Radical Monk in Myanmar Pledges to Protect Global Buddhism

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32. Thank you for sharing Asian history with me. Do you know anything about Buddhist history?

When Shakyamuni taught the Lotus Sutra, he taught for the first time that all possess the Buddha nature and are equally respectworthy and equally capable of attaining Buddhahood just as they are. He taught that not only human beings but animals, plants, and even inanimate objects have Buddhahood in them. He told his followers that the Lotus Sutra was his final and ultimate teaching, and that his previous teachings had only been the scaffolding to prepare his followers for the Lotus Sutra. He taught that all of his previous teachings were to be discarded in favor of the Lotus Sutra.

Not everyone followed this, and hence sutras that may be interpreted as advocating violence are still practiced by some. In Buddhism, if the disciple does not follow the mentor, then the disciple in fact cannot be called a disciple. Those who advocate violence or any other disrespect for life are not following Shakyamuni, and are therefore not disciples of Buddhism.

Does that make sense to you?