Cultivate the Mind!

When the Non-Halal section selling alcoholic drinks in a supermarket was boarded up due to the protest of an assemblyman who stated that the sensitivities of the Muslim population ought to be respected, I recall the neighbouring  market where once the pork section was similarly boarded up. The assemblyman said the protest was also due to complaints of social crimes and fractured family relationships as a result of drinking alcohol. Of course, consuming pork doesn't cause such problems; so, I assume it is also about respecting the sensitivity of others. Nevermind if only one of the stakeholders' sensitivity is considered; we are used to hearing the rights of straights but not gays; but really, the strange state of affair could do with the Buddhist concept of Āyatana for explanation. Āyatana means sense base and there are six internal sense bases namely: the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind which correspond to their respective external sense bases which are visible objects, sound, odour, taste, touch and mental object. I suppose problems could start with the eye; one sees and hears of all the wonderful things about alcohol and this give rise to the desire to experiment; to touch , smell and taste and henceforth create an unwholesome mind; the mastermind to criminal acts and twisted logic. Cultivate the mind then, won't you? Let's meditate!