[Buddha-l] Enlightenment as dogma

[Stefan Detrez]

>
> Joanna
>


> For me, it doesn't matter if something is a dogma or not, as long
> as nobody forces me to "believe" anything. Same goes for labels.
> To "be" a Buddhist or not to "be" a Buddhist-- pointless to argue
> about something this infantile.
>
>
It might be infantile to you, but it is of great importance to millions of
Tibetans (vs the Chinese), Sri Lankese (vs the Tamils), and Thais (vs the
Muslims). To delineate what one's identity is is part of group
identification and self esteem. What about people forcing beliefs unto other
people? If it doesn't affect you personally, it's ok? We might as well stop
debating and close down Buddha-L altogether if it's pointless to argue on
what makes something Buddhist or not. Labels serve very well, as they carry
the debate.

Stefan