[Buddha-l] Buddhism and blasphemy

[Joy Vriens]

Richard P. Hayes wrote:

> This title of this thread is Buddhism and blasphemy. Anyone who wishes
> to address that topic is welcome to do so. (Someone, for example, might
> like to point out that "to blaspheme" means to revile or speak ill of
> someone, and that this is discouraged in the speech precepts, even if
> what one says happens to be true. If someone would say that, it would
> save me the effort of saying it.)

You have to be more complete then Richard. It comes from the Middle 
English blasfemen, from Old French blasfemer, from Late Latin blasphmre, 
from Greek blasphmein, from blasphmos, where it indeed does mean 
evil-speaking. In "modern" French "blasphémer" (from which the English 
is derived) it means "Injure, outrage fait à la religion, à la divinité 
et par extension à tout ce qui est jugé respectable". That's where I am 
coming from when using "blasphemy". BTW even in English the first 
meaning is: 1. To speak of (God or a sacred entity) in an irreverent, 
impious manner. So the modern use of to blaspheme is not to revile or 
speak ill of *someone*. It would be never used to speak ill of 
*someone*, but rather of that someone's image or status. If a certain 
status of someone or something is generally recognised, simply to deny 
it or him/her that status could be considered blasphemy. To treat a God, 
a god, a saint, a Buddha, a guru, a priest, a monk, a king, a queen, 
even a revered writer or thinker, a movie star or pop star, a symbol, a 
flag *in specific circles* as a common being would be blasphemy or lese 
majesty (in lesser degrees according to the status). People doing that 
would often be called nihilists. To blaspheme is to deny the status that 
is attributed by some to a person or thing. Those blaspheming do so 
because they don't believe in that status and what to express their 
disagreement, or because they believe in equality, or because they want 
to "wake up" people from their superstitions out of some enlightened 
(Aufklaerung) mission, or sometimes simply because they want to stir up 
shit. The old contestable pleasure of kicking in an anthill to see all 
the ants run around in panick.
But anyway, it is very different from speaking ill. We can agree on the 
fact that it is not (always) the most skillful thing to do.

Joy