..续本文上一页of money but perhaps poor in terms of the quality of life. Now take traditional Buddhist countries. Some are economically backward but parents are honored and respected by their children, their crime rates are relatively low, porce and suicide are almost unheard of, domestic violence and child abuse, pornography and sexual license are not common. Economically backward but perhaps a higher quality of life than in a country like America. But even if we judge Buddhist countries in terms of economics alone, one of the wealthiest and most economically dynamic countries in the world today is Japan where a large percentage of the population call themselves Buddhists.

　　Why is it that you don”t often hear of charitable work being done by Buddhists

　　Perhaps it is because Buddhists don”t feel the need to advertise about the good they do. Several years ago the Japanese Buddhist leader Nikkho Niwano received the Templeton Prize for his work in promoting inter-religious harmony. Likewise a Thai Buddhist monk was recently awarded the prestigious Magsaysay Prize for his excellent work among drug addicts. In 1987 another Thai monk, Ven. Kantayapiwat was awarded the Norwegian Children”s Peace Prize for his many years of work helping homeless children in rural areas. And what about the large scale social work being done among the poor in India by the Western Buddhist Order

　　 They have built schools, child minding centres, dispensaries and small scale industries for selfsufficiency. Buddhists see help given to others as an expression of their religious practice just as other religions do but they believe that it should be done quietly and without self-promotion. Thus you don”t hear so much about their charitable work.

　　Why are there so many different types of Buddhism

　　There are many different types of sugar: brown sugar, white sugar, granulated sugar, rock sugar, syrup and icing sugar but it is all sugar and it all tastes sweet. It is produced in different forms so that it can be used in different ways. Buddhism is the same. There is Theravada Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, Yogacara Buddhism and Vajrayana but they are all Buddhism and they all has the same taste - the state of freedom. Buddhism has evolved into different forms so that it can be relevant to the different cultures in which it exists. It has been reinterpreted over the centuries so that it can remain relevant to each new generation. Outwardly, the types of Buddhism may seem very different but at the center of all of them is the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. All major religions, Buddhism included, have split into schools and sects. But the different sects of Buddhism have never gone to war with each other, they have never been towards each other and to this day, they go to each other”s temples and worship together. Such tolerance and understanding are certainly rare

　　Buddhism started in India but it eventually died out there. Why

　　The Buddha”s teachings grew to become one of India”s major religions but gradually it went into decline and finally disappeared just as Christianity started in Palestine but eventually died out there. No one really knows why this happened. Perhaps a combination of political and social changes combined with wars and invasions made it difficult such a gentle and peaceful religion to survive. However long before it disappeared in India is spread from there to the furthermost corner of Asia.

　　You certainly think highly of Buddhism. I suppose you think your religion is right and all the others are wrong.

　　No Buddhist who understands the Buddha”s teaching thinks that other religions are wrong. No one who, has made a genuine effort to examine other religions with an open mind could think like that either. The first thing you not…

《What is Buddhism

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