Thread: Irreverent use of Buddhist symbols

Irreverent use of Buddhist symbols
By Madhushala Senaratne and Gamini Mahadura

Sunday March 2, 2008

The Sri Lankan mission in Brasilia is still awaiting information from its Consul General in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil over images of the Lord Buddha being used in an irreverent manner at the Rio Carnival. The Sunday Times learns a float of Lord Buddha was carried as part of the parade at the recently concluded Rio Carnival in Rio de Janeiro.


The head of Lord Buddha depicted on hotel vehicles

A statue of a gold-painted Lord Buddha in meditation position, surrounded with lanterns, also painted in gold, artificial flowers and a pot was paraded along the streets of Rio as part of one of the biggest carnivals in the world. Attended by over 500,000 foreigners every year, the Rio carnival is a wild 4-day celebration held 40 days before Easter at the beginning of the Lentan period as an act of farewell to the pleasures of the flesh. Considered a major artistic event in the world, it includes events and aspects of Brazilian culture such as a Samba parade. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that the issue had been referred to the Sri Lankan Mission based in Brasilia and they were waiting a response.

When contacted by The Sunday Times, a senior official of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Brazil said the Consul General in Rio had been ordered to inquire into the matter. He added that the issue would also be taken up with the Heads of Missions of Buddhist countries such as Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and Japan. Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan Embassy in Germany had met and briefed authorities in Hamburg where a hotel named “Buddha’s Kitchen” was found to be in operation. The tourist hotel which also maintains a website buddhas-kitchen.de is situated near the train station in Hamburg, a suburb of Germany and depicts the head of Lord Buddha on its vehicles and in the interior of the hotel. This portrayal of Lord Buddha which often serves as the means of identifying the religious leader is deemed unethical by religious groups.

The matter came to light when several Sri Lankan Professors from Moratuwa University who were participating in a workshop on recycling came across this hotel and brought it to the attention of the authorities.

sundaytimes.lk


wot , no riots , cars burning in the streets , calls for the death of some body ?

Originally Posted by Mid

wot , no riots , cars burning in the streets , calls for the death of some body ?

Of course not. All the Buddhists want is to make sure they get appropriate royalty payments for usage of the image!

Originally Posted by Mid

wot , no riots , cars burning in the streets , calls for the death of some body ?

Just goes to prove that Buddhism's not a real religion!

Originally Posted by Norton

Originally Posted by Mid

wot , no riots , cars burning in the streets , calls for the death of some body ?

Of course not. All the Buddhists want is to make sure they get appropriate royalty payments for usage of the image!

sorry , no green for you ..... gotta spread the love , take an iou ?

Originally Posted by DrB0b

Originally Posted by Mid

wot , no riots , cars burning in the streets , calls for the death of some body ?

Just goes to prove that Buddhism's not a real religion!

mate ya gotta cut the bait into smaller pieces ............

Originally Posted by Mid

Just goes to prove that Buddhism's not a real religion!

Not a religion and I don't think used to be claimed to be.

It is a way of life, so no GOD, as Buda himself stated, "I am a man, I was born and I will die, I am not a GOD." so fuk em.

Originally Posted by DrB0b

Just goes to prove that Buddhism's not a real religion!

Sarcastic wit guys. Note the bold type.

^ ^

point of order please ,

those where DrBob's words NOT mine

Originally Posted by Mid

mate ya gotta cut the bait into smaller pieces ............

Originally Posted by blackgang

Not a religion and I don't think used to be claimed to be.

Sorry. Just thought you and BG really thought the doc was being serious. Whereas my take was he was takin the piss out by inferring a real religion would be rioting in the streets.

I understand that, but I can't see what he posts anyway, but it is not what most would call a religion as such because you only have instruction to follow, and not an imaginary GOD thing to pray to and worship, if you once listen to an Abbot that believes in what Buda taught and the ways of Buda instead of blessing cars and selling amulets and doing voodoo, hocus pokus shit to con folks outta money..

What religion besides Islam has members that would react to a precieved insult with violence. I cant think of any.

Originally Posted by Mid

wot , no riots , cars burning in the streets , calls for the death of some body ?

Not even a complaint about this one (in Siam Square).

^This one caused plenty of complaints in NZ

The opened top section clearly shows the nefarious outline of (a gay) Fozzy Bear:



or The Great Root Bear



It's evil, it's sick, and it has to stop!

Originally Posted by kwai73

Then again, they have rules. How does that work? To have rules, doesn't one have to be attached to the idea of speaking and acting 'the right way' ?

No.
One can protest the misuse of Buddha images without attachment, and follow rules the same way. In fact following the rules challenges attachments.

Originally Posted by tom

What religion besides Islam has members that would react to a precieved insult with violence. I cant think of any.

Really? How about starting with Catholicism or Protestantism? Persecution of the Huguenots? The Inquisition? The reigns of Henry VIII or Mary or Elizabeth I in England - shall I go on? There's lots more...


Edit - Oh, bugger! I hate replying to old bumped threads.

Originally Posted by spiff

One can protest the misuse of Buddha images without attachment,

But only if you're not that arsed about (attached to) getting a certain result I'd have thought?

Originally Posted by November Rain

Really? How about starting with Catholicism or Protestantism? Persecution of the Huguenots? The Inquisition? The reigns of Henry VIII or Mary or Elizabeth I in England - shall I go on? There's lots more...

Apparently the hindus like a bit of a tear-up too.

Not that I can actually be arsed finding any links to support that assertion you understand!

Originally Posted by kwai73

Originally Posted by spiff

One can protest the misuse of Buddha images without attachment,

But only if you're not that arsed about (attached to) getting a certain result I'd have thought?

You may be confusing commitment and attachment.
Non-attachment does not equal indifference, a common misunderstanding of Buddhism.

Originally Posted by kwai73

Apparently the hindus like a bit of a tear-up too.

Yes, I was thinking of India myself, though there is a lot more to it than religion or religious symbols.

Originally Posted by spiff

Non-attachment does not equal indifference, a common misunderstanding of Buddhism.

D'oh. Back to the books!

I guess that means that Buddhists, whilst aiming for a certain outcome, don't get bent out of shape if they don't achieve it? A case of knowing when to give up striving for an outcome (when the negative this striving leads to outweighs the positive?).

^
Something along those lines is my understanding, too.

Cool. I've got a shitload of books about Buddhism.

Who knows, I may even get around to reading them one day!

Have flirted with the idea of becoming at least semi-buddhist for years, as I'm a bad tempered , miserable bastard. Can't get my head around ideas like reincarnation though.

Originally Posted by kwai73

Can't get my head around ideas like reincarnation though.

Not a big believer myself but simply stated, reincarnation is another chance to get it perfect (enlightenment) the next time around.

Originally Posted by Norton

reincarnation is another chance to get it perfect (enlightenment) the next time around.

I'd so like to be able to believe stuff like that.

People with some kind of faith are sposed to be happier, aren't they? But that pesky logic just keeps getting in the way!

^^
Not so much a "chance", but, in a nutshell, your attachment and the karma created as a consequence result in being attracted to another reincarnation, until desire ceases.

What makes it different from forum reincarnations is that it won't be "you" as the person you identify with which reincarnates, but it is quite similar in that the karma is still operational.