The Sunflower

The Sunflower

The Sunflower

Question 5

The Dalai Lama

"Without forgetting there can be no forgiving," says retired Israel Supreme Court Justice Moshe ejski (p. 116); the Dalai Lama (p. 129), on the other hand, believes that one must forgive but not necessarily forget. Do you think it is possible to forgive and not forget? How would you differentitate forgiveness and reconciliation?

The Dalai Lama was born on July 6th,1935 in Taktser, China. He is currently 80 years of age and is the 14th Dalai Lama. He was born and raised on his family farmland in northern Tibet. Officiated as the Dalai Lama in 1959, he was only 15 years old. A Dalai Lama is a spritual head of Tibetan Buddhism and also the temporal ruler of Tibet which ended on May 29th 2011. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his consistent opposition to use violence.

Moshe Bejski's opinion

Moshe Bejski believes that Karl shouldn't be forgiven nor forgotten. Although we thought that Moshe's main reason not to forgive was because he went through some of the experiences that Simon did in the concentration camps but he explains himself in further detail. Karl was representing Nazism voluntarily.

Moshe Bejski

The Dalai Lama's opinion

Discussion Questions

Mya's Opinion

Yes, I think it is possible to forgive and forget. I side more with the Dalai Lama because I believe you should not forget. Because if you forget then it's like it never happened before but it is a huge part of your life that can learn from. And that certain situtation or something like that can pop back up in the future. You should not run away from it, but accept. Forgiveness is where you can forgive somebody but you don't have to reconnect with that person, and go back to where things were. It's accepting and learning to live with what happened. Reconciliation is the act of causing 2 or more people to become friends again, or repairing broken relationships.

Alex's Opinion

Y

Yes I agree with the Dalai Lama and that it is possible to forgive and forget . Although I can forgive, I choose not to forget the actions someone has chosen to do. I beleive that God can put people in circumstances where you might need to teach the person who has done the wronging, so you become the bigger person to demonstrate that you can do the right thing. Reconciliation makes more sense to me and my values because holding a grudge doesnt affect the person who is seeking forgiveness, just yourself. The crime committee might not have have everyones forgiveness or respect, but they would start to regain mine.

1. If you were in the situation like Simon, would you forgive but not forget? Why?

2. Compared to the people who were in the contration camp to people who never suffered like they did, do you think their opinion is totally different from each other?

An Israeli judge and president of "Yad Vashem" Righteous Commission. Born December 29, 1921 in Poland. Died March 6, 2007 in Israel. In 1942, all Jews were deported. His whole family was separated, Moshe's parents and sister were shot soon after they were separated. Moshe and his two brothers ending up in a work camp of Plaszow. During Moshe's shift from outside Moshe escaped and ran to seek refuge from his Polish neighbors. He felt an obligation to go back to the Plaszow camp where he found his brothers again. The Bejski's brothers were put on Schindler list and was saved in May 1945. When the brothers found out about the death of their family they decided to emigrate to Israel. Moshe left his past behind him. For years no one knew about his tragic history. He revealed his story and origins in 1961, during the trial against Adolf Eichman. Bejski testified and delivered an upsetting account of the circumstances at the camp, and he conveyed the tragic despair and helplessness of the prisoners to the court.

The Dalai Lama believes you should forgive the person or person who commit such a cruel act, but it doesn't mean you should forget. Instead you need to be aware and remember what happened so that efforts can be made to check the re occurrence of such cruel acts in the future. Dalai Lama talks about it can be helpful in dealing with the Chinese Government stand on the Tibetan people's struggle to regain freedom. Since Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1949-1950 more than 1.2 million Tibetans died due to massacre, execution, starvation, and suicide. He believed for more than four decades we have struggled to keep our cause alive and pressure the Buddhist culture of nonviolence and compassion. Dalai Lama related to a incident that he experienced. A Tibetan , who had served eighteen years in Chinese prison came to see him after the monk escaped India. During the time he had to talk he asked the Monk, "what he felt was the biggest threat or danger while he was in prison." The monk responded with, he most feared was losing his compassion for the Chinese which inspired him.