THE DARKER SIDE OF BUDDHISM

[Gabe]

Many people are under the illusion that Buddhism is somehow superior to other faiths and that persecution and other forms of evil could never take place in the name of Buddhism. This is simply not the case. I have brought this to the attention of others, only to have them say "they're not real Buddhists if they behave like that." a statement which they themselves would laugh at and ridicule if it were made in defense of the Christian faith. I have no reason to doubt that Buddhist teachings are peaceful and this thread is not meant as an attack on the Buddhist faith; its simply to dispel the myth that violence and persecution can never take place in the name of Buddha.

(for this & all further posts, please click on the links for the full un-edited articles)

For example; Bhutan is one of the top five persecutors of Christians and Buddhism is its state religion:

ONE OF THE TOP-FIVE PERSECUTORS OF CHRISTIANS:

Bhutan - A key leader says there are approximately 13,000 Bhutanese Christians in the country. Officially, the Christian faith does not exist and Christians are not allowed to pray or celebrate their faith in public. Christians can meet as a family but not collectively with other Christian families. Religious workers are denied visas to enter the country. Christian children are accepted in schools, but they face discrimination if known to be Christian and they face the constant pressure to attend Buddhist religious festivals. It is almost impossible for Christian students to get to university level. For Christians with government jobs, discrimination is also an issue, as there are cases of believers being deprived of government jobs simply because of their faith. The import of printed religious matter is banned, and only Buddhist religious texts are allowed in the country. Persecution mainly comes from the family, the community, and the monks who yield a strong influence in the society. There is discrimination for some Christian workers in the government, but this is not rampant. Cases of atrocities (i.e. beatings) are sporadic. The persecution mainly comes in the form of pressure to reconvert, and this comes mainly from the family and community.
source

Another example are the Buddhists and Buddhist Monks of Bangladesh who kidnap Christians and use that age-old “convert or die†strategy against them, or they forcibly evict Christians from their communities:

BUDDHIST MONKS IN BANGLADESH TAKE CHRISTIANS CAPTIVE:

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Buddhist clerics and local council officials are holding 13 newly converted Christians captive in a pagoda in a south-eastern mountainous district of Bangladesh in an attempt to forcibly return them to Buddhism....Local government council officials in Jorachuri sub-district in Rangamati district, some 300 kilometers (186 miles) south-east of Dhaka, are helping the Buddhist monks to hold the Christians against their will, According to the source, two Buddhist clerics, Pronoyon Chakma and Jianoprio Vikku, and two local council members, Vira Chakma and Rubichandra Chakma, were behind the anti-Christian activities along with nine other Buddhist leaders. The Christian leader said Buddhist leaders and local council officials have warned Christians to return to Buddhism or be evicted. Fearing for their lives, the source said, some area Christians have gone into hiding. Mogdhan Union Council Chairman Arun Kanti Chakma, the source said, warned that Christian converts would be ostracized, beaten, and – assuming they returned to Buddhism only to return to Christianity – killed. In another mountainous neighborhood in the Khaokhali area near Jorachuri, about 50 recently converted Christians have been cut off from all communications. They are barred from going to Rangamati town and are living in isolation. Christians in the district have not informed police, fearing that any police action would infuriate terrorist groups among the tribal people of the area. The source said terrorist groups have been known to put the lives of Christians in jeopardy at the slightest provocation.
source

We have all heard of “Cults†inspired by Christianity, but you may be less familiar with the Buddhist equivalents (which there are many):

UNHOLY ROW OVER DUBIOUS BUDDHIST SECT:

BANGKOK - If the Lord Buddha is looking down on the religious affairs of Thailand, he may well be frowning. Not only is there an unholy row over attempts to disrobe the head of a dubious Buddhist sect, but the ethics of the mainstream clergy are facing increasing public criticism. Problems range from so-called "naughty monks" indulging in alcohol, drugs, gambling and fornication, to downright rotten monks convicted of extortion, rape and murder. Monks have been convicted of molesting children. Abbots have paid bribes to be transferred to more profitable temples. There has even been over-charging for funeral rites. Some believe there is a widespread malaise as monasteries and temples, once centres of learning, lose their relevance in a world of mass communications and consumerism. Rather than emphasising self-enlightenment and detachment, Dhammakaya backs self-interest all the way. Miracles and prosperity are promised in return for big donations, and there are theatrical religious events attended by tens of thousands of people at the Dhammakaya Temple on the outskirts of Bangkok. The editorial said some monks thought nothing of sleeping with women, extorting cash and assets from disciples, burning the bodies of babies to make love potions and selling "magical" amulets. The Nation said some members of the Sangha Supreme Council had been accused of riding in chauffeur-driven limousines provided by Dhammachayo's sect.
source

Or how about Buddhists attacking non-Buddhist places of worship?

BUDDHISTS ATTACK A CHURCH IN CAMBODIA:

Cambodia - About 100 Buddhists ransacked a church during a service on Sunday in southeastern Cambodia, an official reported. The Buddhists invaded the church of Kok Pring, destroying the cross at the altar, breaking windows, and throwing Bibles into puddles of water, the governor said. It seems that the church was Catholic, although the governor was unable to confirm this. The attack caused some injuries, the governor said. He didn't elaborate. The vandals accused the Christians of being contemptuous of the Buddhist community, who are a majority in this South-east Asian country of 12.7 million. Police kept the Buddhists from destroying the building.
source

and finally, war in the name of Buddha:

BESIEGED TIBETAN BUDDHISTS WAGING WAR:

Today, the future seems more ominous than ever for the 100,000 followers of Tibetan Buddhism who are caught in a half-century of war between local Muslims and Hindus, and between Pakistan and India, for control over the disputed territory. Since the battle of Kargil two years ago, native Buddhists and Tibetan refugees have emerged as India's most effective fighting force along the Line of Control that separates the Indian and Pakistani sectors of Kashmir.

The territorial dispute has since escalated into a full-fledged religious war, with Islamic militants focusing their gun sights on local Buddhists in retaliation for their decisive role in beating back an Islamic attack on Kargil in 1999. Over the past decade, Islamic separatists routed some 300,000 Pandits out of the Kashmir Valley, the heartland of a once independent kingdom. Then, in brutal mountain warfare around Kargil, the Kashmiri militants clashed with the Indian Army's Ladakh Scouts, a 4,000-man paramilitary unit of local Buddhists and Tibetan commandos. Just as the fighting erupted at Kargil, the Dalai Lama happened to be visiting the Jivay Tsal, his palatial residence near Choklamsar, the sprawling Tibetan refugee camp outside Leh. According to Tibetan monks and schoolteachers interviewed at the camp, the Tibetan spiritual leader gave his personal blessing to the Buddhist soldiers of the Ladakh Scouts, Indian press accounts also mentioned the Dalai Lama's supportive role. The Ladakhi and Tibetan troopers were immediately sent to the mountains over the Indus River headwaters. After scaling the icy cliffs, the Ladakh Scouts launched the first successful counterattacks by the Indian side, killing dozens of Muslim militants and pushing the rest back into Pakistan-controlled Baltistan. "Kargil showed the Buddhists will not flee like the Pandits," said Tsering. "We Buddhists cannot remain as spectators, we will resist."
source

Here are some further links:

Christian Persecution in Laos:

Buddhists Drive Bangladeshi Christian from Home:

Extremists stir up anti-Muslim violence in Sri Lankan:

Crackdown on Burmese Muslims:

Human Rights Situation in Bhutan:

 

[Gabe]

6 OUT OF 8 BUDDHIST MAJORITY NATIONS PERSECUTE NON-BUDDHISTS

In the West, Buddhism is synonymous with peace, compassion, wisdom, and ecumenical brotherhood. This is true also in the case of its most noted figure, the Dalai Lama.

Moreover, Buddhism has a reputation as a persecuted religion, and Tibet is the emblem of this.

But the latest Report on Religious Liberty in the World, released in Rome on June 25, 2004 by Aid to the Church in Need, contains striking evidence of a contrary nature.

In almost all of the Asian states in which Buddhism is the majority religion, there is cruel religious repression. And this strikes all of the non-Buddhist religions.

The most egregious case is, perhaps, that of Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma. The June edition of the American monthly magazine "Crisis" published an account by Benedict Rogers of the implacable persecution of the Christian and Muslim religious minorities, with many forced conversions to Buddhism.

The U.S. Department of State classifies Myanmar among the six worst oppressors of religious liberty in the world. In another ranking of the religious persecution of Christians, carried out by Open Doors, the third place is occupied by another mainly Buddhist country, Laos.

Here is a summary, in alphabetical order, of the states in Asia in which Buddhism is the prevailing religion. It contains references to the religious situation in each of them, taken from the Report 2004 of Aid to the Church in Need.

BUTHAN

Public worship, evangelization, and proselytism are illegal for non-Buddhists. In its Ningmapa and Kagyupa versions, Buddhism shapes politics, and it is illegal for a Buddhist to convert to Christianity. Only Buddhist religious texts may be introduced into the country. No alternative religious instruction is permitted in the schools. 15,000 Hindus have been expelled from the south of the country into neighboring India, and the government has begun a program of forced settlement of Buthanese Buuddhists in the region.

CAMBODIA

Prime minister Hun Sen says he highly values the work of the foreign missionaries. Nevertheless, a recent resurgence of nationalism - closely connected with Buddhism, which is the state religion - has made more difficult the lives of Christians and Muslims, who live mostly in the rural areas. In July of 2003, around 100 Buddhists attacked a church in Kok Pring, in the southeast of the country, during the Sunday service, blaming the Christians for a drought that had lasted three years. The situation is particularly critical for the Montagnard Christians who fled from Vietnam to Cambodia. The Cambodian government hunts them down and hands them over to the Vietnamese police, who put them into prison.

LAOS

The communist government, in power since 1975, has expressly declared its intention of eliminating Christians, because it considers Christianity as a violation of Laotian customs and an "imperialistic foreign religion" supported by Western and American political interests. Christians are thus considered subversives and enemies of the state. The persecution particularly strikes the ethnic Hmong Christians, who were converted by Protestant American missionaries. Theravada Buddhism is the most important religious organization in the country, and it leaves its mark on public life, especially in the rural areas. It is not a state religion, but the government favors it as a characteristic element of the nation and increasingly uses Buddhist rituals in state-sponsored events. Proselytism by other religions is severely hampered. There have been documented cases of forced renunciation of the Christian faith, with prison for those who refuse.

MONGOLIA

The constitution guarantees religious freedom, and the government generally respects it, but there are obstacles to proselytism and difficulties in registering and obtaining permission for religious activities. Buddhism - of the Tibetan Lama type - is not a state religion, but it is considered as an integral part of national life and has gained supremacy and advantages over the other religions.

MYANMAR

It has been governed since 1962 by a communist military regime, which paid no attention to the 1990 electoral victory of the democratic opposition party lead by Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate. The Theravada Buddhism practiced by the majority of the population is not a state religion, but the government controls and favors it, while persecuting the Christian and Muslim minorities. The Catholic schools have been confiscated by the state, and Christians are not permitted to assume leadership posts. The Christians mostly belong to the Chin, Kachin, and Karen populations, among which there are some independence movements. Many have fled to Thailand and India, where they live in refugee camps. In the Chin region, the crosses on the mountainsides, the expressions of their faith, were torn down, and frequently substituted with pagodas. Christians are obliged to pay an annual tax to support the Buddhist religion, and if they convert, they obtain privileges: one of these is exemption from forced labor for the army, which they are periodically constrained to do. The Bible is forbidden, as are meetings outside of the Sunday liturgies, which are frequently disrupted or interrupted. Many Christian children are taken far from their families and interned in Buddhist monasteries.

SRI LANKA

In Sri Lanka, where Buddhists make up nearly 70 percent of the population, the 2004 report of Aid to the Church in Need writes: "Christianity is perceived as a colonial imposition, and the condition of Christians is rapidly deteriorating." The entry into the country of new pastors and priests - especially Jesuits, who have been banned for over thirty years - is seriously obstructed. Anti-Christian sentiment is even expressed in violent ways, and is aimed above all at the Evangelical and Pentecostal communities. The Buddhist monks, especially in the rural zones, lead the assaults against churches, schools, pastors, and faithful, with destruction and massacres, and form protest marches against "the diabolical conspiracy of the Christian forces to convert and corrupt the nation." In August of 2003, the supreme court ruled that the constitution forbids proselytism. In September, the government ordered the closing of all of the Catholic schools of higher education.

THAILAND

Buddhists make up 85 percent of the population, and Theravada Buddhism is the religion of the state. But freedom for all religions is guaranteed by law, and is respected in practice. Good progress has also been noted in relations with the Muslim minority, especially after the 2002 nomination of a Muslim, Wan Nor Muhamad Matha, as interior minister.

VIETNAM

There are six authorized religions: Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, Hoa-Hao, and Cao-Dai. But the government exercises very strict control over each of them, frequently accompanied by real persecutions, with the arrest of the faithful and the destruction of churches and temples. The Christian minority, more than 8 percent of the population, is particularly harried, for religious and ethnic reasons (as in the case of the Montagnard and Hmong populations). But even Buddhism, which is the most widespread religion, followed by 50 percent of Vietnamese, is placed under heavy restrictions. Its most authoritative leader, Thic Huyen Quang has been under house arrest since 1982.

From this inventory it emerges that, of the eight Asian countries with a Buddhist majority, only one of them - Thailand - assures substantial religious to all faiths, and another - Vietnam - persecutes all of them, including Buddhism.

In the other six states, Buddhism is more or less an integral part of a regime that represses the other religions.

source

 

[GojuBrian]

The truth about some cults/religions is very disturbing when you get to the core beliefs. :crazy

I have a friend who is buddist and she would not even believe this. Doesn't make it any less so.

Thanks Gabriel!

 

[Gabe]

ANOTHER LINK TO BUDDHIST VIOLENCE

No probs, Brian.

It just goes to show that Buddhism has its fair share of extremists just like any other religion and isn't the perfect godless faith they all try to make it out to be. Power corrupts many, regardless of their faith, but people seem to never tire of reminding us Christians of the ancient Crusades or a one-off incident of violence carried out by a Christian. If we say what they have done is un-Christian, they will accuse us of the "no true Scotsman" fallacy. But when Muslims or Buddhists say the very same thing, somehow it is accepted by those who mock us for “our†history. Its pure hypocrisy.

 

[animal]

Many people are under the illusion that Buddhism is somehow superior to other faiths and that persecution and other forms of evil could never take place in the name of Buddhism. This is simply not the case. I have brought this to the attention of others, only to have them say "they're not real Buddhists if they behave like that." a statement which they themselves would laugh at and ridicule if it were made in defense of the Christian faith. I have no reason to doubt that Buddhist teachings are peaceful and this thread is not meant as an attack on the Buddhist faith; its simply to dispel the myth that violence and persecution can never take place in the name of Buddha.

I believe many kamikaze pilots during WW2 were Zen Buddhists. But anyway, I have to agree with the others and even yourself. There is absolutely nothing in Buddhist scripture that condones any of this. This isn't the case for some other religion's holy books that very blatantly support oppression, genocide, and more.

 

[Gabe]

I believe many kamikaze pilots during WW2 were Zen Buddhists. But anyway, I have to agree with the others and even yourself. There is absolutely nothing in Buddhist scripture that condones any of this. This isn't the case for some other religion's holy books that very blatantly support oppression, genocide, and more.

I agree that there are some faiths which support this kind of thing, but I don't find that to be the case with Christianity. There is no denying that there is a hefty amount of violence in the Bible but this violence is descriptive and not prescriptive. When we move to the New Testament we find the teachings of Christ and then the letters of St Paul; both of whom were anti-violence and called for us to submit to the governing powers of a country. Like Buddhism, it is (or at least its meant to be) a spiritual faith. When you look to the examples set by Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha its hard to see how followers of either could do such things in their names.

Christians who attempt to justify oppression, genocide etc really must twist scripture beyond recognition to do so. Unfortunately, even on this site I have seen this done. When someone wants to support war, they pull out an Old Testament verse. When someone wants to support using violent force against another to protect their “rightsâ€Â, they pull a few words out-of-context from the Book of Revelations. In general, Western Christianity has very little in common with the Christ-centred and (IMO) pure religion that our brothers and sisters follow in the East. But Christ and Christianity cannot be blamed for this, its culture dressed in religious clothing. Most Christians in the East resemble the very first Christians who followed Christ and the Apostles. They are being persecuted and martyred daily by Buddhists, Hindu's and Muslims and all they offer in response is to turn the other cheek; if non-Christians tried that in America, they would more than likely get a gun pointed at their head.

I think the following article (written by an atheist) highlights some of my points:

CHRISTIANS - THE MOST PERSECUTED PEOPLE GROUP ON EARTH

 

[Gabe]

MORE VIOLENCE & PERSECUTION IN THE NAME OF BUDDHA

Here are some more links to articles:

CHRISTIAN REFUGEES ALLEGE PERSECUTION BY JUNTA

Myanmarese Christian refugees settled in Mizoram have accused the military junta of religious persecution, saying it desecrated churches and molested women. Thanga, a Myanmarese refugee in Mizoram who fled the attacks, said "I could bear everything else, but abusing my religion (Christianity) was the only one thing I could not tolerate. The military even pulled down churches and forced us to erect statues of the Buddha.†There are an estimated 20,000 Chin refugees in Mizoram. The Chin community belongs to the same ethnic stock as the Mizos of Mizoram.
source

BURMESE CHILDREN FORCED TO BECOME BUDDHIST MONKS

CHILDREN from Christian families in Burma, between the ages of five and ten, have been lured from their homes and placed in Buddhist monasteries. Once taken in, their heads have been shaved and they have been trained as novice monks, never to see their parents again.

In a recent visit to Chin and Kachin refugees in New Delhi and Mizoram State, India, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) heard accounts of cultural genocide and religious persecution and discrimination. The Burmese regime's forces offer incentives to impoverished villagers to convert from Christianity to Buddhism in Chin state, an area which is 90 percent Christian.
source

BUDDHIST EXTREMISTS ATTACK CHRISTIAN-RUN CHILDRENS HOME IN SRI-LANKA

A 200-man mob, accompanied by extremist Buddhist monks, has attacked a children’s home, which was being run by the Dutch Reformed Church in central Sri Lanka at the beginning of August.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a human rights organisation which specialises in religious freedom, has reported that the mob fiercely attacked the home, following which, they climbed to the roof and planted a Buddhist flag on the roof.
source

UNDER ATTACK, CHRISTIANS FEAR MILITANT BUDDHISM

Amid growing violence in Sri Lanka that Church leaders have likened to the 'killing fields' of Cambodia, Christians in the island are facing increased persecution from Buddhist extremists, Release International reported this week. Recently a 50-strong mob led by four Buddhist monks confronted Christians gathering for a service at an Assembly of God church, RI said. They accused the pastor of bribing villagers to convert to Christianity and they warned him to close down the church “or face the consequences.â€Â

In an earlier incident, Buddhist extremists attempted to forcibly convert Pastor 'A', a woman. RI reported that they also tried to rape her. “We looked out and we saw a lot of men who had come and surrounded us,†she told RI. “They were local Buddhist monks who threatened us and told us to stop our [Christian] activities.†But the threats quickly moved beyond words. “They forced us to kneel down; ordered us to declare that Buddha is our God and kept beating us. But we refused to say anything. We sat on the ground and kept silent.†She fought off an attempt by one man to rape her, RI reported.
source

HINDU AND BUDDHISTS UNITED TO OPOSE CHRISTIAN EVANGELISM

Hindu and Buddhist priests from across Asia are uniting to oppose Christian proselytism. The 1,000 delegates to a three-day conference in Lumbini, Nepal, discussed Pope John Paul II's recent call to evangelize Asia. Evangelism constitutes "a war against Hindus and Buddhists" and is a "spiritual crime," they said. "We are worried about our identity. If we become one, we will become a majority and no one will be able to touch us,"
source

BUDDHIST CREMATION RITE FORCED ON CHRISTIANS

Buddhist villagers in southeastern Bangladesh forced Christians to participate in a Buddhist cremation rite for a deceased family member last weekend and demanded money for a post-funeral ceremony. Uttam Lal Chakma, 55, died last Friday (May 15) after a long illness in Dighinala sub-district of Khagrachari hill district, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) southeast of Dhaka. A member of Mynasukhnachari Baptist Church in the Babuchara neighborhood, Chakma had converted from Buddhism to Christianity two years ago.

Pastor Vubon Chakma and Christian villagers sought to give him a Christian burial the next day, but a hostile group of local Buddhists forcibly stopped them from doing so, according to a local Christian source. The source told Compass that a member of the Buddhist group told family members, “He was born as a Buddhist, and he will be buried as a Buddhist.†Christian villagers subsequently requested that they be allowed to bury the charred bones. They dug a grave and were praying and reading Bible verses when Buddhist villagers, some of them drunk, arrived and brought the ceremony to a halt. “They said to the Christians, ‘You cannot read the Bible here,†the church source said, requesting that the names of the Buddhist leaders be withheld for security reasons. One of the senior pastors of the Babuchara Baptist church, 60-year-old Pitambar Chakma, tried to reason with the enraged Buddhists, but they confined him and Vubon Chakma for the night.
source

HISTORICAL PERSECUTION

"In the years 1630 and 1742, Tibetan Christian communities were suppressed by the lamas of the Gelugpa Sect, whose chief lama was the Dalai Lama. Jesuit priests were made prisoners in 1630, or attacked before they reached Tsaparang. Between 1850 and 1880 eleven fathers of the Paris Foreign Mission Society were murdered in Tibet, or killed or injured during their journeys to other missionary outposts in the Sino-Tibetan borderlands. In 1881 Father Brieux was reported to have been murdered on his way to Lhasa. Qing officials later discovered that the murder cases were in fact covertly supported and even orchestrated by local lamaseries and their patrons -- the native chieftains. In 1904, Qing official Feng Quan sought to curtail the influence of the Gelugpa Sect and ordered the protection of Western missionaries and their churches. Indignation over Feng Quan and the Christian presence escalated to a climax in March 1905, when thousands of the Batang lamas revolted, killing Feng, his entourage, local Manchu and Han Chinese officials, and the local French Catholic priests."
source

 

[Jon-Marc]

As far as I know, there is no bright side to darkness. There is Christianity that centers on the ONE TRUE God of love and mercy, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and there are all other religions that are false and man-centered. Christ is the Light of the world. All other religions are in darkness, and light has no communion with darkness. 2 Cor. 6:14

 

[Gabe]

The title of this thread is simply a metaphor, and its for Christians and non-Christians alike, to read.

 

[animal]

Jon-marc, I'm sorry but in nearly every one of your posts you sound like there is a nun with a ruler reading over your shoulder.

 

[Jon-Marc]

Jon-marc, I'm sorry but in nearly every one of your posts you sound like there is a nun with a ruler reading over your shoulder.

Well, excuse me for telling the truth. A nun means nothing to me. To me she's just a woman dressed like a penguin. If my words aren't welcome here, I can leave. I will not compromise the truth, but some can't handle the truth.

 

[Gabe]

BUDDHIST LEADERS CALLED WW2 ‘A HOLY WAR’

The title above is one of the most shocking statements I read in the following article. It made me think of the Crusades and how religious leaders can pervert the message of a peaceful faith and use it to incite war.

ZEN AT WAR

When dawn broke over Pearl Harbour on 7 December 1941 it brought with it waves of Japanese bombers. Their surprise attack on the American naval base brought the us into the Second World War and initiated a conflict that ended only when nuclear bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Every American schoolboy knows that much. But, while Americans counted
their losses and vowed revenge, Japanese Buddhists found a special cause for celebration:

‘December 8th [the date of the attack in Japan] is the holy day on which Shakyamuni realised the Way, and [for this reason] it has been a day for commemorating the liberation of humankind. It is exceedingly wonderful that in 1941 we are able to make this very day also a holy day for commemorating the eternal reconstruction of the world. On this day was handed down the Great Imperial Edict aimed at punishing the arrogant United States and England, and news of the destruction of American bases in Hawaii spread quickly throughout the world.’

These words by the Buddhist writer Hata Esho, which were published in a Zen journal called Dogen (named after the founder of the Soto Zen school), would not have surprised their readers. The Zen establishment, indeed the leadership of all the main Buddhist schools in Japan, had been enthusiastic supporters of their Meiji rulers since the late 1900s, and were wholeheartedly behind the Japanese war effort.

A generation later the sons and daughters of the servicemen who had fought the Japanese took to the streets and campuses of the US to protest against the Vietnam War. Their rebellion turned into a rejection of mainstream western society, and a whole generation looked outside its culture for guidance and meaning. Many were captivated by the mysterious tradition of Japanese Zen. Thirty years on, the sixties generation are leaders of the western Buddhism that has spread across Europe and the us. Many have yoked their Zen practice to their concern for social justice and have declared the emergence of a new ‘Engaged Buddhism’. But the repressed history of the complicity of Japanese Buddhism in the country’s militarism and nationalism has returned to trouble modern Buddhists. The process started in Japan, but it has spread to the West. After many years of declaring that ‘no war has ever been fought in the name of Buddhism’, western Buddhists are having to acknowledge that this is untrue.

The fuse was lit in the West in 1997 with the publication of Zen at War, a careful but implacable account of Japanese Buddhism’s complicity in the country’s fanaticism, militarism and war effort up to 1945. The author, Brian Victoria, started to practise Zen while in Japan in 1961 and formally entered the Soto Zen priesthood in 1964, receiving the Dharma name ‘Daizen’

From the end of the 19th century until 1945, almost the entire Japanese Buddhist establishment – not just Zen Buddhists – were vigorous supporters of the war effort and the militaristic society from which it grew. For instance, during the Russo-Japanese war of 1906 the well-known Buddhist scholar-priest Inoue Enryo argued that:

‘If [the Russian army] is the army of Christ, ours is the army of the Buddha’

By the 1930s Buddhist teachers were advocating an ‘Imperial Way’ Zen, based, as Zen Master Yamazaki Ekiju put it, on the belief that ‘Japanese Buddhism must be centred on the emperor. … Buddhism, including Shakyamuni’s teachings, must conform to the national policy of Japan.’
Buddhist leaders willingly dubbed Japan’s campaigns in World War Two ‘a holy war’, and played a significant role in maintaining morale: ‘If ordered to tramp: march, march, or shoot: bang, bang,’ as Harada Daiun, a famous Zen master wrote. ‘This is the manifestation of the highest Wisdom.’

As the military situation deteriorated, and nationalism merged into desperation, Buddhist rhetoric even played its part in finding volunteers to be kamikaze pilots. One Soto priest wrote in 1943:

‘The source of the spirit of the Special Attack Forces lies in the denial of the individual self and the rebirth of the soul, which takes upon itself the burden of history. From ancient times Zen has described this conversion of mind as the achievement of complete Enlightenment.’

This, for Victoria, is the culmination of the military tradition of Zen – the equation of the pilot’s willing death with the highest goal of the spiritual life. Victoria’s charge is not simply that Zen teachers were swept along by the nationalist tide. That would be unsurprising and understandable. During the First World War, for example, belligerent European nations on both sides had the support of churches of many denominations. Virtually all religions that have become the dominant faith of a nation have had to come to terms with the military dimension of the nation’s life. But Victoria told me that his forthcoming book Zen War Stories will demonstrate even more clearly that Zen teachings played a central role in instilling the military ethos and offering moral support to the military.

‘Japanese military leaders deliberately set out to inculcate a Zen-inspired attitude in Japanese troops as they raped and pillaged their way through Asia from 1931 to 1945, killing between 10 and 20 million men, women and children. This was done with the complete and unconditional support of all Japan's Zen leaders.’

Two issues cause alarm in the case of Buddhist support for imperial Japan: the identity of the supporters, and the nature of their support. The first has attracted most attention in responses to Zen at War. The book reveals that in addition to being a skilled communicator of Zen teachings for a western audience, DT Suzuki was an eloquent advocate of Buddhist support for the imperial cause. But the greatest upset was caused by an article in Tricycle magazine, in which Victoria described the wartime record and political views of Yasutani Roshi. Yasutani was the teacher to Philip Kapleau, Robert Aitken, Maezumi Roshi and others, who have been the most important transmitters of Buddhism to white America. Yet Victoria revealed that throughout his life – including the years after the War – Yasutani adhered to an extreme right-wing political agenda, including theories of Japanese racial superiority and (notwithstanding the Jewish ancestry of many of his American students) virulent anti-Semitism.

A Zen teacher is proclaimed as Enlightened, having gained an unshakeable insight into the truth that Buddhism teaches, and been transformed by that truth. So either Yasutani was not Enlightened, in which case his successors cannot claim authority through his transmission of the Dharma to them, or else we must revise our ideas of Enlightenment.

Since Zen at War revealed all Japanese Zen leaders to have been fervent supporters of Japanese militarism, the compelling question is what made it possible for these alleged masters to portray the Buddhadharma in a war-affirming, totalitarian-embracing manner? Thus we come to the second cause for concern in Zen involvement in Japan’s wars – the apparent lack of conflict between its teachings and the army’s actions, even when these included atrocities on a vast scale. Although the debate about Japanese Buddhism’s war record is new to the West, and although there has been little general discussion of it in Japan itself, a small but determined band of Japanese Buddhist scholars has attempted to critique their own tradition. My own comments on Zen teachings will draw on their work as well as on the arguments of Zen at War.

In the Meiji period Buddhist teachers found two main justifications for their support of the country’s military adventures. Firstly they argued that Japan’s wars were just. The notion of Japanese superiority to other races is deeply rooted in the culture, and the spectacle of western powers encroaching on Asia seemed a patent injustice. Buddhists followed the popular view that Japan had a right to pursue its trade interests as it saw fit and to punish those who prevented that. In other words, as Suzuki put it, the aim of Japan’s wars was to ‘punish the people of the country representing injustice, in order that justice might prevail’.

Heathens who impeded Japan, it was argued, were also standing in the way of the progress of humanity, and deserved punishment, not least because Japan was so deeply imbued with Buddhism that opposing its interests was tantamount to opposing Buddhism. Buddhists, along with other government propagandists, argued that the expansion of Japanese power into Korea, Taiwan, Manchuria and eventually the rest of China was for the benefit of the inhabitants of those countries.

The second Buddhist justification for the war underpinned the first. This was the argument that, from a Zen perspective, other ethical considerations did not apply. Throughout its history Mahayana Buddhism has taught the doctrine of ‘skilful means’, the notion that it is permissible to break religious rules if a greater good can be obtained. Furthermore the Mahayana teaches that reality is ultimately shunya – void or empty. Seen truly, life is mysterious, it cannot be grasped or defined, and it cannot be said to have a substantial existence in any way that can be expressed. But, if this is the ultimate nature of existence, what should we make of the ‘reality’ we experience in our daily lives? And what place is there for the basic teachings of Buddhism, such as its ethical precepts, that relate to this level? Some Mahayana traditions respond by insisting that the ‘two truths’ are both valid, and that ethics and the other ‘trainings’ of Buddhist practice are indispensable. Zen, however, is concerned to avoid dualism, and the Zen adept is said to inhabit a sphere beyond words and concepts, beyond the distinctions of good and evil.

So Zen is antinomian, seeing its teachings as transcending the moral precepts, and anti-rational. Some might imagine that this direct knowing would lead one naturally to the right way of acting. But in the world of particulars one must make choices, and there is a Zen attitude to such choices. As Suzuki writes:

‘[Zen] simply urges going ahead with whatever conclusion, rational or irrational, a man has arrived at. Philosophy may be left with intellectual minds; Zen wants to act, and the most effective act, once the mind is made up, is to go on without looking backward. In this respect, Zen is indeed the religion of the samurai warrior.’

This ‘irrationalism’ has attracted many in the West – from the Beat generation’s celebration of spontaneity to contemporary aversion to ‘being judgemental’. But the danger is that it simply makes one susceptible to whatever values prevail in one’s society. It seems that in wartime Japan the very characteristic of Zen that connotes freedom and spontaneity to westerners became the call for Japanese to do their duty, happily sacrificing their lives to the imperial cause. This was not just a civic virtue, it was the fulfilment of Zen.

For the full unedited article click here.

 

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SEXUAL ABUSE OF MEN, WOMEN & CHILDREN BY BUDDHIST MONKS

TIBETAN BUDDHIST MASTER INFECTS GAY DISCIPLES WITH HIV

Californian Tibetan Buddhist master, Osel Tendzin, direct disciple of the militaristic alcoholic and womanising Chogyal Trumpa, infected several of his gay followers with HIV after engaging in unprotected anal intercourse with them. Tendzin claimed that "Buddha would protect them from infection" which, needless to say, was not the case.

After being exposed as having deliberately committed sexual assault on these gay men, Tendzin went into a rapid decline and died of AIDS soon after. Worse was to come when the 16th Karmapa of the Black Hat Karma Kagyu branch of Tibetan Buddhism refused to denounce either Trumpa or Tendzin, as he stated that they were "close family" and this matter should not be investigated or commented on further. Karma Kagyu is one of the fastest-growing branches of Tibetan Buddhism in the West, thanks to the indefatigable proslytesing of the Danish Lama Ole Nadhyal, who to his credit steadfastly opposed and refused to condone the activities of Trumpa or Tendzin, placing him in conflict with the head of his lineage, the Karmapa.
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UK'S MOST INFLUENTIAL TIBETAN BUDDHIST GURU GUILTY OF SEXUALLY ABUSING FEMALE DISCIPLE

Britain's most influential Tibetan Buddhist Guru was found guilty of sexually abusing female disciples and paid the price. Known to his disenchanted disciples as 'The Soggy Old Rinpoche' he at one time exerted considerable influence in London's gay AIDS community when he launched his book "The Tibetan Art of Living and Dying" at the 'London AIDS Necropolis', London Lighthouse.
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KARAOKE MONK BOOTED OUT

An abbot at a Thai temple has been ordered to leave the monkhood in disgrace after being caught carousing with women in a karaoke bar. Phra Pativetviset, from the Bangkok temple, Wat Sriboonruang, was banished after being captured on film during a police raid on the club last weekend.

Reports said the abbot had donned a wig, sunglasses and normal clothes for the clandestine visit to the bar in his home province of Ang Thong. But he was still identified when footage of the raid was screened as part of a television news report.

Buddhist monks are forbidden to drink alcohol or patronise entertainment venues. But reports said Pativetviset was a well-known party-goer in his home province where he spent freely at entertainment venues. The Religious Affairs Department said the authorities may push for criminal proceedings against the abbot if it is found he squandered temple funds on partying.

Recent scandals

In recent years, Buddhist monks have been involved in a number of scandals in Thailand and have been accused of crimes including child sexual abuse and murder. Last month Thailand's abbots censured a Buddhist monk at another Bangkok temple after he amassed a vast collection of luxury cars using disciples' donations. And in another scandal, police tests on monks at a temple in Nakhon Sawan province appeared to show a number had taken drugs.
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MONK ARRESTED OVER SEXUAL ABUSE OF SRI-LANKAN WAR ORPHANS

COLOMBO, Oct 8 (AFP) - Two Buddhist monks and eight men were arrested in Sri Lanka Wednesday for sexually abusing 11 war orphans between the ages of nine and 13, officials said. The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) said it had investigated an orphanage for victims of the island's drawn out Tamil separatist conflict and carried out the arrest after reports of systematic abuse of children there.

The NCPA said boys had been sexually abused by the two monks and eight men at the children's home located near the capital Colombo. "Although children had complained to the authorities of the children's home, no action had been taken to stop the abuse of children," the NCPA said in a statement.

The home was established during the height of the fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels as a safe haven for children whose parents and close relatives were killed by either side. Child abuse is a non-bailable offence in Sri Lanka. The NCPA said it was hoping to take the 10 men, including the two monks, before a magistrate and seek their detention in custody pending further investigations.
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SRI-LANKA CHILD ABUSE ARRESTS

Ten men, including two Buddhist monks, have been arrested in Sri Lanka in connection with allegations of sexual abuse of at least 11 boys in an orphanage in the capital, Colombo. Two hundred and seventy boys and girls - many of them war orphans - are currently being questioned by police officers attached to the country's National Child Protection Agency.

The head of the agency, Harendra de Silva, said it was possible other alleged child victims would come forward as the 120 girls in the home had not been interviewed yet. Those thought to have been abused were mostly Sinhalese but included one Muslim boy as well as three Tamils.

An official at the children's home said the two monks arrested were not from the orphanage itself but from a nearby Buddhist temple. The same official alleged that a lady had come to the home and paid the children money to make false allegations against the monks.

The child protection agency says the 10 arrested men will be charged in court and under amendments to the law will face very tough penalties if found guilty. Mr Silva said they had investigated about 15 cases in the past seven years where Buddhist monks were implicated in child abuse but he said the judicial process was slow.
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BUDDHIST MONK CHARGED WITH SEXUAL ABUSE OF MINOR

A Buddhist monk accused of having a months-long sexual relationship with a pre-teenage girl faced a judge Thursday on eight felony charges of sexually abusing a minor.Sidthisoke Kaybounthome, 21, was arrested Wednesday and booked at the Anchorage jail for the alleged relationship that began in the fall and continued until last week. He is charged with four counts each of first- and second-degree sexual abuse of a minor.

Police learned of the alleged affair when the victim's mother called them to report it on April 7, according to a prosecution affidavit filed in court. She said she had confronted Kaybounthome with the accusation and that he initially denied it.

The girl, however, told police she had been in a sexual relationship with Kaybounthome since last September or October. Since then, Kaybounthome would sneak through her home bedroom window at least once a month in what she characterized as a "relationship," according to court documents. Police got a warrant and listened in on a phone call between Kaybounthome and the girl in which they discussed the relationship in Laotian, court records indicate.

Detectives then confronted Kaybounthome, who initially denied the relationship but later admitted the sexual relationship and that he knew the girl was under 13 years old, according to the papers. At the hearing Thursday, Kaybounthome, whose first language is Laotian, said he spoke only a little English and could not understand Judge Alex Swiderski, prompting an interpreter to be called.
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MORE SEXUAL ABUSE OF WOMEN & CHILDREN BY BUDDHIST MONKS

CAMBODIAN MONK ARRESTED FOR MOLESTING 8-YEAR-OLD FRENCH GIRL

A CAMBODIAN monk has been arrested and defrocked for molesting an eight-year-old French girl while she was touring the country's Angkor temples with her family, police said.

The monk, 16-year-old Ouk Ratha, confessed to touching the girl's genitals last Friday after luring her into a quiet corner of the Bayon temple, one of the Angkor complex's most famous monuments in north-west Cambodia, said police official Sun Bunthong on Monday.

The monk also said he forced the girl to fondle him, Mr Sun Bunthong said. The girl's parents first became aware of the incident after noticing that she appeared frightened to have her picture taken with the monk.
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TAIWANESE MONK JAILED FOR SEXUALLY ABUSING PUPILS

A monk has been jailed for eleven-and-a-half years for sexually abusing eight boys, a court official said yesterday, bringing an end to the long-running scandal.

Shih Chih-hao, who ran a Buddhist academy in Taipei County, was found guilty of molesting and sexually assaulting the boys, all under 14 years old, said Wen Yao-yuan, spokesman for the Taiwan High Court.

The scandal erupted in 2000 when police began investigating allegations by some 25 pupils at the academy -- a shelter for abused, runaway and impoverished boys -- that they were sexually abused by Shih.

The boys reportedly said they were molested by Shih during meditation sessions or forced to have sex with him while they were taking baths.
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BUDDHIST MONK ARRESTED FOR RUNNING A BROTHEL OF BOY PROSTITUTES

The Special Investigation Unit of Maradana police station arrested a Buddhist monk who allegedly ran a brothel of boy prostitutes in a flat in Maligawaththa together with associates and a stock of obscene video.

The Buddhist monk, five boys under 15 years of age and the clients of the brothel including a police constable attach to Maradana police station were among the arrested people.

The police said that the monk had sold these boys at Rs. 300 each.
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BUDDHIST PRIEST BUSTED FOR MOLESTING GIRL, CLAIMING TO DISPELL EVIL SPIRIT

Teikan Akiyama, 56, a Buddhist priest has been arrested for molesting a 17-year-old girl at a temple he owns last year under the guise of dispelling an evil spirit from her, police said.

Akiyama told the unemployed victim to lie down in the temple he owns in Akkeshi in early August last year, saying he would dispel an evil spirit from her. He then molested her, local police said.

The girl had visited Akiyama's temple at the introduction of an acquaintance asking him to dispel an evil spirit from her. Akiyama also operates another temple in Yakumo, according to investigators.
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BUDDHIST MONK CONFESSES TO RAPE OF BRITISH TOURIST

According to police the 39-year-old victim was trembling with fear when she reached the police station to report the attack on Tuesday afternoon. The monk, 17-year-old Thorn Sophoan, was immediately arrested and defrocked. Police said that he has confessed to the crime.

The victim reportedly told the monk that she did not want a guide but he insisted on following her anyway. The attack took place in Battambang province in the north west of Cambodia. The victim's right leg was injured as she attempted to fight off her attacker, who also stole her money, camera and mobile telephone.

Buddhist monks in Cambodia are frequently accused of sexual assaults. This week two other monks were arrested for allegedly raping two teenagers in a school classroom.
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WOMAN REACHES SETTLEMENT OVER "PURIFICATION" SEX ASSAULT BY PRIEST

A woman has received a 1 million yen payout from a Buddhist priest who indecently assaulted her during what he called a “purification ritual†in a settlement mediated by the Chiba District Court.

“He has resigned as head priest and has repented, so we decided to come to a settlement,†the woman’s lawyer said.

On four different occasions from December 2005 to May 2006, the old priest performed indecent acts on the woman, using the excuse of her needing to undergo purification to rid her body of eczema that was plaguing it and feeling her up.
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SCANDALS INVOLVING BUDDHIST MONKS

BUDDHIST MONK ARRESTED FOR GROWING MARIJUANA

Police arrested a Buddhist monk Wednesday for growing marijuana near the Eikoji shrine in Japan.

Michimaru Obara, 48, is suspected of growing approximately 5.3 pounds of marijuana, according to a police official who declined to be named, citing policy.

The official says the monk is also suspected of selling at least 1.7 ounces of the drug to an office worker near Tokyo, reports The Associated Press.

Obara was arrested last month for drug possession, after police found marijuana at his home. He admitted growing the plant for personal use, but denies selling his stash.

Convicted drug users in Japan face up to life in prison.
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4 BUDDHIST MONKS HELD OVER TAX SCAM

Four South Korean Buddhist monks have been arrested for their part in an income tax scam involving the sale of fake donation receipts, a report said.

The temple chiefs in the southwestern city of Gwangju were detained on Monday, the JoongAng Daily said.

The scheme aimed to help 2,570 workers evade a total of $2.1 billion won ($2.28 million) in tax in 2005-2006, the paper said.

Donations to charities, schools and religious organisations are tax-deductible up to a certain amount.

Some monks even distributed pamphlets advertising the fake donation service, prosecutors were quoted as saying.
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MONK INDICATED FOR DOCUMENT FORGERY

The prosecution Tuesday indicted without physical detention the head of a Buddhist sect for forging documents to get billions of won in government subsidies.

Ven. Woonsan, head of the Taego Order of Korean Buddhism, received 6 billion won from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as a subsidy for the construction of a new temple in 2005.

The Buddhist monk is also suspected of manipulating the construction budget. Prosecutors said that the total cost was estimated at around 10.2 billion won but the Buddhist sect claimed 12.3 billion won to get extra money.
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EX-BUDDHIST PRIEST STOLE ¥150 MILLION

KYOTO (Kyodo) Police arrested an unfrocked Buddhist priest Thursday on suspicion of embezzling about ¥150 million from the Kyoto headquarters of the Jodo Shu sect.

Yoshifumi Kuwao, 52, is suspected of withdrawing the money from the Buddhist faction's bank account on about 30 occasions from January 2003 to September 2004 and pocketing it while he was in charge of treasury affairs at the headquarters, police said.

Kuwao has owned up to the allegations, they said. Police sources said Kuwao is believed to have used most of the funds to invest in futures trading.
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SCANDAL GNAWS AT BUDDHA'S HOLY TREE IN INDIA

Tales of corruption, looting and religious rivalry are swirling around the spot where Buddha is said to have gained enlightenment in eastern India some 2,500 years ago, sullying one of Buddhism’s holiest sites.

Buddhist scriptures describe it as the “Navel of the Earth,†and 100,000 pilgrims and tourists visit every year, packing the town of Bodh Gaya in Bihar state and its Mahabodhi Temple.

But with the tourists and pilgrims comes money, and with the money has come mounting charges of less than saintly behavior.

Priests and monks allege that thousands of dollars in temple donations have mysteriously vanished, that a thick branch of the ancient holy Bodhi tree was lopped off and sold in Thailand in 2006, and that ancient relics have disappeared.

The temple land has been owned by a nearby Hindu monastery for centuries, and the temple is managed by a committee where Hindus retain a majority over Buddhists. But representatives of both religions stand accused.

Charges have been brought against the powerful former secretary of the Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee, a Hindu, as well as the committee’s former public relations officer and the former Buddhist chief priest of the temple.
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EXPERTS CLAIM BUDDHA TOOTH RELIC ACTUALLY CAME FROM AN ANIMAL

Dental experts have raised doubts over the authenticity of a purported Buddha's tooth in a Singapore temple, claiming it could not have come from any human being, The Sunday Times reported.

More than 60,000 donors poured 45 million Singapore dollars (29 million US dollars) and 27 kilograms of gold into the four-storey building where the tooth, said to be one of Buddha's molars, is kept in a 3.6-metre-high stupa made of gold.

"There is absolutely no possibility that it is a human tooth," Dr Pamela Craig, a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne's school of dental science, was quoted as saying. Four other dentists, including two forensic dental experts, said the tooth could not have come from a human.

The public is allowed to see the tooth twice a year, on Buddha's birthday and the first day of the Chinese New Year.

The temple dismissed the suggestion of conducting DNA tests on its relic. "It is unlikely that any Buddhist temple or its devotees will agree to subject any sacred Buddha tooth or relic to such a test," the temple said in a statement.
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SINGAPORE MONK SHUNS MIDDLE PATH FOR FAST LANE

Singapore’s top Buddhist monk has lived a lavish lifestyle with name branded goods and nine gold credit cards, according to a report in the Sunday Times. “We are living in a modern world,†the newspaper quoted monk Ming Yi as telling auditors and police during an investigation into a charity hospital that he had headed.

The report said Ming Yi was a high-end shopper who spent on brands like Louis Vuitton and Montblanc, and had given three supplementary credit cards to his friends including a monk based in Hong Kong. “A lot of religious people, not only myself, are very different now,†he was reported as saying.

The 47-year old former chief executive officer of a charity-run hospital is under investigation for making an unauthorised loan of 50,000 Singapore dollars to a friend. The loan is also subject of a court case.
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[Gabe]

THE BUDDHA - A MISOGYNIST

The historical Buddha’s most famous statements on women came about when his stepmother and aunt, Maha Pajapati Gotami, asked to join the Sangha and become a nun. The Buddha initially refused her request. Eventually he relented, but in doing so he made conditions and a prediction that remain controversial to this day.

Pajapati was the sister of the Buddha’s mother, Maya, who had died a few days after his birth. Maya and Pajapati were both married to his father, King Suddhodana, and after Maya’s death Pajapati nursed and raised her sister’s son.

Pajapati approached her stepson and asked to be received into the Sangha. The Buddha said no. Still determined, Pajapati and 500 women followers cut off their hair, dressed themselves in patched monk’s robes, and set out on foot to follow the traveling Buddha.

When Pajapati and her followers caught up to the Buddha, they were exhausted. Ananda, the Buddha’s cousin and most devoted attendant, found Pajapati in tears, dirty, her feet swollen. “Lady, why are you crying like this?†he asked.

She replied to Ananda that she wished to enter the Sangha and receive ordination, but the Buddha had refused her. Ananda promised to speak to the Buddha on her behalf.

The Buddha’s Prediction

Ananda sat at the Buddha’s side and argued on behalf of the ordination of women. The Buddha continued to refuse the request. Finally, Ananda asked if there was any reason women could not realize enlightenment and enter Nirvana as well as men.

The Buddha admitted there was no reason a woman could not be enlightened. "Women, Ananda, having gone forth are able to realize the fruit of stream-attainment or the fruit of once-returning or the fruit of non-returning or arahantship," he said.

Ananda had made his point, and the Buddha relented. Pajapati and her 500 followers would be the first Buddhist nuns. But he predicted that allowing women into the Sangha would cause his teachings to survive only half as long – 500 years instead of a 1,000.

Unequal Rules

Further, according to the canonical texts, before the Buddha allowed Pajapati into the Sangha, she had to agree to eight Garudhammas, or grave rules, not required of men. These are:

The Eight Heavy Duties are:

1. A nun, even if she has been ordained for 100 years, must respect, greet and bow in reverence to the feet of a monk, even if he has just been ordained that day. (Monks pay respect to each other according to their seniority, or the number of years they have been ordained.)

2. A nun is not to stay in a residence where there is no monk. (A monk may take an independent residence.)

3. A nun is to look forward to two duties: asking for the fortnightly Uposatha (meeting day), and receiving instructions by a monk every fortnight. (Monks do not depend on nuns for this obligatory rite, nor are they required to receive any instruction.)

4. A nun who has completed her rains-retreat must offer herself for instruction to both the community of monks and to the community of nuns, based on what is seen, what is heard and what is doubted. (Monks only offer themselves to the community of monks.)

5. A nun who is put on probation for violating a monastic rule of Sanghadisesa must serve a 15-day minimum probation, with reinstatement requiring approval from both the monk and nun communities. (The minimum for monks is a five-day probation with no approval by the nuns required for reinstatement.)

6. A woman must be ordained by both monks and nuns and may be ordained only after a two-year postulancy, or training in six precepts. (Men have no mandatory postulancy and their ordination is performed by monks only.)

7. A nun may not reprimand a monk. (A monk may reprimand a monk, and any monk may reprimand a nun.)

8. From today onwards, no nun shall ever teach a monk. However, monks may teach nuns. (There are no restrictions on whom a monk may teach.)

Nuns also have more rules to follow than monks. The Vinaya-pitaka lists about 250 rules for monks and 348 rules for nuns.

Historical Buddha, Misogynist?

The Rev. Patti Nakai of the Buddhist Temple of Chicago tells the story of the Buddha’s stepmother and aunt, Prajapati. According to the Rev. Nakai, when Pajapati asked to join the Sangha and become a disciple, “Shakamuni's response was a declaration of the mental inferiority of women, saying they lacked the capacity to understand and practice the teachings of non-attachment to self.†This is a version of the story I haven’t found elsewhere.

The Rev. Nakai goes on to argue that the historical Buddha was, after all, a man of his time, and would have been conditioned to see women as inferior. However, Pajapati and the other nuns succeeded in breaking down the Buddha’s misunderstanding.

During his lifetime, the historical Buddha was plagued by a chronic misogyny; of this, in the face of numerous documents, there can not be slightest doubt. His woman-scorning sayings are disrespectful, caustic and wounding. “One would sooner chat with demons and murderers with drawn swords, sooner touch poisonous snakes even when their bite is deadly, than chat with a woman aloneâ€Â, he preached to his disciples, or even more aggressively, “It were better, simpleton, that your sex enter the mouth of a poisonous snake than that it enter a woman. It were better, simpleton, that your sex enter an oven than that it enter a womanâ€Â. Enlightenment and intimate contact with a woman were not compatible for the Buddha. “But the danger of the shark, ye monks, is a characteristic of womanâ€Â, he warned his followers. At another point, with abhorrence he composed the following:

"Those are not wise
Act like animals
Racing toward female forms
Like hogs toward mud

Because of their ignorance
They re bewildered by women, who
Like profit seekers in the marketplace
Deceive those who come near"

Buddha’s favorite disciple, Ananda, more than once tried to put to his Teacher the explicit desire by women for their own spiritual experience, but the Master’s answers were mostly negative. Ananda was much confused by this refractoriness, indeed it contradicted the stated view of his Master that all forms of life, even insects, could achieve Buddhahood. “Lord, how should we behave towards women?â€Â, he asked the Sublimity  “Not look at them!† “But what if we must look at them?† “Not speak to them† “But what if we must speak to them?† “Keep wide awake!â€Â

This disparaging attitude toward everything female is all the more astounding in that the historical Buddha was helped by women at decisive moments along his spiritual journey: following an almost fatal ascetic exercise his life was saved by a girl with a saucer of milk, who taught him through this gesture that the middle way between abstinence and joie de vivre was the right path to enlightenment, not the dead end of asceticism as preached by the Indian yogis. And again it was women, rich lay women, who supported his religious order (sangha) with generous donations, thereby making possible the rapid spread of his teachings.

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MORE MONKS BEHAVING BADLY

THAI MONK AMASSED VAST COLLECTION OF CARS WITH DISCIPLES DONATIONS

Thailand's abbots have censured a Buddhist monk who has amassed a vast collection of luxury cars with disciples' donations. Reports said Phra Khru Viboon Pattanakit, abbot of the Sisakrabua temple in Bangkok, had collected around 60 classic cars, many of them Mercedes Benz.

Phra Khru Viboon, who told the council he only had 29 cars, said he wanted to set up a classic automobile museum. However he offered to abide by whatever decision the council made and would dispose of his collection if necessary.

The monk was quoted saying he had received the cars as donations from his followers or bought them with cash given by his devotees. He also said monks and novices at the temple used the cars to learn the skills necessary for becoming car mechanics once they left the monkhood. However, Phra Khru Viboon is unlikely to be defrocked - a punishment usually reserved for those monks caught committing actual crimes or breaking basic religious rules against sex and drinking.

18 MONKS CAUGHT USING DRUGS

Thailand's monkhood is bracing for another scandal after tests on 18 monks at a temple in Nakhon Sawan province appeared to show they had taken drugs.

Samples have been sent to a lab for further analysis; if they test positive, the monks will be expelled.

The surprise tests were part of a crackdown on methamphetamines, which have been flooding into Thailand from Burma in record numbers this year.
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ETIQUETTE GUIDE FOR THAI MONKS

A Buddhist preacher in Thailand has announced plans for new guidelines aimed at curbing the flamboyant behaviour of gay and transgender monks.

The BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok says tales of monks behaving badly are nothing new in Thailand. In recent years, they have been accused of abuses of their exalted position in society that range from amassing dozens of luxury cars, to running fake amulet scams, to violating their vows of celibacy, our correspondent says.

Senior monk Phra Maha Wudhijaya Vajiramedhi told the BBC he would address issues like smoking, drinking alcohol, walking and going to the toilet properly, which are all detailed in the traditional 75 Dharma principles of Buddhism, and the 227 precepts for monks.

He was especially concerned, he said, by the flamboyant behaviour of gay and transgender monks, who can often be seen wearing revealingly tight robes, carrying pink purses and having effeminately-shaped eyebrows.
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SEXUAL ABUSE AT MONASTERY FOR TIBET EXILES

Buddhist monk is accused by 18-year-old novice at Scottish Borders centre supported by Dalai Lama, Richard Gere and David Bowie

THE LARGEST Tibetan Buddhist monastery in the Western world is at the centre of a police investigation into sex abuse involving a senior monk.

The Samye Ling Centre, in the Scottish borders, has an international reputation as the "home of Tibetan culture in exile". The claims that the centre is a hotbed of abuse as well as drug- taking have prompted a four-month police inquiry that has caused deep embarrassment to the Buddhist world.

The monastery has in the past received backing not only from the Dalai Lama but also a clutch of celebrities, including Richard Gere, David Bowie, Ruby Wax and Billy Connolly.

For the villagers of Eskdalemuir, long suspicious of the goings on at the monastery, the inquiry confirms the suspicions aroused ever since its establishment with the sanction of the Dalai Lama in 1967.

The case under police investigation follows accusations first made in April by an 18-year-old who claims he was sexually abused by one of the centre's most senior monks. He has also alleged that some of those in charge turned a blind eye to drug use, sexual affairs, theft and deception.

UPDATE

Buddhist leader Tsering Tashi also admitted he had been punished for fondling the young monk, who has now complained to the police. In a stunning confession, Tashi, whose real name is Tim Mannox, said: "I'm not in the habit of doing that sort of thing. I don't have anything to hide. None of us are perfect."

In yesterday's Daily Record teenage student Kevin Stevenson told how his life was torn apart after he opted out to become a monk

PREVIOUS ASSAULT ON 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL

The monastery's case will not be helped by the conviction in June of another monk from the centre for indecently assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Tenzin Chonjoe was a guest at Samye Ling at the time but was travelling back to London to visit his wife. He claimed he was forced to stay overnight in Carlisle after being mugged on a stop-off. The girl was molested and Chonjoe, who was drunk at the time and suffers an alcohol problem, was sentenced to three months' jail and placed on the sex offenders register.
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CHURCH BURNED DOWN

An angry mob set fire to a church in a remote area of Bangladesh on March 30, capping a year of extreme hostility towards villagers who had converted from Buddhism to Christianity. While Bangladesh is a majority Muslim country, Buddhism flourishes in small pockets like Pancchari sub-district, where the attack took place. Immediately after the attack, a Bangladesh army contingent was deployed to Kinamonipara village in Pancchari to prevent further violence, according to local media reports. Christians attacked in Pancchari have been told not to contact higher authorities or seek hospital treatment or they would face greater persecution.
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