[Buddha-l] Buddhism in Israel

[Erik Hoogcarspel]

Dan Lusthaus schreef:
>> Well in that case they're not in Israel, which contradicts you first
>> proposition. Question of course is why would they be in Dharamsala if
>> they were Buddhists and popular in Israel? Maybe they're not Buddhist at
>> all, but just love to be in a place were everybody is everybody's friend
>> (allegedly).
>>     
>
> Erik, these complaints are so patently absurd they don't deserve an answer.
> When Dutch Buddhists go to India they cease to be Dutch?
>
>
>   
>> Israeli tourism in India has been a pain in the ass for
>> many years, because many Israeli youngsters never learned the difference
>> between tourism and occupation.
>>     
>
> Israeli tourists can be a pain in the ass. So can Japanese tourists (for
> different reasons). And mainland Chinese. Americans used to be called the
> "ugly" tourists (and not because of our delightful looks). And the reason
> for bringing this up is? Do you want to accuse them of "occupying"
> Dharamsala? Time to cleanse your mind (maybe you need a new mantra). That
> sort of blatant bigotry is unBuddhist.
>
> Dan
>
>   
Sorry Dan, I didn't mean to be a biggot, but I had to think of two things. First the peculiar use of the word 'friend' by the Tibetans in Dharamsala, you have the Friends Coffeshop, Friends Hotel, Friends Restaurant, etc. and everybody says you're his or her friend even if you see them for the first time. This is not the way I use the word 'friend' anyway.
Second thing is that young Israeli tourists have a bad reputation in India and this not only my personal experience. This is not caused by their race or religion, but they appearantly never learned how to behave. Some travellers told me that Israel is not a country where politeness is encouraged, but this I don't know because I've never been there. 
And you cannot deny I think that the relation between the number of Israeli tourists in Dharamsala and the popularity of Buddhism in Israel is somewhat conjectural. :-) 

Erik

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