“I see there is an instinctive horror of killing living beings under any circumstances whatever.” ~ Gandhi, Young India, November 18, 1926 This is one of many insights of Gandhi’s on which science has now weighed in. I am thinking of the work of Lt. Col. Dave Grossman (On Killing, and Let’s stop teaching our… read more
Tag Archives: PITS
Awakening Compassion: Daily Metta
Here Michael cites the discovery by Rachel MacNair of what she calls ‘Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress’–the fact that as the Buddha and the others often said, when we injure another, we feel that injury ourselves, a fact for which there is now scientific proof. Michael emphasizes how the nonviolent actor can awaken awareness of this reflection… read more
Perpetration Induced Traumatic Stress (PITS)
Perpetration Induced Traumatic Stress (PITS) is a term coined by peace psychologist Rachel MacNair. It describes incidents of post traumatic stress disorder resulting from the trauma of having committing a violent act oneself, as contrasted with trauma caused by witnessing or being the recipient of a violent act. The fact that human beings experience psychological… read more
