Here are some recent comments from a self-proclaimed Christian 9possibly connected to liberty.edu) who cannot spell "Buddhist" correctly, and claims to be "deeply interested" in answers to his or her questions. "I finnaly find [how long have you been looking?} a self proclaimed Budhist [Buddhist] . Ok. I am deeply interested in an answer to the following questions; I mean
as in monotheism. Are there any that attempt to at least mix monotheism
with their religion? [No. Buddhism is a non-theistic religion.] 1. What are the differing views Buudhists [Buddhists] have on abortion? Do they differ on this? [Yes, they do. In general, most would fall in the "safe, legal, and rare" camp.]
1. Do any Budhists [Buddhists] , that you know of, believe in a single God? [No. Buddhism is a non-theistic religion.]
Im am interesting[you must mean 'interested'] in knowing the actual diversity amongst real Buddhists. Kind or mean [There are kind Buddhists and mean Buddhists, I would say. Hover, mean Buddhists would have bad consciences. ] monotheist or poly ect. [I answered this already: Buddhism is a non-theistic religion.]
"Self-proclaimed Buddhist"?
Well, that's an interesting start.
What are you "self-proclaimed" as? I bet I can guess . . .
Buddhism is a non-theistic religion. Buddha, starting out as Prince Gautama, was a human being who, through his own efforts, became enlightened, eg., attained Buddhahood.
Buddhists believe that taking life is not a good thing.
No wars have been fought on behalf of Buddhism, as happened for other religions during the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Holocaust, etc.
Oh I was saying that you were a Buddhist, not me lol. [Yes, I understood that.]
If No one has ever started a war in the name of Budhism, [Buddhism] then why do I here [hear] about some of them joining a rebellion against the Dali Lama? [I don't know where you heard this. I think you need to listen to more accurate rumors. Also, it is "Dalai Lama.']
Isn't the Dali [Dalai] Lama attacking Buddhists {No.] and isn't the Dali [Dalai] Lama doing this in the name of Buddhism? [Answer: No.]
I guess Im exploring the Posibility that some Buddists are .. . . sort of like the pharasies [Pharisees.] of the Bible . . . knowing Budhism [Buddhism] but not acting according to it. [Well, there are certainly bad Buddhists, perhaps, but once one gets bad enough, one stops being Buddhist. You can't be a serial killer or genocidal maniac and be a Buddhist, ipso facto.]
Im actually a Christian [Yes, so I assumed.] , and in Christianity we know about the reality of "fake Christians". These are people who know the ways and truths of Christianity but who don't trully [Truly.] follow it in heart. [Yes, there seem to be a lot of them these days. I have a question for you. Why don't you Christians follow the Golden Rule?]
Are you saying there is no equivalent in the Buddhist community .. . at all? [I haven't said anything of the sort.] You did say some Buddhists can be mean. [Sure. But being mean contradicts the teachings, since one is trying to cultivate compassion toward all sentient beings, including toward you.]
And I have seen videos [Have you?] about the Dali [Dalai] Lama attacking Buddhists of a different order. [No, he actually doesn't do that at all, quite the opposite. The Dalai Lama follows the Rime, or non-sectarian, teachings]. Does he not do this in the name of Buddhism? [No, he does not.] Perhaps I am misunderstanding something. [Yes, you are misunderstanding pretty much everything.]
I am also exploring whether this is true of other religions. [Well, you won't find anything about that on this blog.]
Brilliant. Thanks for sharing this.
Posted by: Jerry | December 04, 2008 at 11:14 AM
maybe your Christian friend is referring to the Dorje Shugden controversy. Shugden people like to portray themselves as being "persecuted" by HH the Dalai Lama, which, if you go and read the facts and are actually a practiotioner who takes your practice seriously, it is easy to know is a bogus accusation against the DL. There are some videos around, maybe that is what he/she saw...
Posted by: Augusto Ornellas | December 23, 2008 at 07:01 AM
I am familiar with that, Augusto.
Posted by: Buddhist Jihad | December 24, 2008 at 05:31 PM