PDA

View Full Version : Buddhism misquoted - deliberate or otherwise


rapa
12-06-2006, 03:09 PM
The Readers Digest of June 2006 carries an article ‘Left is Right’ on page 95. It is on lefthanders and written by William Ecenbarger. Page 97 highlights his quote on Buddhism as follows- Buddhism teaches that there are two roads in life- the right path, which is good, and the left path, which is bad.

I gave him the benefit of the doubt and came up with an explanation. But this writer surely has some brain and understanding not to get into such a conclusion.

- I balive that this could be his understanding of the Noble Eightfold Path which comprises of Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Awareness, Right Concentration, Right Thoughts, Right Understanding all of which does not have anything to do with the right and left, but ‘right’ which means correct. How this writer has got this mixed up I cannot imagine.

-Unless he went all out to make deliberate mischief with an agenda all his own.

-As a responsible magazine of such long standing they cannot make irresponsible statements such as this.

-As a journalist he has ethics of his profession.

-Readers Digest is a Christian based magazine although they do not advertise the fact and they could be deliberately publishing such warped ideas of other religions to boost their own.

-Can they write such gross untruths and get away with it? What action can we take? It is an insult to all Buddhists of the world.

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/6/11/63188/Image2.jpg

sri_lion
12-06-2006, 03:34 PM
This happens everywhere rapa... and the saddest thing is sometimes there is nothing much we can do about it!!! Few weeks ago here in Malaysia...

I saw one those Bhutanese monk has arranged a chanting ceremony with a lamp ceremony together, and people who needs to attend to the lamb ceremony had to buy their own lamps from the temple for 1 Malaysian Dollar (1 Ringgit) and the press was promoting this event and had quoted in the papers

"Pay 1 Ringgit and get Enlightened"

So u see this the person who wrote that headline had no idea the crime he committed there... just because he knows some words he used it..... Buddhism is mis quoted very often compared to other religions, I think the reason is very simple... It has more depth in it.... that it really takes time to understand it!