Respect for other religions

[Benny]

What an interesting tale Jessie , thank you for sharing. Yes , we should indeed keep an open mind on other religions and should never judge and disrespect them .

Even within one religion such as Buddhism there are many different sects with differing approaches towards the same goal. We need not look far , to start practicing respect for others beliefs . If we all could just learn to respect one another's faith , the ban on The protector practice of Dorje Shugden would have no effect and would not have caused the suffering of thousands of lay and sangha practitioners alike .

Clearly , it is easier said than done ! Just look at those sad Tibetan brothers and sisters of ours , they are supposed to be Buddhists and yet they discriminate their own race , who shares the same religion and some even the same gurus and even family.

[hope rainbow]

This story is also related with Mara like this:

One day Mara, the Evil One, was travelling through the villages of India with his attendants. he saw a man doing walking meditation whose face was lit up on wonder. The man had just discovered something on the ground in front of him. Mara’s attendant asked what that was and Mara replied, “A piece of truth.”

“Doesn’t this bother you when someone finds a piece of truth, O Evil One?” his attendant asked. “No,” Mara replied. “Right after this, they usually make a belief out of it.”

[DS Star]

This story describe very clearly how a particular religion view the so-called Universal Truth. Most will claim that their version is the CORRECT one and would dismiss other religions.

Buddha had always been very democratic about ones' faith and not to judge others' belief. Buddha always encourage his disciples to take the good points of other religion.

The following is yet another example of what Buddha teach regarding our approach/ attitude towards other religions/ faiths.


The Kalama Sutta

The Buddha and several of his monks traveled through the Kosala country and entered a town of the Kalama people called Kesaputta. The Kamala people told the Buddha that many monks and brahmans had come to Kesaputta before him. Each of these religious men had expounded their own doctrines and reviled the doctrines of others. "Venerable sir," they asked the Buddha, "Which of these reverend monks and brahmans spoke the truth and which falsehood?"

Here the Buddha gave one of his most widely quoted teachings (Thanissaro Bhikkhu translation):

"Of course you are uncertain, Kalamas. Of course you are in doubt. When there are reasons for doubt, uncertainty is born. So in this case, Kalamas, don't go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, 'This contemplative is our teacher.' When you know for yourselves that, 'These qualities are unskillful; these qualities are blameworthy; these qualities are criticized by the wise; these qualities, when adopted and carried out, lead to harm & to suffering' -- then you should abandon them."

By the same token, "When you know for yourselves that, 'These qualities are skillful; these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to welfare and to happiness' -- then you should enter & remain in them."

By gently asking them questions, the Buddha guided the Kalamas to understand that teachings based in greed, hate and delusion are unskillful. Teachings absent of greed, hate and delusion are skillful. By applying these criteria, we can understand truth from falsehood.

[DSFriend]

This teaching is a very powerful practice especially in the Theravaden tradition.

I had a very good friend who did this practice, quietly with just a small elephant figurine placed on his desk. He learnt this meditation from his Theravaden teacher. Each day, he contemplated on this teaching which Jessie Fong posted to bring to realization that as much as we are sure of our knowledge, view and perspective, it is only very limited. As long as we have not rid off ignorance, this limitation persists. The thoughts that arise in our minds, formed in our minds are fleeting and unproven to be truths and are empty of inherent existence. The problem starts when we our thoughts to be truths.

Thus, this elephant figurine becomes a constant reminder for him to not be attached to his one-sided thoughts, to cultivate an open mind, to continuously study and contemplate on the Buddha Dharma.

He passed away peacefully at a very old age, with no sign of senility. His mind remained sharp till his last breath.

[AnneQ]

How apt this story is to the world we live in today. Every other war or conflict is somehow connected to people of different religion. The Muslims against the Christians and so on.

If everyone can learn to respect each others religion, show tolerance, understanding and accommodation, there would be less conflict in the world and the world would be a much better place to live in.

That's to show how one's limited views, delusions and behaviour can affect one's perception and reaction towards others and situations.

Yes biggyboy. Most of the wars have something to do with religion. It is really sad. All the people who are not involved in it suffer tremendously. No matter what, it is always out of ego and pride. I want to win because my religion is right and your religion is wrong. But there is no right and wrong, practice from whatever your religion and be better. There are no religion that teach one to be harmful or evil. It is from our own delusion and ignorance. But this will not be as the wars are still going on. 

If only religious tolerance is practiced all over the world and everyone respecting each others' views and viewpoint, whether in agreement or not. Mutual respect would be the key. What a beautiful world it would be, no wars, sufferings, discrimination, persecutions...etc. Alas! Tis only a dream for in reality, it is not so.
However, I am grateful for HHDL efforts in promoting world and inter-religious harmony wherever he goes. He is an inspiration to all and a couple of wonderful examples of him doing just that are his recent visit to the Tibetan Muslim community in Srinaga, India and attending mass in Rome with the Pope.
If only other religious leaders emulate HHDL's actions and in turn visit places or institutions of other religious beliefs in order to promote tolerance and harmony, the world can be a better place to be.

[Q]

This is a wonderful story! I would not have thought or think of explaining the different views of religion in this perspective. I think it's brilliant!

Yes, its true that we should always respect other legitimate religions of the world. Not only did HHDL encourage religious tolerance... ( for all but DS practitioners unfortunately...) but the Buddha himself have expressed and sent the message across throughout his years of preaching the Dharma that all his students should respect other religions equally.

This can be depicted in the case of Upali, an extremely wealthy man whom was from another religion but wanted to follow the Buddha's teachings. When Upali asked the Buddha how he should treat his former teachers, Buddha said he should treat them the same as before and continue to support them even thought he no longer follow that particular religion.

I must agree with respecting all other religions... for one, I have friends from all walks of life. Also, if we examine closely, you will find each and every major religion of the world... their practice would fall within the Lamrim, either in the small scope or medium scope... though I don't think any other religion in this world actually fall under the Great scope, but there are practitioners of some other religion that have the motivation of a Bodhisattva.

[buddhalovely]

Tolerance is a good cornerstone on which to build human relationships. When one views the slaughter and suffering caused by religious intolerance down all the history of Man and into modern times, one can see that intolerance is a very non-survival activity.

Religious tolerance does not mean one cannot express his own beliefs. It does mean that seeking to undermine or attack the religious faith and beliefs of another has always been a short road to trouble.

Philosophers since the times of ancient Greece have disputed with one another about the nature of God, Man and the universe. The opinions of authorities ebb and flow: just now the philosophies of “mechanism” and “materialism”—dating as far back as Ancient Egypt and Greece—are the fad: they seek to assert that all is matter and overlook that, neat as their explanations of evolution may be, they still do not rule out additional factors that might be at work, that might be merely using such things as evolution. They are today the “official” philosophies and are even taught in schools. They have their own zealots who attack the beliefs and religions of others: the result can be intolerance and contention.

[Tenzin Malgyur]

This is a wonderful lesson on how one thing appears in different ways to many people. It also teaches us not to look at it in only one angle but to explore from different angles and views. It is human nature to always want to be right and when someone's view differs from ours, it would be better to discuss and talk rather than to get hot and argue over it. The same should also be applied to different religions views. We should practice our beliefs and at the same time not condenm the practice of other religions. Whatever disputes or misunderstanding should be settled amicably.

[hope rainbow]

This is a wonderful lesson on how one thing appears in different ways to many people.

It also teaches us not to look at it in only one angle but to explore from different angles and views.
It is human nature to always want to be right and when someone's view differs from ours, it would be better to discuss and talk rather than to get hot and argue over it.

The same should also be applied to different religions views.
We should practice our beliefs and at the same time not condenm the practice of other religions.
Whatever disputes or misunderstanding should be settled amicably.

This shows that there is actually no solid ground for disputes.
Indeed, if there are as many points of views over "something" that there are viewers, then the "viewed something" can never exist in any other way than how it is "viewed", and the very basis of the dispute does not exist in a way that makes it worth harming anyone in the process, does it?

[lotus1]

We should always respect all other religions although we may not agreed to their own concept and spiritual goals.  I always believe for the major religions, they are all promoting peace and harmony. A lot of time, the conflicts of various religions are caused by the interpretation of the followers who have their own political agendas and especially polluted by greed and ego and not the fault of the respective religions.
It is really sad to see that due to religion differences, there are wars or discriminations that causing so much pain and sufferings to the people.
Reading through this, isn’t it the ban of Lord Shugden is caused by not respecting the religious believe of Dorje Shugden? May the CTA read about this story and realized how shallow and ignorant they are and how much pain they have caused to the Shugden practitioners.
May the ban be lifted soonest and Shugden practitioners can freely and openly do their practice!