Radical Buddhism Ascendant in Myanmar

[Perspicuo]

Radical Buddhism ascendant in Myanmar
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2013/06/20/world/asia/20130620_BUDDHIST.html

After a ritual prayer atoning for past sins, Ashin Wirathu, a Buddhist monk with a rock-star following in Myanmar, sat before an overflowing crowd of thousands of followers and launched into a rant against what he called the “enemy” — the country’s Muslim minority. Ashin Wirathu denies any role in riots in which Buddhist mobs have killed more than 200 Muslims and forced more than 150,000 people, mostly Muslims, from their homes. But his critics say that at the very least his anti-Muslim preaching is helping to inspire the violence.

(Suggestion: You need to click on the arrows to see all 17 paragraphs with images.)

It undermines a bit Sam Harris' ideas on "religions of peace". The problem is, it doesn't matter what religion or philosophy you're talking about -even Jainism with its extreme ahimsa-, you're dealing with humans, and humans can be vile and petty primates. Let's face it, Hitler was a vegetarian and Stalin was an atheist. The recipe for peace must be a very delicate balance of ingredients, starting with good parenting.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Popular movements often owe their success to how well they've groomed another group of humans as the boogeyman. People like having enemies it seems.

 

[Perspicuo]

Popular movements often owe their success to how well they've groomed another group of humans as the boogeyman. People like having enemies it seems.

For the same reason humans have the propensity to negative thinking and blue moods: survival. Expecting danger and failure helps the loud depilous primate better than glee, friendliness and openness. So thank survival to being cranky, anxious and blue.

 

[Herrick]

It undermines a bit Sam Harris' ideas on "religions of peace". The problem is, it doesn't matter what religion or philosophy you're talking about -even Jainism with its extreme ahimsa-, you're dealing with humans, and humans can be vile and petty primates. Let's face it, Hitler was a vegetarian and Stalin was an atheist. The recipe for peace must be a very delicate balance of ingredients, starting with good parenting.

Harris' argument about peaceful religions isn't that followers of these religions are incapable of violence. His argument is that the tenets of these religions cannot reasonably be used to justify the kind of violence found in other religions. From the link you posted:

Ahiṃsā does not merely indicate absence of physical violence, but also indicates absence of desire to indulge in any sort of violence.

Killing a bug considered a violent act so one would really have to stretch this belief into an unrecognizable bizarre shape to justify hurting or killing an innocent person. I don't know about Buddhism though. Is Wirathu using Buddhism to incite violence?

 

[Perspicuo]

I don't know about Buddhism though. Is Wirathu using Buddhism to incite violence?

Obviously he's using the Buddhist identity to do so. I wouldn't know what "use[ing] Buddhism to incite violence" would look like. You mean, by citing Theravadin texts?

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Buddhism - where enlightenment is found within the shattered skulls of your enemies.