Quote:
Originally posted by Lifetime:
To paraphrase what someone else said, "having a garage doesnt make you a Porche owner anymore than going to church makes you a Christian"
A Christian is not what he/she is because he goes to church every sunday and prays regularly. There are many churchgoers that call themselves Christians but have really no claim to the name because they haven't recieved the Lord Jesus Christ into their lives, and prefer to live lives where they are'nt "controlled" by morals or values, or rather live by their own set of morals and values, which might not be in accordance to what the church preaches.
A person like that converting to Buddhism? Unsurprising, considering they are nothing but Christians in name and name only.
And Yorick, to back up that thing about Christians being persecuted in their own homes in traditional Singapore homes, I have many friends encountering that same prejudice. I have a friend who has had to struggle with her parents every weekend to let her go to church, because her parents were Chinese-educated Buddhists. Is this an example of Buddhists in general? Who stifle their children that they cannot experience other religions as they wish? It would almost seem like Buddhism preaches an even more oppressive way of life than Christianity does. Does any child deserve to be mistreated by his/her parents because of religious belief? To be scolded, shouted at, kicked out of the home, just because he refuses to kneel and bow before an altar? What a crock..
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this parental behavior sounds like more of a cultural trait than a religious one. No where in buddist doctrine is there any sort of rule, commandment, by-law, obligation or punishment for not being a buddist.
Like christians, buddists may feel an individual that leaves their particular path may not have felt the impact or expirience that comes with long term practice of achieving enlightenment. Unlike christianity, their is no inherent punishment by rule or rede in buddism that forbids the practice of other religions or spiritual paths. Unfortunatly, buddism, like any belief system, is subject to human ego. These people can twist beliefs, subjecting their beliefs upon others in a game of power and control. Ironicly these are the types of tendencies that buddists attempts to abolish through meditation.