Buddhism and Enlightened Belief

One quick afterthought (okay, two) on the previous post's commentary by John Steinberg, in which he says that one of the most basic questions for any religion is "What do you do when belief and data collide?"

To my knowledge, only one of the world's major religions has taken an unequivocal position on that thorny issue: Buddhism. As the Dalai Lama himself has repeatedly said, "If the words of the Buddha and the discoveries of modern science conflict, the former have to go."

Surprised? You're not alone. The country of China and its Western allies have made an enormous public relations effort over the past 50 years to portray Buddhism as a "backward" and "superstitious" belief system because many of its precepts and rituals are unfamiliar to a Judeo-Christian mindset. This smear campaign arose after the Chinese government failed to destroy the practice of Tibetan Buddhism through genocide, violence, and punitive restrictions such as imprisonment for possessing even the smallest religious image or symbol. (The United States, meanwhile, despite its facile "spreading freedom" mantra, looked the other way as Buddhist monks were tortured and killed and their centuries-old libraries and monasteries burned to the ground.) To learn more about the ongoing nonviolent struggle for Tibetan autonomy, you can start here.

How ironic, that a "backward" belief system is light years ahead of others in reconciling spirituality with our actual life on this earth. The Dalai Lama has also memorably observed, "Religion is a luxury. Compassion is not." But that's a story for another day.

Speaking of irony, I was talking recently with the editor of a "Christian" publication and I mentioned to him my deep respect for the principles and practices of Buddhism. As we parted, he wished me luck in "converting" all my Buddhist friends to (his particular version of) Christianity.

Yeah, right.