Armed Buddhists, including monks, clash with Muslims in Myanmar

[TM99]

37. Except that thread was not about factual criticisms.

No one, including myself who was in that thread & who personally knows H.H. the Dalai Lama, made any claim to him being 'perfection personified'.

I responded to the lies and myths. These included the Dalai Lama being a CIA stooge, a Nazi sympathizer, and a theocratic tyrant.

There were also many misconceptions about Tibetan Buddhism itself concerning 'gods & goddesses', the differences between various schools, whether Buddhism should be considered atheistic or not, etc.

Buddhism like all ethical systems -- religious, philosophical, or non-theistic -- has a fundamental code of conduct. Not killing is one of those and is a part of the first five precepts taken. All human beings are prone to expressions of violence and war. To become a Buddhist and take precepts, one is to renounce violence. Some schools, like Tibetan Buddhism, will take it so far as to be pacifistic. Others like Zen will allow violence or killing only in self-defense. Traditional martial arts were a way to be defensive without necessarily killing an attacker.

So I am not surprised that there are humans who label themselves Buddhists and are even calling themselves monks who, like all of us, are not perfect. They are killing and are at war. That is deeply saddening, as it is violating one of the foundational precepts of Buddhism.

I would like to respond to your video as well. I have read Beyond Dogma where he is sourcing the quotes from H.H. the Dalai Lama. The statements about abortion are taken completely out of context. If a religion is based on extreme non-violence, then yes, abortion is a violation of that, correct? Even someone who is progressive (and I am really beginning to dislike that label) who is pro-choice may still be anti abortion. That is totally compatible with Buddhism as well. Your choices are your choices. The consequences are your consequences. There are no sins as the Catholic church would call them. There are simply skillful and unskillful actions. I can support that all woman have the choice to have an abortion. I do not condone its use as a form of irresponsible birth control for instance. I also believe that both men and women who have sex should realize that pregnancy is a natural outcome if contraception is not used. So, that is hardly incongruent. The section on sexual misconduct is the same. I would suggest reading the book yourself, observe the context of the questions asked, instead of watching a pseudo-documentary for your knowledge.