I wish I could open his eyes!

As I am writing this, almost four months have passed since the [destruction] of the [World Trade Center]. I was not there when it happened. I was still asleep in my [Wisconsin] [appartment]. In fact, I did not learn about it till I logged on to a [BBS] that afternoon.

To the best of my [knowledge], none of my [friend]s died in the [destruction].

Yet, I have still not recovered from the [trauma] this destruction has brought up to me.

What bothers me most is that whenever I see pictures of [Osama bin Laden], I do not see a [power hungry] [dictator]. I do not see a [criminal] who only thinks about himself. I do not see a [raving lunatic].

I essentially see the [image] of a [holy man]. A man moved by his religious beliefs. A man who gently but relentlessly explains to his [follower]s why what he did was right.

And that is what I do not [understand]. How can a spiritual man believe that a [deity], especially a [monotheistic] deity could ever want such a horrible destruction, and [demand] the taking of so many [innocent] lives who only died because they happened to be there that morning.

Even though I was not there, I have not been fully myself ever since it happened. I am clearly suffering from the [post-traumatic stress disorder].

Unlike many, I do not hate [Osama bin Laden]. Instead, I wish I could sit down with him and [explain] to him in a friendly [conversation] that he is wrong. I do not think of him as [evil] or a [sinner]. I think of him as [ignorant]. What I would like to do is open his eyes, let him see that what he has done was wrong. Then I would let him go free and let him explain to all of his followers how wrong he was. He could then open their eyes in turn.

Alas, as it is, I may be a [Buddhist] with the [bodhisattva ideal|bodhisattva vow], but I am not yet a [Buddha]. My own eyes are not fully open yet, so it is rather unlikely that I could open his eyes even if somehow I got the option of talking to him.

And that makes me [sad].