I Am Gun – Tearfully Reworked

I Am Gun – Tearfully Reworked

(for the 18th school massacre of 2018 in America)


Made to offer humans the means to kill food and

Ensure safety, I falter instead and give a distorted

Sense of preservation from all harm, at personal

Costs that subsume all else with death’s illogic.

I don’t care where my calibrated hot lead goes.

Here or there, now or later, offense or defense,

I’m content. It’s what I do. I am gun.


I come out dull, metallic grey or dead, matte black.

My parts, hot-rolled and formed on tool-steel mandrels.

Craftsmen sight, drill, punch and mill my parts to

Extreme tolerances. Millimetres matter, I need to be

Exact, precise in all there is of me, in order to kill well.

Targets seen, intentional or otherwise, won’t wait and

Cower in fear or wait for death’s surprise forever.

Snuffing life makes me proud. It’s what I do. I am gun.


There’s proof of all I claim of safety’s manifest regard,

Wait a bit until everyone has one of me, then you’ll see.

Oh! How I crave it! To be stroked and caressed by the

Hands of mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters, everywhere.


Let’s do a fair deal. Don’t look away, it won’t take long.

I’ll be for strength and power of dominion and you’ll

Be afraid, needy for the hollow points of assurance I offer.

Put trust in me, I’ll go ballistic. It’s what I do. I am gun.

Definition of a Buddhist

Definition of a Buddhist


What makes a person a Buddhist?

The Princeton dictionary defines Buddhist as:

adjective 1. of or relating to or supporting Buddhism;
noun 1. one who follows the teachings of Buddha


This is a very broad definition and does not require any core set of

beliefs that must be followed. Buddhism is known for its tolerance and

inclusiveness so a broad definition appears appropriate. Buddhism

allows its members to belong to other religions and many Asian cultures

have followers who practice more than one religion.


A Buddha is someone who is fully enlightened. A person who is fully

enlightened, but not the Buddha of our time, is called an Arahant in Pali.

Such a person has eradicated all ten hindrances to enlightenment:

1. The belief in a permanent personality, ego
2. Doubt, extreme skepticism
3 Attachment to rites, rituals, and ceremonies
4. Attachment to sense desires
5. Ill-will, anger
6. Craving for existence in the Form world (earthly realms)
7. Craving for existence in the Formless world (heavenly realms)
8. Conceit
9. Restlessness
10. Ignorance


An anagami (non-returner) has completely eradicated the first five

hindrances and never returns to earth or any other world system

(planet, solar system). Such a person is re-born to a heavenly realm

and attains enlightenment from there.


A sakadagami (once returner) has eradicated the first three hindrances

and greatly weakened the fourth and fifth; attachment to sense desires

and ill-will. Such a person will be re-born to either the human or

heavenly realm and will attain enlightenment there.


A sottapanna (stream entrant) has eradicated the first three hindrances

and will be re-born no more than seven more times and re-birth will

either be as a human or a deva in a heavenly realm.


Attaining any of the noble levels above is very difficult and takes

countless rebirths to achieve. Defining a Buddhist as only those in the

above noble states would be very limiting and contrary to the teachings

of Buddha.


Another definition that is used by some is all those that take refuge in

the Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha. Taking the triple refuge basically means

accepting the full enlightenment of Buddha, following the teachings of

Buddha, and respecting the ordained Sangha (community) of monks

and nuns. Some temples offer a refuge ceremony where one officially

becomes a Buddhist. But in all traditions this is considered voluntary

and not necessary to be known as a Buddhist. One can take the refuge

formally at a temple or privately in your own home in your heart.


But even this definition as only those who have taken refuge is not

broad enough. If we look at one of the teachings of Buddha:


“Bhikkhus, there are these five faculties. What five? The faculty of faith,

energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom. These are the five

faculties. One who has completed and fulfilled these five faculties is an

arahant. If they are weaker than that, one is a non-returner; if still

weaker, a once-returner; if still weaker, a stream-enterer; if still weaker,

a Dhamma-follower; if still weaker, a faith-follower.”


The Buddha states that even if one is not a Dhamma follower, one can

still be a faith-follower. A faith-follower may not be even following the

teachings very well or at all. This is fitting with the general definition as a

person who simply supports the teachings of Buddha and attempts to

follow them as much as he or she is able.


One need not go for refuge either in a public or private ritual. Buddhists

acknowledge that people are on a Path to enlightenment and that some

will be further along than others and judgment is not used against any

others who may be at a lower level in their progress along the Path.


Anyone who wants to be called a Buddhist, is a Buddhist. It does not

matter if they have taken refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha or

not. If one practices some Buddhist rituals or some type of Buddhist

meditation or if one is just studying Buddhism and would like to be

called a Buddhist, then one is a Buddhist.


This is not to say that everyone in the world is Buddhist in some new

age kind of way; there are differences between the various world

religions, but if one wants to be called a Buddhist and does some rituals

or some Buddhist meditation or some study of Buddhism, then one is a

Buddhist.