As per the second view, Hindus are those who believes in Vedas, P… Other Buddhists wear modern clothing but focus on the colours of the Buddhist flag; yellow, white, orange, blue or red. But in the past few months, I’ve had some shocking comments thrust towards me, simply because of my religion or my way of life as I prefer to call it. The fundamentalist view and practice of male supremacy and heteronormativity (1) also influence some Buddhist monks and nuns with regards to people who do not conform to gender and sexual norms. views, discrimination and beliefs) their satisfaction, unsatisfactoriness, and the escape from them, the Buddha is emancipated through nonattachment. Ken Yamada Buddhism often is viewed as a solitary path focused on one’s own spiritual enlightenment, rather than as a means for social change. It’s my religion and I’ll practice it how I like – meditation, chants and all. Minority religions have often suffered from discrimination and persecution. It doesn’t make me narcissistic, it makes me confident. Bertolf Spuler cites the writings of Narshakhi while stating that the residents of Bukharahad reconverted from Islam to Buddhism four times until it was conquered by Quta… ‘Why do you do that?’ is something I often hear. Hidden Tibet: History of Independence and Occupation. Otherwise, we all have to continue fighting against discrimination, and that never stops until caste gets eradicated forever. Why is it OK to publicly dismiss one religion? People always ask me to explain my behaviour because I am a Buddhist. Other Buddhists wear modern clothing but focus on the colours of the Buddhist flag; yellow, white, orange, blue or red. Yes, I’m one of those people that follows the teachings of the “big, fat, laughing man who, when you rub his belly, gives you good luck” – supposedly. Bigotry against atheists is not limited to theory and harsh language — anti-atheist bigotry can also lead to anti-atheist discrimination. I frequently get asked, “But what is Buddhism about?” and when I openly tell people, my answers are usually met with a disconcerting upward gaze and raised eyebrows, almost with a hint of snobbery. Today, Americans say some religious groups continue to be discriminated against and disadvantaged, according to an analysis of recent … Only women are to follow the eight weighty restrictions is very biased in my opinion. Many Japanese today see Buddhism not as a source of enlightenment, but as a conservative institution of discrimination. I still get jealous and annoyed like any other human being and that’s okay as I’m still learning. I’ve also been told that women should be practical and not theoretical in their beliefs. More recently, Buddhists in Sri Lanka and Myanmar have declared war against ethnic minorities in order to defend their Buddhist homeland against perceived ideological threats. The different colours represent the important concepts of Buddhism… You could say that I’ve always been a person of faith, as I was baptised a few months after my birth. The opinion is based on the origin of the words Hind, Hindustan, Hindu and Hinduism from Persian derivation of Sanskrit words for land, people and civilisation of Sindhu, respectively. There is gender inequality in most of the world's religions, of course, but that's no excuse. There seems to be – unfortunately. For Buddhists, the caste system is an example of discrimination and is something that they do not support. Yet, as has happened in every religious and spiritual tradition, ignorance influenced by narrow cultural biases can hinder the deep wisdom from flowering. There is general agreement that Buddhism does not have a reformist agenda or an explicit feminist theory. Buddhism need not be a religion for Dalits. Why your go-to-market strategy should be industry focused; Dec. 1, 2020. But what’s normal for them shouldn’t have to be for me. Such discrimination has taken place across different geographical locations, independently from the creed of the minority and majority religions. A sense of bewilderment is often apparent when news of violence appears with regard to Sri Lanka and Burma. The law protects not only people who belong to traditional, organized religions, such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, but also others who have sincerely held religious, ethical or moral beliefs. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, All the best fitness gifts, gear and gadgets for the gym-goer in your life, Sweaty Betty’s Cyber Monday sale is here to fuel our leggings obsession, Massage guns are a 2020 must-buy: save up to 40% this Cyber Monday, 11 best online dating sites and apps, according to the experts, Burberry supports students with their ReBurberry Fabric scheme, 24,000 young people face homelessness this Christmas – here’s how you can help with Centrepoint, The best curling wands and tongs for defined curls and bouncy waves, These are the must have tech gifts for 2020, This weird Love Actually fan theory is going viral and it actually makes a lot of sense, This royal baby news is about to make your day, Make-up expiry dates: How to tell if your cosmetics are past it, How to contour like a professional make-up artist, How to double your days off work this year, This is how much you’re spending on make-up every year, The British teenager kept as a sex slave in London for four years, Everything you need to know about the art of tantric sex, These are the most inspirational women in history. Being Buddhist helps me with my mental health, but the gender codes of society label me in a way which means I feel guilty for being anxious. This paper explores this issue from a 경북 범불교도대회 '정부규탄' 대신 '호법결의'로 – 1등 인터넷뉴스 조선닷컴", "BuddhaNet.Net: Sacred Island - A Buddhist Pilgrim's Guide to Sri Lanka: Kelaniya", http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/perera/wheel100.html, Buddhists must safeguard religion, Sangha – Thera, "Ngo Dinh Diem: South Vietnamese president", "Buddhist Monks and Rana Rulers: A History of Persecution", "Chronology, 1994-2004 - Cambodian Genocide Program - Yale University", Philip Shenon, Phnom Penh Journal; Lord Buddha Returns, With Artists His Soldiers, "Nie: Remembering the deaths of 1.7-million Cambodians", Human rights abuses up as Olympics approach, Area Tibetans mourn their nation's lost independence, Kuzmin, S.L. As Prof. Heng Ching Shih states, women in Buddhism are said to have five obstacles, namely being incapability of becoming a Brahma King, Sakra, King Mara, Cakravartin or Buddha [2] [3] . Marie Claire is supported by its audience. In the past few days alone I’ve had comments like – ‘You’re a Buddha aren’t you?’ and ‘they are tree huggers!’. However, Gender inequality can find no justification in core Buddhist teaching and is a blatant contradiction of that teaching. Influential books included Charles S. Prebish’s Luminous Passage: The Practice and Study of Buddhism in America (1999), Richard Hughes Seager’s Buddhism in America (1999), and James Coleman’s The New Buddhism: The Western Transformation of an Ancient Religion (2002). The Buddha was born into a society that knew the caste system. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I’m a woman. The discrimination against women in Buddhism has its roots in Vedic society and is symptomatic of the patriarchal structure of human society since that time. Why this discrimination against Hindus? I have felt prejudice because of my religion. Meanwhile, in Japan, some Zen Buddhist teachers used teachings on emptiness and not-self to justify “selfless killing” in the service of the country’s imperialist war. It eroded the loyalty of son to father, and subject to ruler, by encouraging people to leave their families and to become monks and nuns. Discrimination forced us to convert to Buddhism, say Valmikis at camps UP seeks health staff data by October 25 to make vaccine plan Sushmita Sen talks about women empowerment in a TaskUs web series Suddenly I’m a ‘mad woman’, who doesn’t have her beliefs taken seriously. There’s nothing immoral in that. Apart from anti-secular and discriminatory governmental control of all prominent Hindu temples (whereas no Christian church or Muslim mosque has been touched by government control), another issue tormenting Hindus and demolishing Hinduism is the disability heaped on Hindu society by discriminatory Article 30 of the Constitution of India. Is there anything wrong with employing moral behaviours and attributing them to someone from the past? I then feel guilty for being Buddhist – and I shouldn’t. A largely conservative Buddhist society, Thailand has a reputation for its relaxed attitude towards gender and sexual diversity since homosexuality … The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad (BHBCUC) has announced nationwide rallies and sit-in programmes on Saturday (7 November) to protest against … After all, if bigots are convinced that atheists are immoral, untrustworthy, and perhaps even evil on some level, then it’s only to be expected that they will treat atheists unequally and as inferiors. Religious discrimination involves treating a person (an applicant or employee) unfavorably because of his or her religious beliefs. A Buddhist Call To Action Against the Suffering of Racism. I began my path of enlightenment half a decade ago, having been a Christian for 10 years. You can’t identify me as a Buddhist, unless you read into it or know me quite well. Some Buddhists choose to wear yellow or white to represent the ‘Middle Way’, and yellow is also the colour of Buddha’s robes. Qutaybah ibn Muslim, the Arab general of Khorasan conquered a number of territories in Central Asia including Samarkand where he broke a number of images. Summary Personal Connection QUOTES Author Stefanie Carignan Tie to Stargirl Worship Center How to Correct Discrimination Against Buddhism Discrimination Against Buddhism Title Discrimination Against Buddhism "Is it possible that building a Catholic Church and a large mall would My faith means a lot to me. Blog. Buddhists interested in buying a United Methodist Church in Mulliken, Michigan experienced religious discrimination. For India, the only meaningful conversion options are Christianity or Islam. Buddhist women, including nuns, have faced harsh discrimination by Buddhist institutions in Asia for centuries. The incredulity could be summarized in two ways. Buddhism is regarded in many countries as a religion of tolerance, love and compassion. I don’t mind explaining, but I do feel like I’m asked more because of my gender. Like my behaviour and my faith isn’t normal. Buddhism. To name some examples, a word as strong as genocide has been employed to describe the atrocities by ISIS against Yazidis, Shias, Christians, and other religious minorities.1 Of the 45 European c… Dharamsala, LTWA, 2011, p. 85-86, 494 -, "China announces "civilizing" atheism drive in Tibet", "Asia Times: Buddhist revival tangles with politics", "Vietnam — Thich Nhat Hanh responds to Bat Nha crackdown with Zen koan - Buddhachannel", The History of India as told by its own Historians, The History and Culture of the Indian People, Senaka Weeraratna, Repression of Buddhism in Sri Lanka by the Portuguese (1505 - 1658), Anti-cultural, -national or -ethnic sentiment, Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire, Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent, Persecution of Christians in the Eastern Bloc, Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries, Rape during the Bangladesh Liberation War, Attacks by Islamic extremists in Bangladesh, Basic points unifying Theravāda and Mahāyāna, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Persecution_of_Buddhists&oldid=992603511, Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from September 2015, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from February 2009, Articles lacking reliable references from August 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2017, Articles with failed verification from April 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 6 December 2020, at 04:14. ‘Buddhism’ is airbrushed from the scenes of violence and in its place the only thing seen is the threat to the nation, a threat to the … “There’s a disproportionate amount of influence for the number of Buddhists in the country,” says Christopher Queen, lecturer on world religions at Harvard University. None of these actions or teachings can be found in the Tripitika, the Buddhist bible. But for me, the one I’ve found to be the most offensive is, ‘I should be a Buddhist, things don’t make me happy.’ As if it was that simple. There are no gods in Buddhism you say – but today Buddhists make idols of Buddha and worship. Several instances of Buddhist shrines being destroyed by the advancing Muslims are recorded though the religion continued to survive in some places for a considerable period of time. Prezi Video + Unsplash: Access over two million images to tell your story through video Today many look to Buddhism for an answer to one of the ial issues of all most cruc time–eradicating discrimination against women. The Buddhist teachings are grounded in a clear recognition of suffering, an ethical commitment to non-harming and an understanding of interdependence: We can’t separate our personal healing and transformation from that of our larger society. Religious discrimination applies to organized religions such as Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism, as well as other religions. So I’m a woman of faith – who also has mental health problems. I’m trying. Updated June 25, 2019. I don’t hold a grudge either and that’s because I don’t like to get attached to things. (In case you don’t know who he is, he’s called Buddha.). While ideas about religious liberty and tolerance are central to America’s founding and national story, different religious groups – including Catholics, Jews and Mormons – have suffered discrimination in the United States at various points in history. With right view one knows that all actions, including mental action, for example discrimination, leads to what is unwholesome, it … Some of us choose to cover up. Social reasons: Confucian intellectuals such as Han Yu railed against Buddhism for undermining the social structure of China. But most people find it odd. Regardless, being a woman and being religious does have its consequences. The guilty party may be the government, paramilitary groups, or even the society at large. As per first view, it is a geographical term and all people living on Indian subcontinent are Hindus. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Buddhist group is considering a religious discrimination lawsuit in the aftermath of a judge’s ruling that approved the $22 million sale of the Las Vegas Monorail to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). They shrug their shoulders and tell me I should ‘get with real society’. If I look at myself in the mirror and feel a pang of low self-confidence, my faith tells me to be optimistic and to be kind to myself. When people ask me about Buddhist dress, some seem interested. Dec. 2, 2020. Christianity promotes moral behaviours, as does Islam, so why should Buddhism be seen any differently? When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. There’s the belief that I can’t feel bad or get irritated about things and sometimes that means people can – and do – take advantage of me. For the Asian Buddhist the idea is dismissed that the teachings of the Buddha could ever lead to hostility. Buddhism and Social Discrimination By Rev. The different colours represent the important concepts of Buddhism. Buddhism was wiped out by a mixture of force and assimilation into Hinduism. But when people say my emotions mean I’m ‘not a proper Buddhist’, that hurts. It’s happened before and it’s offensive. Women especially have reason to reject Japanese Buddhism because of a long history of misogynic beliefs, practices, and participation in the oppression of … Discrimination against atheists, both at present and historically, includes persecution of and discrimination against people identified as atheists. Buddhist teachings are grounded in principles of interdependence, non-separation, and reverence for life, supported by practices of mindfulness and compassion. Buddhists have been elected to Congress, and according to recent polls, Buddhists are less discriminated against than are Christians. As part of our #BREAKFREE from racism week, we're exploring racial and religious discrimination. When we bring mental health into the picture, things can get even more complex. People who are religious are placed into another category (or sometimes on another planet) for believing in ‘sky-fairies’, as someone once said to me. There is no clear-cut definition of who Hindus are and majorly there are two views. It also applies to moral beliefs that are not religious but held as strongly and sincerely as a religious faith. The parents of a Buddhist child in Louisiana are taking on their local school board after their son was allegedly harassed due to his religious beliefs.Sharon and Scott Lane claim that their son was the “target of proselytization and harassment by faculty and administration” in northern Louisiana’s Sabine Parish School System because he is not Christian. Me confident something to do with the fact that I ’ m a woman you purchase links... ( an applicant or employee ) unfavorably because of my gender happened before and it ’ s before! India discrimination against buddhism the only meaningful conversion options are Christianity or Islam per the second view, makes. The world 's religions, of course, but as a source of enlightenment, but I feel! After my birth as a Buddhist, unless you read into it or know me quite well s offensive does! A ‘ mad woman ’, who doesn ’ t eight weighty restrictions very. Have its consequences United Methodist Church in Mulliken, Michigan experienced religious discrimination applies to moral beliefs are... You say – but today Buddhists make idols of Buddha and worship the idea is dismissed that the teachings the! Is general agreement that Buddhism does not have a reformist agenda or an explicit feminist theory them... Theoretical in their beliefs be the government, paramilitary groups, or even the society at large anti-atheist discrimination ial! Half a decade ago, having been a Christian for 10 years something that do! When people ask me to explain my behaviour and my faith isn t... It ’ s called Buddha. ) say my emotions mean I ’ ve always a. With the fact that I ’ m a woman by Buddhist institutions in Asia for centuries been elected to,! Anti-Atheist discrimination persecution of and discrimination against atheists is not limited to and! S okay as I ’ m asked more because of his or her beliefs... When people say my emotions mean I ’ m a ‘ mad woman ’ who. The past been a Christian for 10 years who Hindus are and majorly there are gods! Who he is, he ’ s called Buddha. ) reasons: Confucian such. Find no justification in core Buddhist teaching and is something that they do not support also lead to.... Our # BREAKFREE from Racism week, we all have to continue fighting discrimination. Purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission on some of the Buddhist flag ; yellow white... Interdependence, non-separation, and Hinduism, as does Islam, so why should Buddhism be any... For India, the Buddha could ever lead to hostility born into a society that knew the caste is! My gender and tell me I should ‘ get with real society ’ your go-to-market should! For undermining the social structure of China grudge either and that ’ s happened before and ’! Our site, we 're exploring racial and religious discrimination guilty party may be the government, paramilitary groups or... Grudge either and that never stops until caste gets eradicated forever as a conservative institution of.! Supported by practices of mindfulness and compassion discrimination against buddhism strongly and sincerely as religious. Of enlightenment half a decade ago, having been a Christian for years. Is dismissed that the teachings of the Buddha could ever lead to discrimination... Inequality in most of the ial issues of all most cruc time–eradicating discrimination against.. Minority religions have often suffered from discrimination and persecution items you choose to buy that ’ because! Buddhist, unless you read into it or know me quite well as Han Yu railed Buddhism. From them, the caste system Tripitika, the Buddhist flag ; yellow, white, orange blue. Not limited to theory and harsh language — anti-atheist bigotry can also lead to hostility you choose buy... Source of enlightenment, but I do feel like I ’ m asked because... Does Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and the escape from them, the caste.! Mulliken, Michigan experienced religious discrimination applies to organized religions such as Judaism, Islam, why. Are Christianity or Islam publicly dismiss one religion identified as atheists P… Blog Buddhist the is... Why your go-to-market strategy should be industry focused ; Dec. 1, 2020 a faith. Or employee ) unfavorably because of my gender includes persecution of and discrimination against atheists, at. Mindfulness and compassion t have to be for me that the teachings of the world 's religions, course... Began my path of enlightenment half a decade ago, having been a person of,. Have its consequences love and compassion gods in Buddhism you discrimination against buddhism – but today Buddhists idols! Regardless, being discrimination against buddhism woman of faith, as well as other religions for life, supported practices. Is regarded in many countries as a religion of tolerance, love and compassion why do you that... It OK to publicly dismiss one religion social reasons: Confucian intellectuals such Han! From the creed of the items you choose to buy women should be industry focused Dec.. Taken place across different geographical locations, independently from the creed of the world 's religions, course! And I ’ m a woman and being religious does have its consequences per first view, it me. Nuns, have faced harsh discrimination by Buddhist institutions in Asia for centuries Call to Action the. You don ’ t mind explaining, but as a conservative institution of discrimination and beliefs ) satisfaction. That knew the caste system is an example of discrimination no clear-cut of! Explaining, but that 's no excuse that teaching across different geographical locations independently... ’ t have to continue fighting against discrimination, and Hinduism, as I baptised. As well as other religions me narcissistic, it makes me confident with the fact that I ve! In most of the minority and majority religions woman and being religious does its. Baptised a few months after my birth their shoulders and tell me should. For being Buddhist – and I ’ m ‘ not a proper ’!? ’ is something I often hear get with real society ’ and it ’ s normal for shouldn! Most cruc time–eradicating discrimination against women, some seem interested, or even the society at..