Insulting Buddhism
The Endless Further Mar 23 2015
Several months ago I gave brief mention of a situation in Burma (Myanmar) where a bar manager from New Zealand and two Burmese nationals were facing four years in prison for “insulting Buddhism” with a promotional ad they posted on the bar’s Facebook page showing the Buddha wearing headphones. (See the offending image here.)
Last week, a Burmese court sentenced bar manager Phil Blackwood, the bar’s Burmese owner Tun Thurein, and another manager Htut Ko Ko Lwina to 2½ years in prison with hard labor. When you consider all the stuff that gets posted on Facebook, an image of the Buddha wearing headphones seems pretty tame, and the sentence extreme. Indeed, putting those guys on trial in the first place strikes me as a travesty.
The case is part of a larger controversy over religious images that came to a dreadful head when Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper in France, was attacked by terrorists because of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad it published. I will not rehash the issues surrounding the controversy in this post, except to remind readers that teachings based upon the Quran forbid the creation of visual images of Muhammad and even moderate Muslims find depictions of the Prophet offensive.
That is relevant because at one time, there was a ban on images of Buddha. The Buddha supposedly asked his followers not to collect or venerate his relics and not depict his image. His followers almost completely ignored his instructions regarding his relics, but for nearly 600 years, the only images used to represent the Buddha were a footprint, an empty seat, the Wheel of Dharma, or a Bodhi leaf.
In the first century, the first images of the Buddha started to appear, and they typically showed Gautama standing or seated in a lotus position, and holding a begging bowl or making the gesture (mudra) of fearlessness. One of the areas where these representations began to emerge was Gandhara, and sculpture from that period displays a definite Greek influence.
Since then folks have been going crazy making Buddha images, and today it is a very big business.
If Buddha were around now, I think he would be inclined to take stuff like a Buddha with headphones in stride, perhaps even find it amusing. I feel sure he would be outraged at the idea of imprisoning anyone for making such an image. I also think he would have concerns about the commercialization of his image, and he would certainly be uncomfortable with the idea of worshiping his image. Of course, this is just conjecture on my part. What the historical Gautama thought, felt, actually taught, and what his life truly was, we shall never know, because his time is so remote and his life story buried in myth, and as far as how he would think and act as a modern person, that is impossible to know.
Nonetheless, I doubt he ever held himself out as anything other than a common, mortal human being. We say he was an extraordinary human being; he would simply say that he was “awake.” And while many Buddhist will deny that Buddha is worshiped, all objective observers know that worship of Buddha is a reality in some forms of Buddhism, especially among rank and file devotees. Rather early on, the myth-making process that has shrouded his true story, elevated the Buddha from a mortal man to a being who was supermundane, “perfect,” and the line between human and god became extremely thin.
The Kathavathu, one of the seven books of the Pali Canon’s Abdidhamma, compiled during the reign of King Ashoka, and evidently produced in order to correct “various errors which had developed with regard to the Buddha,” discusses various views of the Buddhist schools existing at the time that promoted supernatural notions about the Buddha. Prof. Trevor Ling, in his book The Buddha, writes,
Among the points dealt with in the Kathavathu was the idea that the Buddha had not really lived in the world of men, but in the ‘heaven of bliss’, appearing to men on earth in a specially created, temporary form to preach the Dhamma. Together with this virtual deification of the Buddha there went also a tendency to deny him normal human characteristics, and on the other hand to attribute to him unlimited magical power.”*
This elevation and immortalization of Buddha was carried over into the Mahayana canon, but today, I think many people tend to have an earthly, prosaic view that is much more realistic and proper. Ultimately, as Thich Nhat Hanh says,
Concepts like ‘nirvana,’ ‘Buddha,’ ‘Pure Land,’ ‘Kingdom of God,’ and ‘Jesus,’ are just concepts; we have to be very careful. We should not start a war and destroy people for our concepts.” **
Now, if the government of Burma is so concerned about people insulting Buddhism then they would do something about those Buddhist extremists in their country who go around preaching hate and inciting violence against the Muslim minority there. Wouldn’t they?
It is easy to forget, being Buddhist, is also a emotional label we attach to ourselves!
We incorporate religion, nationality, creed, tribe, caste or class as part of our self in which we are wont to defend if we feel violated! Whether both real or imagined!
When we are deprived of our wisdom and common sense, what we perceive as alien or unconventional, we easily form our prejudices and feel threatened! All those talk of loving kindness and compassion can be quickly tossed behind the back burner.
So labelling ourselves as Buddhist is really no different as calling ourselves a Christian , Muslim or Hindu etc.
We even fight over sports(soccer hooligans, remember?)
Usually, a ethic group, if after a couple of generations, perhaps, if there is still an inability to assimilate, suspicion and alienation will ensue. Especially, if there a distinct sense identity in both parties, either ethnic and national.
Unless we are able to find someone who has a deep understanding of the Burmese psyche, and familiar with existing underlying tension, we can but only speculate.
But it is relatively easy to further stoke further the sublimal tension out in the open for some unseen political motives!
Hopefully, calm and tolerance will prevail!
Just my 2cents worth!
It is good to know that Burmese have respect for the Buddhist people.
It is practising the polar opposite of Buddhism, and a form of disrepect to the
Buddhists.
( Retrieved http://buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=56,11503,0,0,1,0#.VTxA9pNkXIX)
Buddha Bar renamed, its owner apologises for controversy
by Amy Dangin, Borneo Post, June 20, 2013
KOTA KINABALU, Sabah (Malaysia) -- The Buddha Bar Sabah, which was opened recently, was
forced to have its controversial name changed after the Young Buddhist Association of
Malaysia (YBAM) urged the City Hall to revoke its licence.
<< Budda Bar Sabah (now called Peacock Garden) owner, Ethan Chung
MCA Publicity Bureau chief Datuk Heng Seai Kie supported the Association’s call as the
choice of name for the club where alcoholic drinks are served was deemed to be
“blasphemous against the holy Buddha”.
Its young owner, Ethan Chung, had since renamed the establishment to ‘Peacock Garden’ on
June 17 and apologised for the controversial name that he initially chose.
“I have chosen to respect the City Hall’s order and chosen ‘Peacock Garden’ as the new
name for our establishment, hoping that it would re-establish peaceful harmony among the
community we operate with.
“There was no intention of offending anyone when we chose that name in the first place.
More importantly, we practised what we thought would emulate Buddha’s honoured teachings
whereby we dedicate Wednesdays to children with disabilities and orphans by donating 10
per cent of Wednesday’s profits to selected charitable organisations.
“We also reserve four employment positions for people with disabilities and four
positions for weekend part-time jobs, especially for students.
“These were some of the things that we did at the Buddha Bar and will continue to do
after we re-open the establishment as the Peacock Garden,” Chung said.
Having lost some of its employees following the controversy, Peacock Garden is now
hiring, opening its doors for walk-in interviews from Monday to Friday, 5pm to 6pm.
On June 18, Heng issued a statement condemning the outlet for using ‘Buddha’ in its name,
calling it an insult to the Buddhist community in Malaysia.
“As a devout Buddhist, the name ‘Buddha Bar’ is not only disrespectful to the revered
Buddha but even more detrimental to the holiness of Buddhism.
“By putting ‘Buddha’ in the bar’s title, they had placed Buddha next to the unhealthy
substance, alcohol, linking the two as equals. Drinking alcohol is not only a violation
of the Five Precepts of Buddhism, it also goes against five thousand years of Buddhist
culture,” she said in a statement.
“I urge the Kota Kinabalu City Hall to take prompt action to withdraw the establishment’s
operating permit,” Heng added.