Buddha wearing headphones image triggers controversy in Mynmar

[RedLantern]

YANGON, Myanmar — A clash of cultures fueled by simmering sectarian tensions and social media has left a Western bar manager and two local colleagues imprisoned in once-cloistered Myanmar.

New Zealand native Philip Blackwood, 32, has been accused of "insulting religion" after he posted a psychedelic image of the Buddha wearing headphones on Facebook to advertise the V Gastro Bar.

Despite removing the image and replacing it with a statement apologizing for "embarrassing ignorance," Blackwood was arrested on December 10 along with nightspot owner Tun Thurein, 40, and co-worker Htut Ko Ko Lwin, 26. More details here   http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/buddha-wearing-headphones-image-triggers-controversy-myanmar-n278386   

Any thoughts?

[Pema8]

A bit too extreme to arreste 3 persons for putting headphones on an image of the Buddha.
The guy apologized - ok. They will for sure not do it again!

Thanks for posting! Good to know what can happen in Myanmar!

Anyway the Buddha can not be harmed by headphones. But it is also important to tell people to respect Buddha and not using it for business advertisment.

This is very different from bombing Buddha statues! These people should be arrested!

[yontenjamyang]

The image of the Buddha wearing headphones are sensitive to the mass majority of Buddhists. For the Myanmese  especially since this happened in Rangoon. Majority of Buddhist do have a fix image of the Buddha and anything our of this expectation just won't do.
But what is the Ananda requested the Buddha to live another kalpa, and he is still alive today? Don't you think the Buddha would be wearing a headphone at some point? Would that be ok or do we tell the Buddha He is wrong to wear a headphone and that is not what we expect him to do?

So, it is not the Buddha's image that is the practice. It is the expectations that we have that is bringing the suffering. However, that being the case, since majority of Buddhist have expectations even on the Buddha, we should respect that.

[MoMo]

Oh No! Another annoying news of disrespecting the sensitivity of local culture and religion again!
We often argue that the Buddha was one beyond normal conception and wouldn’t be hurt by it. But it was the untrained-mind person that suffered when Buddhism was degenerated until it was associated with intoxicant and heedlessness; it closes the door of Dharma for them by losing faith in the possibility of achieving enlightenment. 
It only shows how tasteless the owner and it’s  subordinate are by choosing a Buddha’s image instead of the portrait of their loved ones knowing that it would be disrespectful in doing so! I may sound crude and rude but IMO they deserve a wake-up yell at their face?