tepe

Many Faiths,One Truth

tepe — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 05:59:00 +0000

May 24,2010

Many Faiths, One Truth

By TENZIN GYATSO

When I was a boy inTibet, I felt that my own Buddhist religion must be the best-and that other faiths were somehow inferior. Now I see how naïve I was, and how dangerous the extremes of religious intolerance can be today.

Though intolerance may be as old as religion itself, we still see vigorous signs of its virulence. InEurope, there are intense debatese about newcomers wearing veils or wanting to erect minarets and episodes of violence against Muslim immigrants, Radical atheists issue blanket condemnations of those who hold to Religious beliefs.

In the Middle East,the flames of war arefanned by hatred of those who adhere to a different faith.

Such tensions are likely to increase as the world becomes more interconnected and cultures, people and religions Become ever more entwined. The pressure this creates tests more than our tolerance-it demands that we promote peaceful coexistence and understanding across boundaries.

Granted, every religion has a sense of exclusivity as part of its core identity. Even so, I believe there is genuine Potential for mutual understanding. While preserving faith toward one’s own tradition, one can respect, admire And appreciate other traditions.

An early eye-opener for me was my meeting with the Trappist monk Thomas Merton inIndiashortly before his untimely death in 1968. Merton told me he could be perfectly faithful to Christianity, yet learn in depth from other religions like Buddhism. The same is true for me as an ardent Buddhist learning from the world’s other great religions.

A main point in my discussion with Merton was how central compassion was to the message of both Christianity and Buddhism. In my readings of the new Testament, I find myself inspired by Jesus’acts of compassion. His miracle of the loaves and fishes, his healing and his teaching are all motivated by the desire to relieve suffering.

I am a firm believer in the power of personal contact to bridge differences, so I have long been drawn to dialogues with people of other religious outlooks. The focus on compassion that Merton and I observed in our two religions strikes me as a strong unifying thread among all the major faiths. And these days we need to highlight what unifies us.

Take Judaism, for instance. I first visited a synagogue in Cochin,India, in 1965, and have met with many rabbis over the years. I remember vividly the rabbi in the Netherlands who told me about the Holocaust with such intensity that we were both in tears. And I’ve learned how the Talmud and the Bible repeat the theme of compassion, as in the passage in Leviticus that admonishes, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

In my many encounters with Hindu scholars in India, I ,ve come to see the centrality of selfless compassion in Hinduism too-as expressed, for instance, in the Bhagavad Gita, which praises those who “delight in the welfare of all beings.” I’m moved by the ways this value has been expressed in the life of great beings like Mahatma Gandhi, or the lesser-known Baba Amte, who founded a leper colony not far from a Tibetan settlement in Maharashtra state in India. There he fed and sheltered lepers who were otherwise shunned. When I received my Nobel Peace Prize, I made a donation to his colony.

Compassion is equally important in Islam-and recognizing that has become crucial in the years since Sept.11, especially in answering those who paint Islam as a militant faith. On the first anniversary of 9/11, I spoke at the National Cathedral in Washington, pleading that we not blindly follow the lead of some in the news media and let the violent acts of a few individuals define an entire religion.

Let me tell about the Islam I know. Tibet has had an Islamic community for around 400 years, although my richest contacts with Islam have been in India, which has the world’s second-largest Muslim population.

An imam in Ladakh once told me that a true Muslim should love and respect all of Allah’s creatures. And in my understanding, Islam enshrines compassion as a core spiritual principle, reflected in the very name of God,

the “Compassionate and Merciful,” that appears at the beginning of virtually each chapter of the Koran.

Finding common ground among faiths can help us bridge needless divides at a time when unified action is more crucial than ever. As a species, we must embrace the oneness of humanity as we face global issues like pandemics, economic crises and ecological disaster. At that scale, our response must be as one.

Harmony among the major faiths has become an essential ingredient of peaceful coexistence in our world.

From this perspective, mutual understanding among these traditions is not merely the business of religious believers-it matters for the welfare of humanity as a whole.

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14^th Dalai Lama, is the author, most recently, of “Toward a true Kingship of Faiths : How the World’s Religions Can Come Together.”

Creditable : Bob Maat CPR Spokesperson , A Information Supporter.

SUAN MOKKH FOREST MONASTERY

tepe — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:03:16 +0000

In Telling It in the Twillight Years, Buddhadasa Bhikkhu said in a series of interviews given to Phra Pracha Prasanthammo: ” I once thought about living alone as a hermit, but that would have been the end of Suan Mokkh.This communal co – existence of the other hand has benefited
far more people “.
In 1943, with the help of his mother,brother and friend, Buddhadasa moved Suan Mokkh to its current location. The 300 – rai forest monastery in Chaiya was designed to be a sanctuary for awakening people to dharma.
In later years, the monk ventured to create three different venues on the same compound: One for women, another for foreigners, the third for monks.
Nature, to the monk, was the best dharma teacher. Therefore, at Suan Mokkh trees serve a walls and pillars, their branches and shady leaves as roofs, the sand and rocks become chairs.
” Buddha was born on the bground, he journeyed on foot to teach dharma, and he died lying on the earth. I will follow him, to always keep my feet on the ground,” he once told people who offered to tile the sandy ground in front of his kuti where he worked and welcomed visitors.
The monk ‘ s kutis, which were also his office and library, will soon function as a museum. Metta, the monk ‘ s nephew, said people at the temple plan to renovate all the kutis to show how he lived, what kinds of books he read and how the prolific monk writer worked.
” The monk was self – taught. He read many books of all kinds. He read about Christianity, Islam, philosophy and more. When he kept fish,
he read books on fish,” said Metta. ” He learned from everything, even his own illnesses. He used to say that each time he got sick, he learned
more and became wiser.”
A few years before he passed away, Buddhadasa moved to a new kuti, originally designed as a toilet. ” He said the bathroom was spacious and
convenient to move about in, ” Metta explained.
Buddhadasa did not favour concrete structures over nature, but in the myears since its establishment, Suan Mokkh has grown steadily with the
addition of several buildings to welcome the increasing numbers of visitors.
An old wooden structure known as Sala Nang – ngarm ( beauty queen pavilion ) houses three skeletons: one each of a baby, a man and a woman who was a former beauty queen of Thailand. This aims to remind visitors of the impermanence of life and urges them to follow the monk ‘ s suggestion ” to put an end to our suffering before we die “
Buddhadasa Bhikkhu also wanted to promote art at the monastery. The Spiritual Entertainment Theatre enshrines paintings and sculptures that
symbolise dharma. The external walls of the theatre are decorated with replicas of ancient Indian bas – relief sculptures representing scenes from Lord Buddha ‘ s life , which the monk saw during his trip to India.
Even at the end of his life , Buddhadasa Bhikkhu used his death as a lesson for the people.Near Mount Buddha Thong , a small hill inside the
monastery complex , is the stone pillar which serves as a memorial of the monk ‘ s cremation back in 1993.
It is amazing to see the amount of work and merit an ” ordinary ” monk accomplished in one lifetime.
The monastery ‘ s Sala Dhammakot ( Propagation of Dharma Hall ) showcases all his work , books , tapes , articles and awards well as his remains, which were placed beneath a Buddha statue.
It ‘ s impossible to thoroughly delve of Buddhadasa Bhikkhu ‘ s ” live simply, aim for the highest ” legacy in just one or two days. But the inspiration which he ha imparted through his teachings and the existence of Suan Mokkh it self may, the organisers believe, inspire more to follow his path. And that, if achieved, will be more than enough.
( credit Bangkok post )

Making peace

tepe — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:58:58 +0000

The inside one good book.
The one good thing inside the one good book what I used to get from one good man who I used to know him.He is a good friend me.The friends call him Bob.Now Bob is working in Cambodia (so I believe!!)He is a CPR’s staff(spokesperson)
Bob had sent one good book to me. Subject:Step By Step, Subtitle:Meditations On Wisdom And Compassion, Author:Maha Ghosananda (Buddhist monk from Cambodia)I think some phase inside this book ought to be the advantage to anybody who interest. So I have do to copy some phase, some sentence inside of that book for friends and everybody.
Though at this time chance I have to beg the permission of the copy right owner and thank you Bob Maat too.

Non-action is the source of all action. There is little we can do for peace in the world without peace in our minds.And so,when we begin to make peace,we begin with silence-meditationand prayer.Peacemaking requires compassion.It requires the skill of listening.To listen,we have to give up ourselves, we learn to listen to others as well,and new ideas grow.
There is an openness,a harmony.As we come to trust one another,we discover new possibilitiesfor resolving conflicts.When we listen well,we will hear peace growing.Peacemaking requires mindfulness.There is no peace with jealousy,self-righteousness,or meaningless criticism.We must decide that making peace is more important than making war.Peacemaking requires selflessness.It is selflessness taking root.To make peace,the skills of teamwork and cooperation are essential.There is little we can do for peaceas long as we feel that we are the only ones who know the way.A real peacemaker will strive only for peace,not for fame,glory,or even honor.Striving for fame,glory,or honor will only harm our efforts.Peacemaking requires wisdom.Peace is a path that is chosen consciously.It is not an aimless wandering,but a step-by-step journey.Peacemaking is the middle path of equanimity,non-duality,and non-attachment.Peacemaking means the perfect balance of wisdom and compassion,and perfect meeting of humanitarian needs and political realities.It means compassion without concession,and peace without appeasement.Loveing kindness is the only way to peace.

VISIONARIES
FOR A JUST & PEACEFUL WORLD
Vision without action is merely a dream,
action without vision just passes the time,
vision with action can change the world.
Joel Barker
www.jrct-visionaries.org.uk