The Boat Captian

[vajradhara]

Namaste all,

let me set the scene...

you are a boat captian. it's a fine boat at that... a boat that can carry 500 passengers.

you've made the dangerous river crossing many times and have always arrived safely at the other shore, with your passengers intact, though the trip takes a full day, they trust in your abilities to ferry them to their destination.

one evening, after the passengers have settled into their bunks for the night, you overhear two whispering voices plotting to kill all the passengers and steal their belongings.

you are able to discern from their conversations that a pirate ship is lurking in the darkness and is awaiting a signal from them before trying to board the ship and you witness the men begin to signal the pirate ship.

What actions do you take to prevent the pirates from killing all the passengers and why?

 

[Sophia23]

Run away run away!!!!!!

If the boat is too slow try and negotiate with the pirates (I mean they want the loot right? Maybe people would be happy to give that stuff away to keep their lives?).

Otherwise, ...what can I do??? Even if I wanted to fight them off... I am not strong enough.

I'd tell the plotters they were very naughty lol...

Interesting conundrum - is there a reason for asking?

---edit---

of course I have no idea what I'd actually do - in the moment, because I am a very impulsive person. I can think quite creativly under pressure though so ...who knows... but yeh... I probably would try to run away - while plotting what I could do.

 

[Fiendishjester]

Hmm, this sounds suspiciously similar to a certain Buddhist folktale I once heard...Is that where you got it from?

I believe what happened in the story was that the boat captain killed the pirates out of compassion, to save them from the karma of killing the passengers. He was willing to face the consequences for killing them, so that they wouldn't have to face the consequences for killing the passengers. If I remember correctly, the passengers and the captain were also practicing bodhisattvas according to the story.

 

[vajradhara]

Hmm, this sounds suspiciously similar to a certain Buddhist folktale I once heard...Is that where you got it from?

I believe what happened in the story was that the boat captain killed the pirates out of compassion, to save them from the karma of killing the passengers. He was willing to face the consequences for killing them, so that they wouldn't have to face the consequences for killing the passengers. If I remember correctly, the passengers and the captain were also practicing bodhisattvas according to the story.

Namaste,

thank you for the post..

yes, that was where the premis for the scenario came from.


though, i was interested to get a western persepective and a more modern one on the various solutions that one could take to resolve the issue.

perhaps... a better and more relevant one would be if you were a passenger on an airplane and overheard two men planning to hijack and bomb the plane.. what steps would you take to prevent it and why.

 

[Sophia23]

tranqualise them... with tranquiliser darts... every plane has a secret tranc dart!!! Tis true I swear it!!!

As for why? Um... to stop them blowing up the plane... duh

 

[Fiendishjester]

Cool, I guess I was right. Interesting question, Vajradhara. I'll think about it for some time and then post my answer. I like the idea of this topic.

 

[Myah]

I am assuming that I, as a boat captain have a crew and this is during modern times. I would 1) Call authorities immediately. 2) Gather said crew and detain the two if possible. 3) if neither were possible, I would fake a problem with the boat, dock immediately and disembark the passengers.