The society agreement says that when you are faced by unexpexted
nature catastrophes, others agree to help you, if you in turn help
them according to your abilities in their times of an analogious need.
This is the civilian way of making precautions against catastrophes.
Since there is no war going on, and maybe even if there were, it is no
shame to receive help from other nations at such times.
If one wants to stay in power, one ought to choose those alternatives
in governing that are at least approximately the best, so as to avoid
opposition, gain friends and increase one's strenghth etc. Choosing
the best alternatives is the easiest if one listens to the wisest: a
group of hundred persons may find better alternatives than one average
person, and that is how much bigger the whole human kind with all its
answers to all kinds of problems is compared to a single nation. So
the task of a single person or nation in such a group is to learn from
the wisest in each subject. That is what one can and must be proud
about, that is what one must train oneself in and prepare for in all
future occasions too - not the goal of being the wisest of all all by
oneself. Finding peaceful means to ally with one's countrymen in ways
that are generally respected, gains one a good reputation and makes
one's own side much stronger than it would otherwise be. Cooperating
in rescue work after a nature catastrophe could be one such way, and a
good one! It could unify the militaristic point of view of preventing
a loss of men with the Buddhist compassion for all.
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