit of Master Gautama, whose direct contact with reality was supreme. Thus, while Catholicism made the Judgment to Galileo as a dogmatic medieval attack against science and knowledge, instead, the Buddhist Law has made the Judgment to Ken Wilber as a heroic postmodern defense of science and knowledge against the manipulation and pseudo-religious deception. The Maitriyana goes beyond religion (zongjiao) and superstition (mixin), being a system of Spirituality that pursues the vision of ethical Evolution (Jinhua) of humanity and peaceful coexistence with all sentient beings. For Buddhist Law, if life evolved through mutual support, cooperation and Interexistence, then society should also evolve through these same means of reconciliation (maitri). In fact, Free and Enlightened Beings (Arhats-Bodhisattvas) considers that the Totality of Universe evolves through this Supreme Purpose (Dharma) of compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajña), considering that the entire Cosmos is governed by the process of interdependent co-arising or Cosmic Natural Law (Tao). The survival of the most adequate one, that is those that are most righteous and supportive, is something very different ethically with respect to the struggle for existence between those that are strongest against the weakest ones, which allows one to avoid falling into all kinds of imperialism and militarism against humanity and against nature. Unlike the ideologies of social Darwinism and Capitalism, the Maitriyana condemns the conception of life as competition, where the strongest ones win over the weakest that lose, because in reality nature works in a different way, by ensuring profits for everyone through mutual support, so that it is never necessary to oppress and violate the rights of the weakest. Following the teachings of Master Taixu, the Buddhist Law affirms that if human peoples decide to fight among themselves for the survival of the strongest, then mutual destruction will be assured. This shows that the future of humanity, if it is desired to have any future, must inevitably assume the Great Natural Order (Tao) of Interexistence, reconciliation (maitri) and mutual support, which are the great universal values of Maitriyana leading to the prosperity of the species. Like Kropotkin, who combined sociology with the ethics of the sages, the great spiritual masters teach that competition does not lead to the evolution of life, but rather cooperation, peace and harmony do lead to such evolution. Therefore, the Buddhist Law agrees with Kropotkin in the fact that the forces that guide the evolution of the species are the same forces that guide the evolution of human societies, which is evident after a study of the history of civilization where it is discovered that cooperation, empathy and altruism predominate over competition, confrontation and war. Following the visions of masters Gautama, Kropotkin and Taixu, the Maitriyana foresees that the Path of social evolution is directed toward a state of anarchy or Liberation in which the communities will be composed of people freely associated through mutual support, fading the competition and struggle between the peoples for good. The Buddhist Law considers that this evolutionary horizon can only occur through active contemplation, compassionate wisdom and humanitarian ethics, which are the three great gems of revolutionary Spirituality. But if humanity persists in continuing with the attitudes of imperialists and capitalists, then civilization will be condemned to decline and self-destruct, in addition to causing mass extinctions of species. The pathway of prosperity and progress of the peoples depends on mutual support and international solidarity. In agreement with Master Taixu, the Maitriyana confirms that the theories of Gautama and Kropotkin teach human beings how to improve their natural condition through the ethics of self-sacrifice and mutual support. In fact, the ideas of Kropotkin have been anticipated and fully realized by the Buddhist Law, which is a movement that develops models for a harmonious and self-organized society, just like the cells of a body and like the order of the very fabric of reality. However, the Free and Enlightened Beings (Arhats-Bodhisattvas) obviously warn that for there to be true compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajña) there must be simultaneously an emptiness of all selfishness, cultivating an open and full mind, which in turn is fundamental to fade the dualism and consumerism that make every strand of society gets sick. The Maitriyana then concludes that the human being who self-realizes and self-transcends him or herself then is empty of the evils of Ego, Ideology and State, directing his or her psychic and social existence toward a life of friendship, detachment, selflessness and spiritual love to neighbor as well as toward all sentient beings. Only through generosity and self-sacrifice humanity will be able to survive and coexist peacefully and healthily with the rest of Mother Earth (Pachamama), fulfilling its forgotten natural functions as guardians and protectors of the world. Precisely, this is the mission of the spiritual masters, who dedicate all their existence to the well-being and evolution of the whole fabric of life. The evolution of humanity is not really a biological process, but is a sociological process of anarchy and liberty, as Kropotkin states. But the Buddhist Law confirms that this social Liberation is not the last telos of the Path of humanity, whose real final evolution is to arrive at the Spiritual Awakening (Bodhi). Ergo, in the same way that humanity is an evolutionary step with respect to animal life, then the Free and Enlightened Beings (Arhats-Bodhisattvas) constitute the next evolutionary level, superior to that of human sapiens,[1] overcoming the illusion of the human Ego in order to acquire an awakened consciousness that is open to learning and to the Interexistence of life.
The Maitriyana considers the fact that animals, especially super-advanced mammals, can develop spiritually and experience Liberation, for even though they do not has intellectual developments, they can certainly benefit from the Purpose (Dharma) or meaning of existence. The Buddhist Law teaches that it is not only prohibited to hurt or kill sentient beings, but also that they should be treated with care, respect and mercy, teaching them a life of peace and friendship through the practice of compassionate wisdom (prajna-karuna), and even helping them to reach the Cure (Nirvana) of suffering. In fact, when animals are members of spiritual communities (sanghas) undoubtedly spiritual effects are produced, product of love and serenity with those who are in contact, having the power to purify their mind and heart of aggressive instincts, because the power of spiritual love has unlimited effects on the world. Thus, even if they do not understand philosophical questions or complex languages, animals can greatly benefit from the effects of Spirituality as a lifestyle, which is transmitted through attitudes and not through intellectual means. Therefore, those animals that are adopted as pets of spiritual communities (sanghas) can learn to free themselves, choosing a new place of life, changing human companions, transiting a wandering life or even deciding to return to nature. For the Maitriyana, this shows that the Human Liberation would have an aspect that is similar to the Animal Liberation: living without attachment to what is illusory but with harmony toward the Universal Natural Order (Tao) or Purpose (Dharma) of life. In short, as stated in the Judgment of "Salk Institute for Biological Studies Case", the Buddhist Law has prophesied that the last two Buddhas of the future -Buddha Tissa and Buddha Sumangala- will be two spiritually evolved elephants, demonstrating that the Dharmic nature or intrinsic dignity is found in human beings and also in other living beings, such as elephants, hominids, cetaceans and pigs.
In conclusion, the Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights has the Purpose (Dharma) to protect all sentient beings through spiritual love and compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajña), especially sentencing governments that commit ecocides and crimes against nature . Therefore, it is established that "Japan" has violated International Law and Buddhist Law through ecocidal activities that produce a systematic and widespread scheme of violations of the rights of non-human beings protected by the global community. Undoubtedly, Japan should shed all imperialist and destructive traits, especially by abandoning the religion of capitalism in order to regain the predominance of Buddhist Spirituality and its passion for compassion to all sentient beings. Therefore, the ethical judgment against "Japan" constitutes a great lesson for this Great Nation to become again a dharmic government that stops doing evil, begins to do good and be spiritually purified.
Following Master Gautama, who developed a Community of defense of nature, the Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights supervises that governments and companies do not attempt against ethics and human rights, never betraying the relationship of harmony that should unite humanity with the rest of nature, so that "Japan" has been sentenced as Responsible for Ecocide, Crimes Against Nature, Violation of International Law and Violation of Buddhist Law.
With spirit of reconciliation (maitri),
President and Spiritual Judge of the Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights
[1] Zhifeng, An appraisal of Kropotkin's "ethics".
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