Temperatures above 50C used to be a rarity confined to two or three global hotspots, but the World Meteorological Organization noted that at least 10 countries have reported this level of searing heat in the past year: the US, Mexico, Morocco, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Pakistan, India and China.
In Iran, the heat index – a measure that also includes humidity – has come perilously close to 60C, far above the level considered safe for humans.
Heatwaves are now commonplace elsewhere, killing the most vulnerable, worsening inequality and threatening the wellbeing of future generations. Unicef calculates a quarter of the world’s children are already exposed to frequent heatwaves, and this will rise to almost 100% by mid-century.
I had no idea you were Buddhist. Yeah I don’t respect epistemological claims of any religion without evidence and neither should you. I am not going to treat Buddhism any better than Christianity just because they got a few things right regarding mediation. There are two things you should always remember: What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
Edit: the fact you thought you had me cornered there is hilarious. The “you don’t respect my beliefs” card doesn’t work when making unscientific claims, or just in general when talking to a rational person.
I can see.
A rational person can see that major features of a moral system can be defined by objective reasoning. If I prefer to live than to die, killing is wrong. If I prefer to have my needs met rather than neglecting, helping others to meet their needs is correct. If I prefer health… I prefer to be treated with respect… and so on.
Asserting that there are aliens who prefer to die, kill, feel pain, die of starvation, be sick, be treated without respect etc. does not seem realistic as it is not logically possible. How long would those aliens survive? We can only surmise aliens who ignore these facts, which is perfectly understandable, because ignorance is a common state. Someone who pretends that hurting other is moral because “I’m better” is not being objective, which is why living beings clearly spend so much time rationalising.
In this sense, Buddhism’s ethics have some striking parallels with those of Classical Greek philosophers, esp. Socrates.