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Are There Human Rights in Buddhism?
An essay by Damien Keown, In Urban Dharma.
Excerpt:
“We took our cue for the discussion of rights in the West from etymology, and perhaps we can glean something further from this source. Above it was noted that the English word “right” is derived from the Latin rectus meaning straight. Both “right” and rectus themselves, however, have a more remote ancestor in the Sanskrit rju (straight or upright). The equivalent form in Pali is uju (or ujju) meaning “straight, direct; straightforward, honest, upright.” [21] It would therefore appear that both the objective sense (“straight”) and the metaphorical moral sense (“rectitude”) of the word “right” referred to earlier occur in Buddhist as well as Western languages. Despite a common Indo-European etymology, however, there is no word in Sanskrit or Pali which conveys the idea of a “right” or “rights,” understood as a subjective entitlement. [22]
Does this mean that the concept of rights is alien to Buddhist thought? Not necessarily…“
Big Red
Big Red Buddha. heheh..hee!
