Sri Lanka Buddhist monks destroy Muslim shrine

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daverupa
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Re: Sri Lanka Buddhist monks destroy Muslim shrine

Post by daverupa »

Claudia wrote:So my question in this matter is: what is the right (peaceful) way for us who practice the Dhamma to support the freedom of religion in this world?
Part of the problem is that supporting freedom of religion is to implicitly accept existing religious dichotomies, itself a rather segregating problem. Furthermore, it is the case that not all religions are equally supportive of virtue, especially since they each define virtue(s) in disparate, sometimes even contradictory, ways. The emphasis on "many paths to the summit" ignores the many real differences which continue to keep adherents to these ideologies in conflict with one another.
  • "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

    "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
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Dan74
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Re: Sri Lanka Buddhist monks destroy Muslim shrine

Post by Dan74 »

So my question in this matter is: what is the right (peaceful) way for us who practice the Dhamma to support the freedom of religion in this world?
I am not sure, Claudia. I respect people of different faiths and try to understand where they are coming from. All major faiths have profound and noble teachings and all have produced incredible individuals. To me, it is more important how one practices than which faith exactly one practices, because all the major faiths have plenty we can learn from. Perhaps Islam cannot lead one to nibbana but exactly how close are we here?

In the end, we are all human being trying to find our way - what exactly is there really to fight over?
_/|\_
daverupa
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Re: Sri Lanka Buddhist monks destroy Muslim shrine

Post by daverupa »

Dan74 wrote:In the end, we are all human being trying to find our way - what exactly is there really to fight over?
The correct way; the way(s) in which the Other prevents me/us from finding/following the correct way; fears that alternatives to my/our way threaten the definition of that way as "correct"; having the authorities of the correct way tell me/us that contending with the Other is part of the correct way; perceiving that those on the wrong way are better served by various interventions from a correct way-er than continuing to follow the wrong way; whether or not the correct way is singular or plural; whether or not there is a correct way at all; and so on ad nauseum.
  • "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

    "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
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Bodhisurfer
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Re: Sri Lanka Buddhist monks destroy Muslim shrine

Post by Bodhisurfer »

Jhana4 wrote:That monk who encouraged all of that, he is pissing on everything Buddhism is about.
:goodpost: :buddha1:

wether the structure was authorised or not -leading a mob to tear it down is not Dhamma.

the question of wether Muslims would allow Buddhist staues, monastarys, temples etc may well say something about Muslim notions of religious tolerence but as Buddhists it should not become an excuse for 'tit for tat' actions. We should be showing by example the benefits of Metta :anjali:
Sabbe dhamma nalam abhinivesaya
santa100
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Re: Sri Lanka Buddhist monks destroy Muslim shrine

Post by santa100 »

There's always a better way to handle the situation. According to the article (ref: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14926002" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;), the monk who masterminded the demolition said:
He said he arranged a gathering of 100 or so monks, including some from other Asian countries, to take action because - he alleged - local Muslims were trying to convert the shrine into a mosque despite new constructions being illegal on this site with its many Buddhist temples.

He said local government officials arrived and said they would remove the shrine within three days, but the crowd said "we cannot wait" and proceeded to tear down the structure
So, why not wait for just 3 days for the government officials to come and take actions in accordance with the law? Practical, no sweat, problem solved and most importantly, you don't piss off anyone..
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Skeptic
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Re: Sri Lanka Buddhist monks destroy Muslim shrine

Post by Skeptic »

I wouldn't be surprised if this happened in Myanmar or even in Thailand. But in Sri Lanka Muslims and Buddhists had generally good relationships, they suffered together in Tamil dominated areas, and fought against them during the civil war in the country. As far as I know about Sri Lanka, Muslims are mostly loyal and Islamic fundamentalism is not widespread among local Muslims. After the Muslims have been expelled from Tamil dominated areas, they were accepted with no problems in Sinhalese cities. Tamil dominated areas were ethnically cleansed completely during the war, on the other side many Sinhalese areas have remained ethnically mixed, full of Tamils and Muslims, so this violent act is very surprising for me.
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pilgrim
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Re: Sri Lanka Buddhist monks destroy Muslim shrine

Post by pilgrim »

Jhana4 wrote:FWIW, this past Vesak I listened to a talk given by the Venerable Gunaratana ( author of Mindfulness In Plain English ). He told a short story of a Muslim friend who asked him about his feelings and views on Muslims blowing up the ancient Buddha statues carved into the mountains of his country. He told his friend "it was a rock".
If the muslim asked me the same question, I might have given the same answer. It was an answer tailored for an audience of one. Will Bhante G or any other Buddhists here have no issues with me if I were to go into the Bhavana Society monastery and start blowing up the other rocks in the shrine hall?
Nicro
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Re: Sri Lanka Buddhist monks destroy Muslim shrine

Post by Nicro »

Modus.Ponens wrote: Please read Dissanayake's post again and understand that the destruction was justified. If I understand correctly, no one got hurt, so what's the big deal? Sometimes, a more potent action is necessary.

Are you serious? I was Muslim before I came to the Dhamma and all this your talking is far from the truth.

This argument that seems to be happening in here is "Well Muslims are totally evil and will destroy are stuff so lets destroy theirs!" Its ridiculous.

And for the Giant Buddhas- You can't blame an action committed by a small group of people to be representative of everybody. According to this logic if your next door neighbor beats his wife, obviously you do as well. The people that lived there OPPOSED the destruction of the Buddhas. The Taliban couldn't even get there people there to do it and had to call in outside help. It was directed more as a cry for global attention than anything else.

I suggest this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giant_Buddhas" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Mawkish1983
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Re: Sri Lanka Buddhist monks destroy Muslim shrine

Post by Mawkish1983 »

Nicro wrote:This argument that seems to be happening in here is "Well Muslims are totally evil and will destroy are stuff so lets destroy theirs!" Its ridiculous.
By a tiny minority, maybe.
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tiltbillings
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Re: Sri Lanka Buddhist monks destroy Muslim shrine

Post by tiltbillings »

Sadly, for some reason Islam cannot be talked about here without the conversation degenerating into less than wholesome speech. Islam deserves better than that, but there is, i am afraid, no place this thread is going but down. For right now best to bring it to a halt.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
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