[Buddha-l] Buddhism and Blasphemy

[Richard P. Hayes]

On Fri, 2006-02-10 at 09:19 +0700, Chris wrote:

> Thanks for these thoughts, Mike. They raise an interesting point for
> me and my practice as I really don't give a cat's ass what Sid's
> teachings do for others nor how much respect others afford these
> ideas.

It's interesting how different people react to different stimuli. It
doesn't bother me in the least to see a Buddhist image desecrated. (I
once lost my temper and threw my statue of the Buddha at my statue of
Guanyin, smashing both to smithereens, and never felt a shred of
regret.) But it bothers me ferociously when people refer to the Buddha
as Sid. (You are not the only who who does this, Chris. One of my
friends, who is both a serious academic and a serious practitioner) does
it all the time.) Why would truncating a name strike me as disrespectful
and demeaning, while smashing an image is something I can shrug off. Who
knows? We each have our own personal quaqmire.

> I believe one can integrate the Buddha's teachings into their personal
> lives quite well with or without  a Buddha image on their
> undergarments.

My guess is, though I am reluctant to admit it, that even people who
call the Buddha Sid can do pretty well.

>  The faithful (in the Sam Harris sense of the word) here in Thailand
> are wont to make a very big deal out of anyone sporting a Buddha image
> or amulet anywhere below the breast pocket.

It might be just as well if we don't tell our Thai friends about my
little incident with the Buddha statue, eh? I'd hate to offend them.

Oh what the hell am I saying? I LOVE offending people, especially about
their religious sensibilities and taboos. But that's not why I broke the
Buddha image to pieces. It was just an innocent bystander to one of my
unpredictable Vesuvian temper tantrums. 

-- 
Richard
***
"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is
striking at the root."                                    (Henry David Thoreau)