[Buddha-l] Re: Maitreya statue discussion

[Christopher Fynn]

> Corruption is absolutely rife in the area of India where they want to build
> this. It seems unimaginable that anything like they propose could get built
> in that part of India without huge bribes being paid all the way down the
> line.
> 
> - Chris

jkirk wrote:

> =============
> Quite so. I already suggested the corruption in my original comment about
> this FPMT project--that if local farmers supported it, they were no doubt
> PAID under the local patron-client system, because the majority of the
> locals villagers oppose the dang thang. Those folks don't want to lose their
> land, not be compensated porperly, nor offered low-grade land for
> cultivation elsewhere. The same thing happened when the Narmada Dam
> displaced thousands of villagers--the government, in that instance, never
> did successfully compensate and relocate those tossed off their lands. 
> FPMT megalomania, as already suggested, seems to be THE word for the
> ridiculous waste of money and display of condescending magical thinking
> (e.g, "karmic imprints").
> 
> Joanna K.
> 

Wonder what they mean by "farmers"? - pretty much the only people that own land 
in that neck of the woods are upper caste landlords & zamindars. My guess is the 
majority local people & villagers are either share-croppers or bonded 
laboureres. They probably don't actually own any land that anyone is going to 
compensate them  for in the first place.

I guess the FMPT probably think these people are suffering because they didn't 
earn enough merit in previous lives (by doing things like making or venerating 
statues).

Cripes to get their merit why can't the FMPT just visualise giant Buddhas and 
clouds of offerings and spend all this money and energy on something that 
actually relieves the suffering of sentient beings.

- Chris


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