[Buddha-l] Buddhism and the "status quo"

[curt]

Richard Hayes wrote:
>
> Let's not forget the systematic persecution of Nestorian Christians. Being the 
> perverse son-of-an-atheist that I am, I love to tell my classes about the 
> Buddhist persecution of Christians. Invariably, some student comes up after 
> class and says "I think you made a mistake in today's lecture, sir. You said 
> the Buddhists persecuted Christians. But surely it was the Christians who 
> persecuted the Buddhists. Then I tell them about Amnesty International's 
> reports on how Buddhists in Myanmar have been persecuting Muslims. When 
> students learn that, they need to be taken to the hospital.
>
>   

Please excuse my ignorance - but could you provide approximate dates or 
any other specifics. I assume you are talking about China - but my 
knowledge of Chinese history is extremely sparse. I knew that the 
Taoists persecuted Buddhists, (Nestorian) Christians and Zoroastrians 
for a few years around 840 during the Tang Dynasty - but I didn't know 
about Buddhists going after the Nestorians. Or maybe I'm remembering it 
wrong and it was the Buddhists not the Taoists who were persecuting 
during that time?

- Curt