Methinks He Doth Protest Too Much

Something funny's going on here.

In an article called "Killing for Buddha" [got that message across, loud and clear], the author, a Christian, I'm not sure of what variety, makes the point that sometimes Buddhists can take an interest in politics.  That's it.  End of story.

It's called "Killing for Buddha" but it isn't about Buddhists killing anybody.  At all.

Smear much, sir?

And we [he means Christians] often get challenged when talking about belligerency and lethality in religion: Make an exception with Buddhism, it is said, which is always peaceful.

Not so. While Buddhists like these monks do not wake up in the morning and look for who to kill "for Buddha" or Buddhist culture, they do connect their faith and philosophy to national and other causes – just as Muslims currently specialize in doing, and as Christians often have.

In this game of war-like versus peace-like religions and faith communities, one sadly has to note that it's a level playing field, and at different times different gods and theologies get invoked to justify killing.

Yo, dude.  This isn't a level playing field.  Nobody's invoking the dharma as an excuse to kill anybody, pal.

Seems like some people find buddhadharma a wee bit threatening.

Similarly, here, the Hawaiian writer of "View from the Pew" uses that fact that Tibetan Buddhism is different from other Buddhist paths as a way to make the Dalai Lama seem less influential.  Hmm.  What's up with that?

More on H.H. the Dalai Lama's visit to Hawaii here.

Comments

[scruffysmileyface]

So, he's saying that, if not all Buddhists are pacifist monks & nuns living up in the Himalayas, then that's the same as the countless wars that have been fought in the name of Christ?

Yet again, this whole society seems full of people who don't have a clue what they're talking about.

Funny, isn't it, how many of them are American Christians?

[Buddhist Jihad]

Funny? Ha.

No, I think it's even more nutty, that this guy's saying that yes, okay, sure, so over the past 2500 years Buddhists have failed to massacre millions of people in the name of their religion, big deal, but -- since in spring 2007 some Sri Lankan Buddhists including monks have joined a political party, and since one monk even used the word "fighting" in a sentence, that makes Buddhism the moral equivalent of Christianity, holy-war-mass- massacre-wise.