Shoot Me First
September 24, 2008 
I've been doing a lot of editing in the last few days and am now working on Teacher's address that he gave at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris in October 2006. He was talking about Chinese education and the importance the Chinese placed on "benevolence and justice, love, and supreme harmony." When I came to that line, I remembered something that happened in the US almost at the same time Teacher was giving his talk.
It began with one of those senseless acts, when a person is in so much pain that the suffering overwhelms him and he lashes out at the most innocent beings he can find.
In a Lancaster County schoolhouse in Pennsylvania, a man entered an Amish school and bound several girls. One of the girls, thirteen-year-old Marian Fisher, realizing what the gunman was going to do and trying to save the younger girls in the room said "Shoot me first."
Then Barbie, her eleven-year-old sister, said, "Shoot me second."
Barbie survived. As did four other girls.
Five girls died: Naomi Rose Ebersole, 7; sisters Mary Liz Miller, 8, and Lena Miller, 7;
and Anna Mae Stoltzfus, 12.
And Marian Fisher.
Benevolence and love and supreme harmony. They are possible in our world. But to such a degree, I'd say they are rare. And yet they existed, surely in pure perfection, in two young Amish girls. To have such love for another human being to be able to quietly say:
"Shoot me first."
"Shoot me second."
Reader Comments (2)
In their unconditional love for others, they most likely offered forgiveness as well.
For the third time, guns have been brought to a local high school. The suggested remedy is metal detectors at the door. I understand the reaction. I also know those checkpoints will be a daily reminder of fear.
A small town in Texas is arming the teachers since the police station is 14 miles away. Those students will see guns on their teachers daily. Those teachers are being taught to shoot.
It is unfortunate they will not "arm themselves" with stillness.
Just as incredible is the way this bereaved Amish community immediately forgave the deranged gunman, and gathered at his funeral to show suport and love for his family.
The demonstration of Buddha Nature in this deeply simplistic Christian sect demonstrates, also, the close correlation between the teachings of The Buddha and the more recent prophet Jesus in the development of the Bodhi mind.
To quote from HH The Dalai Lama,
"It is my belief, for the world in general, that compassion is more important that religion.
Genuine compassion is unbiased, should be unbiased.
If there is love, there is hope to have real families, real brotherhood, real equanimity, real peace."
Indeed, a lesson for all.