Re: The Buddhist stand on other religions

--- Ong Yong Peng <yongpeng.ong@...> wrote:

> I should have made it clearer, but I really don't
> want to make it
> lengthy. Many religious and political idealisms from
> the West, such
> as Catholicism and Communism, believe in
> 'homogeneity'. We see
> Crusades, Jihads, ethnic cleansing, inquisitions,
> secret police,
> thought crimes, conspiracies, torture and terror,
> all done in that
> name of the "greater good", be it religious or
> political. I know
> people would say I am not fair to put Catholicism
> and Communism side
> by side, but from my personal view, they are two
> sides of the same
> coin.

You might mention some other churches as well. Stalin
got his only higher education when studying at a
Georgian-Orthodox priest seminary...

> And each represent the wider spectrum of
> similar "idealisms"
> they belong to. While both sides may never admit,
> they really have
> more in common than they are different.

Indeed.

> I can recount a solidly good incident
> which give our an
> idea how the Buddha wants us to treat other
> religions.
>
> It was said that on one occassion a lay-disciple
> came to the Buddha,
> and asked Him how he should treat his former
> religious teachers. In
> India, most religious teachers collect alms for
> food. The Buddha
> replied that he should continue giving food to his
> former teachers as
> he previously did, and should treat them with
> respect.

I have been under the impression that he did so out of
compassion for those non-Buddhist ascetics, not
because he embraced or respected their views - which,
in some cases at least, he most emphatically didn't.

> Otherwise, besides being critical, from the Buddha's
> viewpoint, we
> should also respect all religions as He instructed
> Sigala in another
> sutta.

I think we should give our respect and compassion to
the *followers* of all religions. I don't think we
should respect, for example, a religious doctrine
demanding animal sacrifice.

> A more proactive approach, however, which
> some of you
> might take, is to engage in dialogs with members of
> other faiths in
> your community.

I agree fully. I think we shouldn't overestimate the
importance of the top-shots - a pope is cheered when
presented, and mourned when buried, but not
necessarily obeyed in between. If their holinesses
Benedict and Dalai Lama are nice to each other, that's
good; but for me personally, its more important that I
have a reasonably good relation to my Protestant
brother and Catholic sister, and to my friends of
quite a range of different opinions. I don't think I
must respect every single one of their ideas, though.

Gunnar


gunnargallmo@...