The furor over recent comments by Brit Hume suggesting that Tiger Woods convert from Buddhism to Christianity is intriguing, don't you think? Having recently seen my son Ethan represent the Buddhist community on CNN [see video below], it occurred to me that many folks here in the West may not really know much about the Buddhist tradition and what it has to say about redemption, salvation, or anything else for that matter.
What an incredible opportunity for American Buddhists to step forward and share their tradition, experience and point of view. I think it's safe to say that the general population has much greater awareness of Christianity than they do of Buddhism. I certainly didn't notice anybody asking the presidential candidates if they took every word of the Prajnaparamita sutra to be the literal truth, word for word, as the basis for evaluating how they would govern! More>>
Tom Plate (Korea Times OPINION)
Buddhism is one of the historic religions of Asia, and today its influence remains strong throughout the world. One has only to scratch the surface of this philosophical religion that originated in India in the 5th or 6th century B.C. to know that it has much to say about suffering. Suffering emerged as a primary focus of the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama because Buddhists understand suffering to be a constant of existence. And don't we all know how true this is! In effect, Buddhism tells us that there is no easy escape from this [harsh delusion] of existence, other than coping with present reality through Buddha's consistent (sometimes severe) teachings.
With this as a necessary preface, let us now examine the strange case of an American news-television personality who made a splash the other day by advising Tiger Woods, with all his troubles, to forswear Buddhism and turn to Christianity.
Yes, Tiger received that unsolicited advice from one of the mainstays on the Fox News cable network. The golfer Woods, by his own testimony, inherited the gift of Buddhism from his mother, a Buddhist born in Thailand. He has said it has been invaluable as a corrective for his faults. More>>
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