Quote:
Originally Posted by terrazoids
Like I said I'm deeply suspicious of people called Thich Han, why, you might as well be called Han Solo! Anyway. HA! Buddhism! What a waste of time!
People hanging around taking other folks food for free while they apparently spend their whole life trying to gain some 'Enlightenment'. Gee whiz, and when they're done, they're so spaced out they get up from under the tree and stand in the same spot staring into space for 6 days! Oh yeah, and then theres all those Buddhist kingdoms, of which Tibet was one, that regularly practiced serfdom, child slavery, and sick stuff like brothers sharing one wife. I once met a Buddhist monk from Bhutan who used to brag that at night he'd go around sleeping with girls at nightclubs, and in the day wander the forest begging for rice with a rice bowl. Wow. Its funny how people have come to think so highly of Buddhism since a number of hollywood types got involved. While you're at it why not believe in the alien overlord Zeno! And be a scientologist!
Yeah sure... Keep meditating. And become enlightened by reading books by Han Solo! Funny...
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"Thich" is a title in Vietnamese given to Buddhist monks; you can equate it to "Father" or "Brother" in the Christian tradition.
His given name is Nhất Hạnh. Do you really think that rejecting another human being's integrity, intelligence and compassion on the grounds that he has a 'funny-sounding name' is a Christian way to behave?
If you spend even a short time following the link I gave, you will find that Nhất Hạnh's Buddhist communities spend virtually all their time helping others. The monastic retreats are open to the public for much of the year, and the monks and nuns get out and about far more than in the more closed Christian retreats. Your cartoon image of a monk sitting under a tree feeding off charity and emptying his head is as far from the truth here as is your attempt to link Buddhism to Scientology.
Doubtless there have been abuses of privilege and place in Buddhism as there have been in Christianity. But you'd be the first to argue that all Christians shouldn't be tarnished with the same brush. The same is true of Buddhism.
Graham