The Face of Buddhist Terror - How does this effect Buddhism as a whole?

[dsiluvu]

I was out shopping just the other day and I stumbled upon this news which was on the cover of TIME magazine! I was in shock cos never ever in history has any monk being called a terrorist! In the whole of Buddhist history, there has never been any violence or war... until of course the Dorje Shugden ban. So to see this happening else where, where Buddhist monks are encouraging discrimination is really so not cool and how shameful because this effects the whole Buddhist community even though we're different schools of thought but as a whole... this type of news can really tear down Buddhism!

This is a clear sign of degenerate times for sure and I wonder how now do I explain to friends who will question Buddhism as a whole. People's faith and confidence and concept of Buddhism as a compassionate, wise philosophy will be shaken. Sad we have gone down to this level.

Oh how come TIME is not reporting about His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Dorje Shugden ban? We are being discriminated world wide!!!

His face as still and serene as a statue's, the Buddhist monk who has taken the title "the Burmese bin Laden" begins his sermon. Hundreds of worshippers sit before him, palms pressed together, sweat trickling silently down their sticky backs. On cue, the crowd chants with the man in burgundy robes, the mantras drifting through the sultry air of a temple in Mandalay, Burma's second biggest city after Rangoon. It seems a peaceful scene, but Wirathu's message crackles with hate. "Now is not the time for calm," the 46-year-old monk intones, as he spends 90 minutes describing the many...

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2146000,00.html#ixzz2XowSuu4i



U Wirathu, the spiritual leader of the 969 Buddhist Nationalist movement, and his entourage leave after giving a sermon, at a monastery in Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma) on May 22, 2013. U Wirathu is an abbot in the New Maesoeyin Monastery where he leads about 60 monks and has influence over more than 2,500 residing there. He travels the country giving sermons to religious and laypeople encouraging Buddhists to shun Muslim business and communities.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2146000,00.html#ixzz2XowZFCL9

Burma Bans Time Magazine Labeling Monk as 'Face of Terror'

VOA News

June 25, 2013
Burma has banned distribution of a Time Magazine cover story that portrays a fundamentalist Burmese monk as an inciter of terrorism against Muslims.

In a statement late Tuesday, the Burmese government said the ban is aimed at preventing a recurrence of violence between majority Buddhists and minority Muslims.

The magazine cover features a photo of the fundamentalist monk known as Wirathu, with the words "The Face of Buddhist Terror."

Officials said a committee investigating recent Buddhist-Muslim violence made the decision to block the magazine cover and accompanying article. It is not clear whether the rest of Time Magazine's latest issue will be distributed in Burma.

Radical monks, such as Wirathu, have been urging Burmese Buddhists to boycott Muslim-owned businesses and avoid marriages with Muslims. His critics say the boycott appeals have encouraged Buddhist extremists to commit violence against Muslims.

Wirathu insists he is a man of peace. Many Buddhists have objected to the Time Magazine story, saying it distorts the peaceful nature of their faith.

Wirathu was jailed in 2003 for inciting deadly anti-Muslim riots, but was released in 2012 as part of a general amnesty. Some analysts say new freedoms of speech introduced in Burma since the end of military-rule have made it easier for radicals to promote their views.

Deadly confrontations between Burmese Buddhists and Muslims have killed more than 200 people in the past year, most of them Muslims.
http://www.voanews.com/content/burma-bans-time-story-labeling-monk-as-face-of-terror/1689130.html

[dondrup]

It is utterly unbelievable to equate a monk to a terrorist!  It is unheard of in the history of Buddhism till today.  What is more shocking is that the monk Wirathu calling himself the 'Burmese Bin Laden'!  Monks are symbols of love, kindness and compassion.  But Wirathu does not exude this image.  Instead he is reported to be inciting hatred against the minority Muslims in Myanmar! Wirathu is being very irresponsible.  He has caused great damage to the reputation of Buddhism with his actions.  The world media can be very biased when it comes to reporting news on religion!  It will be hard to restore the image of Buddhism as a religion that promotes peace, harmony, love, compassion and so on. 

[Benny]

This man is inciting so much ethnic violence in his own country , that i refuse to even acknowledge him as a monk . How can anyone still view him as a buddhist monk or any other monk at all in view of what he has done . I am also wondering why hasn't the rest of the Sangha or the governing body of the monastic order in Burma , taken any action against this man ? Especially when Buddhism is the official religion . And i really hope they will NOT come up with lame excuses like , we should not judge this so called monk's action because we can't really understand his " motivation " lest we create the bad karma for judging a monk and who are we to question . As far as i am concerned , he should be sent back to jail , disrobed !

[Rinchen]

How can it be that Wirathu is considered as a member of the sangha? He is totally twisting teaching from the Buddha to fit what he deems as correct. He does not even show the slightest sign of compassion, kindness, or love.

I just cannot believe how can he be causing religious schism like this? It is a free world, we are able to choose what we want to. We should never look down on any race or even to harm those practitioners in anyway.

[Big Uncle]

It is very possible and this is just one of the very first signs of degeneration without the great Buddhist traditions. This is very sad but an inevitable fate of Buddhism because the Buddha had predicted this more than 2,500 years ago. It is perhaps time to reflect on why a monk who spreads terror is on the face of such a world famous magazine and not many of the more attained monks and lamas.

I think this image that is spread through the front cover of the Time magazine is detrimental to the popular image of Buddhism of meditation and of peace. With this new image, people who were suppose to enter the Dharma would have second thoughts because they would not have high regard of Buddhism as they used to have. In this way, this monk is destroying the Dharma. In Tibetan, there is a term for such people and that is Tenshi or destroyer of the Dharma.