Response to Pope John Paul II

A Buddhist's Response to John Paul II's "Crossing the Threashold of Hope" By Graeme Lyall AM

The Pope, who managed to get the United Nations "International Year for Tolerance" off to a good start with the launch of his book, 'Crossing the Threshold of Hope' - Johnathan Cape, London, has demonstrated his abysmal ignorance and lack of understanding of Buddhism. Although he, with reservations, expresses guarded approval of Judaism, Hinduism and Islam, he considers Buddhism beyond the pale. He trots out the usual cliches about Buddhism being "negative" and pessimistic. What really worries him is the appeal Buddhism has to the 'Western' mind, especially to Catholics who see in Buddhist meditation techniques something that has been lost from the contemplative tradition of early Christianity. He provides no logical arguments against Buddhism but resorts to dogma to prove his point.
He is not happy with the impact that His Holiness, the Dalai Lama is having on the "Christian West", obviously feeling that it is solely a Christian right to convert others. The Christians have been trying to impose Christianity on "Buddhist" countries for centuries with little impact. Buddhists do not set out to convert Christians, but, if certain aspects of Buddhism appeal to Christians, such as its emphasis on non-violence and allowing investigation by its followers of its teachings, this is more a criticism of the Christian attitude than of Buddhism. Buddhism does not condemn those who follow other traditions. The Buddha never suggested that all people must follow his teaching but he invited them with the words "Ehi passiko" - come and see, to investigate and understand the nature of life. When referring to the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand, he places the word 'patriarch' in parenthesis, which infers that Buddhists are not entitled to use such a title. The words 'patriarch' and 'pope' come from the same root 'pater', meaning 'father', so he infers that others who use this title are usurping his position. How does he feel about the Patriach of Constantinople or the Patriarch of Russia who are both within the Christian tradition? Would he put their titles in parenthesis too or is his belittling attitude reserved for non-Christian traditions? He expresses distaste for the fact that the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand was surrounded by monks, several of whom were from the United States. At times, he is surrounded by Cardinals, several of whom, such as Cardinal Simon Pimenta from India, Cardinal Michael Meechai Kitboonchu from Thailand and Cardinal Sin from the Phillipines, come from Asian countries. It would be hoped that his Cardinal from the Phillipines does not perform any miracles for this would necessitate the Pope beatifying Sin - how unthinkable?
He claims that "the 'enlightenment' experienced by the Buddha comes down to the conviction that the world is bad, that it is the source of evil and suffering for man". The Buddha never claimed that the world is bad and a source of evil and suffering. The emphasis in the Buddha's teaching is on the mind not the world. The world is neutral - it is only the mind of man which creates difficulties in the world. The source of suffering, taught the Buddha, is due to greed, anger and a deluded mind. These are not properties of the world but of man, himself. It could be suggested that another source of suffering for many, especially in the poorer countries, is the Pope, himself. He opposes population control and liberation theologians who promote better living conditions for the poor. Overpopulation is a source of misery but he denounces the very idea of contraception. Very little is said in the Buddhist scriptures about enlightenment other than it being the overcoming of greed, anger and a deluded mind. It entails the perfection of Karuna - compassion - and Maitri - boundless altruistic love - qualities which certainly do not demonstrate 'indifference' to the world. Like so many of us who are bound by greed, anger and a deluded mind, the Pope, who demonstrates such ignorance of the basic teachings of Buddhism is hardly one who should be entrusted with "infallible" pronouncements.
His main objection to Buddhism seems to be that 'it is in large measure an "atheistic" system'. The Oxford Dictionary defines 'atheism' as 'Disbelief in the existence of a God'. The Buddha is described as the 'teacher of gods and men', so how can Buddhism be an atheistic system? Religious arguments often come down to the use of religious language. We must ascertain to what we are referring when we use the term "God". He uses the terms 'personal god' and 'living god' and 'god the creator'. What does he mean by 'personal god'. Many Buddhists believe that devas or 'gods' protect them. Would this be the same as 'personal gods', if so, we have no argument with him on that score. What is a 'living god'? Anything that is living is subject to death and decay, so why should we place ourselves in the hands of something which, like ourselves, is impermanent? If he is referring to the old man with a white beard who sits in the sky taking notes in his little black book ready for the day of judgement, then he is out of step with modern theological thinking and most other theologians.
Fortunately, Christianity has come a long way since this simplistic way of thinking. Modern theologians, such as Paul Tillich, suggest that the term 'God' refers to the 'ground of being' - the very fact of existence. No Buddhist would argue with this but they may be reluctant to use the term 'god' to describe it. In the Itivuttaka, one of the books of the Buddhist canon, it says: "Monks, there is an unborn, a not-become, a not-made, a not-compounded. Monks, if that unborn, not-become, not-made, not-compounded were not, there would be apparent no escape from this that here is born, become, made, compounded. But monks, since there is an unborn, not-become, not-made, not-compounded, therefore the escape from this that here is born, become, made and compounded is apparent." In Indonesia, where it is illegal not to believe in God, this definition from the Itivuttaka is accepted by the government as the definition of God. Buddhists would call it 'Nirvana' - the ultimate reality - whilst others may call it 'God'. It is not the words that we use which are important but what those words refer to. When referring the ultimate reality or truth, worldly words become inadequate. That is why the Buddha did not elaborate on the meaning of Nirvana, but it is certainly not "indifference to the world". Buddhism accepts that 'karma' is our creator. Again, if we prefer to use the term 'god' instead of 'karma' then Buddhists cannot be accused of not believing in a creator. The Pope seems to be promoting a literal approach to the Christian teaching, something that most Christians condemn as being the province of the fundamentalists. If this is so, then I accept the comment made to me recently by a Jesuit when he said that this present Pope is setting the church back by three hundred years.
Mysticism, according to W.L.Reese in his "Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion", 'can be understood as a spiritual and non-discursive approach with whatever is taken to be the central reality of the universe. When this is thought to be a transcendent God, one typical path is inward, away from the world, towards union with the transcendent One. ... Finally, there is the use of meditative techniques, mystical in tone, to achieve an enlightened state of being, apart from any concept of the divine. Each of these approaches has been developed in both East and West. The early Christian movement of monasticism stressed meditative and ascetic practices with personal purification as the goal'. The Pope cites several Christian mystics and decries the comparison, sometimes, made between their mystical experiences and those of Eastern asceticism. One of these, Meister Eckhart, a Dominican was summoned before the Inquisition in 1327 and forced to recant some of his writings. Meister Eckhart wrote that God is pure being, the final ultimate reality and "All things are a mere nothing" (Buddhists would say "All things are void of substance - sunyata), also "One must annihilate self interest, and empty oneself out; when one comes to be a desert, empty of things, he will be full of God". He mentions "the mysticism of marvellous men of action like Vincent de Paul, John Bosco and Maximillian Kolbe". Marvellous men they may have been but mystics they certainly were not.
Finally, the Vicar of Rome warns Catholics who may be attracted to Buddhism - "First one should know one's own spiritual heritage well and consider whether it is right to set it aside lightly". Well may these wise words be heeded by Buddhists who, knowing little of what Buddhism has to offer, find Christianity attractive.
By Graeme Lyall.
 
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