Is Buddhism a scheme for harvesting Christian souls?
Before deciding on the diner pictured below, the Common Ground Meditation Center also tried to buy a church in the neighborhood that was being vacated by an evangelical Vietnamese Christian church. The pastor said that under no circumstances would he allow a Buddhist group to buy the building. That building remains empty.
I worked for a time with a Korean war “Atomic Veteran”. He is a big time Christian conservative now, but when he was in the service, he and many other servicemen attended Buddhist lectures that included meditation training. I think it was in Japan, but I’m not sure. The military eventually issued an order against attending these. In my friend’s opinion, that was a very good thing.
When the Dalai Lama came to town and addressed our state legislature, the fellow on the left, Arlon Lindner, called for a boycott on the grounds that the Lama was a cult leader and that “As a Christian, I am offended that we would have the Dalai Lama come and speak…These beliefs are incompatible with Christian principles, and those Christian principles are or have been the governing principles in American society…They don’t believe that there is one God. They don’t believe Christ is God. They believe in evolution and reincarnation. That is not Christian.”
These stories bring up the question:
Is Buddhism a religion?
For the most part Buddhism has arrived in the west as a science, kind of a branch of psychology. Perhaps because it happens to be a science invented in a time and place with no tradition of science, it got sold as a religion. From what I know of the words attributed to the Buddha, Buddhism is missing many things that I associate with a religion. There is no creation story, there are no false gods to worship. There is nothing to worship. In fact, there are clear instructions not to worship the very things that we might be inclined to worship. There is no comfort offered in a higher power. There are the three refuges, but they are not supernatural and they are up to the individual to learn how to get refuge there. What he left looks more like instructions for installing software than the word of God.
Even if Buddhism is not a religion, is it evangelical? Is there a Buddhist mission to spread their beliefs? I had to work to get any spread on me. I’ve disappeared and reappeared from these groups many times and never left a ripple. (no, I didn’t physically disappear).
Talking about becoming a Buddhist is about like me talking about becoming Japanese. Actually going through a ceremony or something would be kind of ridiculous, and would only serve to lather up my identity. As a commentor on this blog said, I could get a big foam “Buddhism is #1″ hand to wear. It is more of a practice than an identity.
On the other hand, I know meditators often think they have a valuable tool that could help others. The writers and speakers I’ve paid attention to all admonish potential teachers to tend their own fields first. I see no conversion mill set up to lure
Addressing the “They don’t believe in one God” statement. The Buddha didn’t say anything about any God. Just like a home electricity manual doesn’t venture into speculations about God. It isn’t pertinent to the discussion.
After writing this and reading it over, I think it focuses on a few negative statements inside a larger culture of acceptance of Buddhist ideas. I published the post anyway because I see a pattern in these stories it helped define my thinking.
December 26th, 2006 at 2:57 am
One book that I would highly recommend is “Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramahansa Yogananda. It is a must-read. I think it could be a real eye-opener for you. One reason I say that is because a good part of the book deals with “The Bible” and the stories in it from a scientific perspective, meaning that the metaphors, stories, & whatnot in The Bible are explained in a very good and logical way by someone who deeply understands those truths & has experienced those spiritual states directly. As I see it, it is completely different than any fundamentalist Christian viewpoint, in that it is based on knowledge.
I would completely disagree with your statement that Buddhism was invented in a “time and place with no tradition of science”. Rather, I would argue that it was invented in a time and place where religion and science were understood to be one and the same, as they most definitely should be and can be.
Also, as far as Buddhists not worshipping God, I don’t know much at all about Buddhism or the Buddha but I would propose the following: If you accept that the Buddha was “enlightened” (as I believe he must have been), then it would follow that he had direct perception of many (or all) of the various Gods, Goddeses, angels, etc. that exist in various higher levels of existence. He also would have had a deep understanding of all the various human rituals used to appease the Gods, as well as the effects that those rituals would have in the human & subtle realms. If he was telling people not to worship God, he would have done so because he would have understood that people were worshipping God from an overwhelmingly egocentric place. In other words, people are basically just worshipping their own egocentric ignorance and calling it “God”, because “God” is really just any individual’s ultimate conception of perfection.
December 26th, 2006 at 2:29 pm
I can’t really address whether he had direct perceptions of various Gods.
However, you are dead-on about the egocentric place from which people practice their religions.
January 4th, 2007 at 6:58 am
God is very great. Christianity is a great religion, and Jesus was a great prophet.
January 18th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
Regarding comment #3, I remember thinking about this whole issue (religion, the ego, God, politics, etc.) quite a bit before I made that last comment, and I had this really great and complex theory all figured out, but when I went to write the comment I got totally overwhelmed and then I just wrote the above — “God is very great” –which was all I could come up with, but which also seems appropriate, ultimately.
Speaking of Buddha, I am actually seriously considering a trip to Bodh Gaya. It’s more-or-less enroute to Nepal, where I have to go in a couple of weeks to get my Visa renewed. I am thinking to fly to Kathmandu and then take a bus/train back through Bodh Gaya & Varanasi.
Also, I am glad you put the “List of Recent Comments” back on the blog. I remember going back to comment on something I had written a few months before, but it would have been a comment to a post made so long ago no-one would have even noticed. That isn’t a problem any more, which is good.
January 18th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
I’m glad too. now that comment spam isn’t as big of a problem, I can safely put that recent comments script there.
January 19th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
I’m still not sure if I am going to Bodh Gaya, but you really got me thinking about it. What I am thinking now is to just fly to Nepal & back in a week. I have to decide for sure in the next few days what my mode of transportaion will be. Last time I went to Nepal to renew my visa, I went by bus & train, and I got lost for three and a half months in the Indian Himalayas. That is just too long of a trip, and I don’t have the financial resources or the time to do that again. I am still editing all my photos from that trip on Flickr. I definitely will be done editing & posting my photos in a few days and I will post that link here.
The one temple I really want to go to is the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu. It is a Shiva Temple. “Pashupati” is said to be “Lord of the Animals”. “Pashupati” is one of the forms of Shiva. I understand that Westerners/non-hindus are not allowed inside the temple, so that is a big problem.
“Pashupatinath” is also a big tourist attraction as well for Kathmandu, and I am sure that very few of the people who visit it have any proper respect for the ancient, holy temple. At this point, Kathmandu is a pretty heavily touristed area (hippies, big stud mountain climbers), and also pretty decadent. My sense was that it’s been pretty well trashed by comercialism and TV/internet in the last 10-15 years. I am thinking to wear some disguise so that I can get into the Temple.
Om Namaha Shivaya
January 21st, 2007 at 10:51 am
you got lost for three and a half months? Can westerners become Hindu and then be allowed in the temple?
January 21st, 2007 at 12:48 pm
In the eyes of those particular authorities, it isn’t possible to just “become” Hindu, like saying the Pledge of Hindu Allegiance, or something. If you are Westerner you are not Hindu. On the other hand, if you are Indian (or Nepali), you are automatically Hindu unless you state otherwise. All of the Temples in India that I have been to so far, I/Westerners can go in, no problem. I’ve never been turned away from any yet. But some which are in the more heavily touristy area, like Pashupatinath Temple, and Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi which I also really really want to go to, and a few others, I understand that they have these restrictions. I will find out what the deal is at Pashupatinath soon enough.
I think if I wore some disguise I could maybe get in — my theory is that most Westerners wouldn’t think at all to make that kind of effort.
I have definitely been to some guesthouses, ashrams, etc. that don’t allow Westerners. A lot of places just make that excuse (Westerners not allowed) if they deem you unworthy for some reason.
I’ll try to send some dispatches from Pashupatinath.
“Hindu” is kind of a wierd word, anyways, I always thought.
Also, I’ve been reading up on Bodh Gaya, here’s what I read:
“Bodh Gaya is the crown jewel of Buddhist pilgrimmage sites — the place where the Buddha attained enlightenment while sitting under the shade of a pipal tree 2,500 years ago. Today, Bodh Gaya casts its own spell, set in the midst of ancient farm fields hardly touched by modernity. Dotted around the towering Mahabodi Temple, which marks the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment, are temples representing nearly every Buddhist country. During the active winter season, the temple grounds are a sea of saffron, black, and maroon robes, as monks and nuns from all traditions circumnambulate the stupa and meditate and chant under the spreading branches of the Bodhi Tree, a descendant of the actual tree that sheltered the Buddha.”
I would still like to go there. It’s located in the State of Bihar, which is said to be a very dangerous area to travel in. There is a Jyotirlinga Temple in Bihar that I would also really like to visit: Vaidyanath temple at Deogarh. Viidyanath is also said to be the place where the heart of Sati fell to the earth. Interesting link here I just found:
http://www.indiantemples.com/Ganga/vaidyanath.html