Judgment on Academia.edu

CASE 49-2018: Academia.edu & CEO Richard Price

ETHICAL JUDGMENT

Dear Prosecutor, Public Defender, Ambassador and Jury Members of the International Buddhist Ethics Committee (IBEC) and Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights (BTHR), regarding Case 49-2018 against "Academia.edu & CEO Richard Price", on October 16, 2018, it is hereby recorded that the trial has been concluded to analyze the violation of Human Rights and of Buddhist Ethics by the accused. This Case has been carried out as a consequence of the Deepak Rao Case.

After analyzing the presentation of the Case and the validation of evidence, the Tribunal has proceeded with the voting of 8 members of the Jury, confirming that there was 1 vote of "Innocent" and 7 votes of "Responsible" to "Academia.edu & CEO Richard Price" for the serious crimes of Human Rights Violation and Attack against the Rights of Buddhist Peoples.

The International Buddhist Ethics Committee has been able to verify that "Academia.edu & CEO Richard Price" has committed international crimes. In the first place, "Academia.edu & CEO Richard Price" has carried out acts of censorship, violating the individual and collective human rights of the Buddhist Sangha, which in the eyes of International Law constitutes a violation of the rights of indigenous peoples and tribal communities. Secondly, "Academia.edu & CEO Richard Price" has disrespected the Buddhist cultural heritage, not only through censorship but also through the lack of respect to the legal and spiritual activities of the Sangha, which constitutes violations of the rights of Buddhist peoples. Third, "Academia.edu & CEO Richard Price" has carried out fraudulent activities which are opposed to the spirit of science, academic research and advanced education. In this way, the International Buddhist Ethics Committee confirms that "Academia.edu & CEO Richard Price" has carried out Human Rights Violation and Attack against the Rights of Buddhist Peoples. Therefore, every member of Buddhism is advised to eliminate their accounts within the company "Academia.edu".

The Maitriyana teaches a perception of advanced education that detaches itself from all greed for monetary gain, since schools and academic spheres of dissemination of knowledge should never function as capitalist companies, since it is not the same to obtain money to live in comparison to live to get money. In this sense, the perennial philosophical tradition of compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajña), within which the Buddhist Law stands out, invites one to reconsider advanced education as one of the four pillars in order to create a better world. Thus, world peace, social justice, advanced education and environmental health help the human being to understand how one can live with freedom, equality and fraternity, without being a prisoner of the State or a prisoner of technological corporations. This libertarian pathway of Maitriyana has the capabilty of reunifying and reconstructing the etire world. However, this evolution of social thought developed by the Buddhist Law is not something new and postmodern, but is a Path of learning that goes back to the ethical and spiritual movements created by Gautama and Confucius 2600 years ago. Advanced education is then a radical, libertarian, progressive and humanistic development of both mind and society. Although the ordinary universities and the academic fields supposedly contribute to education, they would not actually help the pathway of advanced education, since all their efforts are conjugated toward material and commercial success goals. Therefore, unlike Maitriyana, the ordinary universities and academic areas do not contribute to solving the great evils of the world, including ignorance. Consequently, the Buddhist Law never forgets that the ultimate goal of advanced education is the evolution of humanity, emphasizing the perennial traditions of compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajña) that achieve the self-realization of the true human being, especially the pathways led by Gautama and Confucius whose insights can transform global education through the education of humanitarianism (ren) and appropriate behavior (li), whose result reaches the superior form of the human being. On the other hand, the States and technological companies that become greedy and unscrupulous follow an involuted path for the human being, developing the dangerous acquisition of knowledge without ethics. For its part, the Maitriyana follows the pathway of Gautama and Confucius, so that its ideal goal is that every person becomes a compassionate sage, a spiritual master or Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva) who has reached the peak knowledge (satori) on the Sense and Purpose (Dharma) of the entire Universe. Due to this state of self-realization and self-transcendence the compassionate sage follows the Way (Tao) of Humanitarianism (Ren), developing all the potentialities or true nature of the human being, so that he or she can be considered as an Evolved Human Being (Jun Zi). This is precisely the Homo Pacificus that is able to fully live with active contemplation, compassionate wisdom (zhi-ren) and humanitarian ethics. Therefore, for Gautama and Confucius the Evolved Human Being (Jun Zi) is not someone who has inherited an aristocratic position of nobility and economic power, but rather it is someone who follows the Noble Eightfold Path, living a virtuous existence, appropriate behavior (li) and Humanitarianism (Ren), which are the values and goals of the advanced education defended by the Buddhist Law. Thus, the compassionate sages are not only in harmony with the Order or Way (Tao) of the Universe, but are also in harmony with themselves and with all other sentient beings, because it is the very incarnation of the Truth, Good and Beauty. The Maitriyana seeks to educate each human being to become a compassionate sage, who is the human being that is in full communion with the Universe, with Nature and with Society, which is a process of external transformation but simultaneously it is the key to inner happiness. In this way, in spite of his or her psychic and cultural superiority, the Evolved Human Being (Jun Zi) feels great Responsibility and social commitment for everything happening in the world, being a compassionate sage who is never satisfied with simply accumulating knowledge but who feels deeply driven to help others. This shows that advanced education should not aim to produce intellectuals, but should try to guide people to have bravery (yong) and fight persistently for a better world, overcoming all adversities to purify mind and society by means of the practice of love. By following the path of Gautama and Confucius, the Buddhist Law considers that every human being can live a righteous existence to become an Evolved Human Being (Jun Zi), although without learning and practice of appropriate behavior (li) and wisdom with compassion (zhi-ren) it would be impossible to reach this spiritual level of self-realization and self-transcendence of human being. In this way, the teachings of Gautama and Confucius transmitted by the Maitriyana guide humanity to become such potentiality that it could become, teaching to be a true human being, a compassionate sage who builds an altruistic and humanitarian civilization, instead of teaching how to earn money and power within a materialistic and destructive civilization.

In conclusion, the International Buddhist Ethics Committee has the Purpose (Dharma) to protect the Buddhist cultural heritage of the Great Master Gautama, developing ethics that always meets the Human Right to World Peace, social justice, advanced education and environmental health. The Purpose (Dharma) of the Maitriyana spiritual movement is to protect these values of compassionate wisdom by ethically judging and sentencing those who commit international crimes against Spirituality. Following the Master Gautama, who developed the most cultured and educated international community in the history of the world, the International Buddhist Ethics Committee supervises companies not to attempt against ethics, human rights and Buddhist teachings, never attacking the Spiritual Communities (Sanghas), reason by which "Academia.edu & CEO Richard Price" has been sentenced as Responsible for Human Rights Violation and Attack against the Rights of Buddhist Peoples.

With spirit of reconciliation (maitri),

Master Maitreya Samyaksambuddha

President and Spiritual Judge of the Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights