Banning on the Swastika?

[TARA]

US University mulls ban on swastika
Apr 25, 2015 | PTI | Washington

The prestigious George Washington University here is contemplating a ban on swastika, a sacred symbol for Hindus and Buddhists, as authorities believe it resembles the Nazi symbol and may hurt the sensibilities of some Jewish students.

The move came after an unidentified student, who is Jewish, returned last month from a trip to India with a swastika image. He placed it briefly on the bulletin board at his predominantly Jewish fraternity’s residence hall.

One fraternity member who saw the swastika on the bulletin board thought it was some kind of threat and informed the police. Everything was sorted out in a few hours after the complaining student realised that there was no threat. The police quickly closed their investigation.

However, the student who placed the symbol on the bulletin board now faces permanent expulsion, the Daily Caller reported. Steven Knapp, president of the George Washington University, said in a statement that the intentions behind the on-campus Nazi motif will not affect his determination to call it a hate crime.
John Banzhaf, a famed public interest law professor at the George Washi-ngton University Law School, said “if the student suffers expulsion or any kind of discipline, the effect will be to ban a sacred religious symbol from the George Washi-ngton campus.”



http://www.asianage.com/international/us-university-mulls-ban-swastika-196?

[kelly]

Thank you for sharing, I think this an act of ignorance we like to assume thing that happen around us in most time is negative in case people are do not really understand the religion and what religion can do for us in most most will use religion as an excuse to create havoc or even war so this is really an act of ignorance.

[kris]

This is quite hilarious.. if you do a simple Google search on Swastika or just simply visit the Wiki page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

you will see that Swastika has been used many times in the history by different people. Just because of 1 bad incident (Nazi), the University ban the symbol, this is very ridiculous. It is like chopping off the legs because of there are sands in the shoes.

Don't forget, Swastika has been used for thousands of years by many (such as Buddhism), and Nazi "hijacked" it...

[cookie]

The Swastika is only a symbol. Basically a label for something and in this case the same sign represents different meanings for Hindus/ Buddhists vs the Nazi ! People should not allow themselves to be victimised or threatened by a symbol !!

[angelica]

A symbol can never be a threat to anyone. Is the mind of the complaining student that is the culprit in this case. Is the ignorance and aversion of the complaining student's mind that see the swastika a threat. For others, is just a symbol and in actual fact, is an auspicious symbol.

Your worst enemy can't harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts. - Buddha

[yontenjamyang]

Well the Nazis did abuse a holy symbol. I do not blame others who do not know better to assume all swastika to be the same and associated with Nazism. There are difference in the direction of the swastika, clockwise being for power, anti clock wise for spirituality. Also, the Nazi swastika is clockwise (power) and stand on its edge and thus not stable  while the Hindu's swastika is also clockwise but sits stably on a cardinal direction.
The buddhist swastika is anti clockwise and represent spirituality.

[Midakpa]

The swastika used by the Nazis is not exactly the same as the Buddhist swastika. As pointed out by Yontenjamyang, the Nazis' swastika is tilted. It stands on its edge and does not rest solidly on its hand. It was explained by Fung Shui masters that the position of the Nazis' swastika was unstable and therefore inauspicious.

The real significance of the Buddhist swastika must be explained to the world in order to dispel any misunderstanding. "Svastika" is a Sanskrit word meaning "it is good/auspicious". The Buddhist swastika is a symbol of the Buddhist doctrine. It is also a symbol of health, life and good luck. It is an auspicious sign as it is one of the marks of Buddhahood. It also represents the esoteric teachings of the Buddha. The four hands of the Swastika signify friendship, compassion, happiness and non-attachment. In East Asian countries, the left-facing character is often used as symbol for Buddhism and marks the site of a Buddhist temple on maps. In Indian Buddhism, it is sometimes associated with the wheel of Dharma and in Zen Buddhism, it represents the "seal of the Buddha mind", the direct realisation of truth that is passed on from teacher to student.

[fruven]

I am very appall by George Washington University having this kind of swallow thinking.
The student who complained should be facing the music out of his own ignorance. An auspicious religious symbol is treated as hate symbol. This is an act of spreading misinformation.

[Matibhadra]

Banning the swastika because of personal sensitivities would be as wrong as banning the six-pointed star, which is a traditional symbol found in the holy tantras, just because Jews misuse it as a symbol of the criminal, racists, genocidal, supremacistic, Jewish state, known as “Israel”.