[Buddha-l] Buddhism and blasphemy

[Joy Vriens]

Erik Hoogcarspel wrote:

> You forget the best of all: Shugden and the Karmapa affair. The 
> difference however is that most Buddhists don't suffer from tribalism 
> and there are very few Buddhist leaders who hope to get more political 
> power by raising a mob.

But don't protector deities have everything to do with tribalism and 
group identity? When protector deities are asked every day to e.g. "turn 
into dust those who harm the teaching of the Karmapa", and all rituals 
of protector deities contain this sort of demands, what is asked 
exactly? When asking this question directly to teachers, strangely 
enough they often give symbolic interpretations like the enemy is one's 
ego etc. Usually symbolic language is more euphemistic than the reality 
it alludes to, but in this case it seems to be the opposite. Something 
harmless like removing selfishsness is "symbolised" by something much 
more horrific.

> Don't forget the lesson we have learned from 
> 'The Satanic verses', it's not the insult that causes the riots, but the 
> habit of coming together on Friday and become collectively angry at the 
> ennemy and the more crwod you can get togehter the better a mullah you 
> are. I cannot imagine a member of the Buddhist sangha to get away with 
> this and besides they don't have the training for it.

I would feel a bit cheated by a wimp of a God, who can only express his 
rage and wrath by proxy and needs others to do all the smiting and 
casting down by lightning.

Joy