[Buddha-l] Buddhist stupa to be moved from NM Petroglyph Park

[Richard Hayes]

On Oct 2, 2012, at 1:13 AM, Christopher Fynn <chris.fynn at gmail.com> wrote:

> perhaps the NPS broke some law by purchasing
> a religious monument along with the land.

I gather that is at least part of the argument being used. Removal of the stupa is meant to rectify that violation of the law. I think another part of the argument is that if one would not be happy with a functioning Catholic chapel or a mosque in a national park, one should not be happy with a Buddhist stupa there. That argument makes sense to me. 

What puzzles me is that PEER is mostly an environmental group, and I'm not sure I see what this affair has to do with environmental concerns. A quick glance at the PEER website shows that the organization tilts heavily toward Obama. I wonder whether New Mexican Republicans will use the removal of a Buddhist stupa from Petroglyphs National Monument as further evidence to support their claim that Obama and his supporters have declared war on religion. So far I have seen no follow-up at all since the story broke. The only discussion I have seen has been right here on buddha-l. Maybe we'll finally get a Pulitzer prize for in-depth coverage of an issue of grave concern. 

Richard Hayes