[Buddha-l] NYTimes.com: Let Us Pray for Wealth

[Richard Hayes]

On Tuesday 06 November 2007 12:25, L.S. Cousins wrote:

>  But there is something good we
> can say about Buddhism: it has a better track record in this area.
> Better, not perfect. 

Over the years, I have come to admire you for your carefulness and clarity of 
mind. The claim you make here, however, is an exception. It is, I am pleased 
to say, a very rare exception. But it is an exception.

> If this is acknowledged, then I will be happy 
> not to point the finger at the theistic religions.

Human beings are human beings. No group of people has a monopoly on 
unwholesomeness, and no group of people has done, on a whole, much better 
than anyone else. I'm sorry, but I simply do not acknowledge the validity of 
your claim, so I find your finger-pointing a distressing deviation from 
clarity in your thinking that I have come to admire.

> Statement of what is true is not a breach of
> speech precepts, unless there is intention to hurt or divide.

I could not agree more. I would therefore invite you to speak of these issues 
by making statements of what is true. It is impossible for me to believe that 
there is anything in saying "Buddhists have a better track record than 
followers of theistic religions" that is intended to sew harmony.

-- 
Richard P. Hayes
Department of Philosophy
University of New Mexico
http://www.unm.edu/~rhayes