[Buddha-l] Rice & Dragons

[Jo]

sculptures were a treasure of  mankind, but their destruction is not really
any catastrophe.

Although everything eventually perishes, isn't the deliberate destruction of
any important artisic or cultural treasure a human catastrophe? The Bamyan
Buddhas stood for centuries in an Islamic Afghanistan until the Taliban
decided to obliterate them. Recently some Islamists destroyed Buddhist
statues in the museum in the Maldives http://tinyurl.com/d7vk9wa There seem
to be some elements in contemporary Islam who are more intolerant than ever
before. Who knows if the Salafists gain power in Egypt, perhaps we'll even
see the destruction of the pyramids.
Wouldn't that be a  catastrophe?
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Not only did they rub out the standing Buddhas of Bamian, the Talib
leadership also called for rubbing out a lot of the carved stone,
terracotta, and stucco treasures dating from Gandhara times held in the
Kabul museum.  All of these provide various kinds of evidence for the
construction of historical narratives. Also, simply contemplating the art
productions of past cultures and eras can serve as objects of contemplation,
if only for enjoyment of their beauty and intricacy, but also for more. You
see, the Salafist types insist that the ONLY approved object of
contemplation, period,  is their version of god, Allah, about whom there is
of course a gigantic contemplative literature, mostly in Arabic. Fortunately
a few good souls translated some of the best of it. Beauty is not basically
for enjoyment, it is for contemplating Allah through the efficacy of
beautiful boys (or women), or nature. If enjoyment comes into the equation,
it's impure, a manifestation of nafs, or egoistic discrimination. 
Concluding------not a good idea to attack Buddhis, or any other religion
while it IS a good idea to critique everything, unless it leads to angels on
the heads of pins.

Joanna