Digest Number 2223

[Guest guest]

Hello friends,

I was quite disturbed to see this included in the most recent Digest referring to fundamentalism:

Even Buddhism, usually considered the least militant among all major religions, has had its crazed fundamentalists (sects like Aum Shinrikyo that carried poisonous gas attacks in Tokyo) who strongly object to foetal stem-cell research because it involves destruction of life.

The author of the piece is gravely mistaken.

First of all, Aum Shinrikyo is NOT a sect of Buddhism.

Secondly, it is not a "fundamentalist" form of Buddhism.

Buddhism as a whole has had its share of militarists (some Japanese Zen groups in Japan during WW2), fanatical prosletizers (Nichiren sho shu and Soka Gakkai) and militant monks (in Sri Lanka). But overall the record is fairly well established that one could never in the name of the Buddha, Dharma or Sangha commit murder, theft, etc. In point of fact, the dominant ethos of Buddhism contained its own "fanatical" tendencies in check. It is important that we fact check before remarking on other religions so that we not mislead nor misinform.

With palms pressed together,

José