The Dalai Lama; One of the most evil men on Earth?

[tomarin]

i think thats centuries of church abuse finally exploding in one violent revolution. its the load that broke the camel’s back. enough is enough said the people. karma?

that might be “progress” to you, but its certainly not tolerant by anyone’s definition. what did the spanish martyrs do to deserve death except believe in god?

 

[AgnosTheist]

that might be “progress” to you, but its certainly not tolerant by anyone’s definition. what did the spanish martyrs do to deserve death except believe in god?

i dont really call violent revolutions as progress. it happens all the time throughout history. its called “payback”. and unfortunately many innocents are victimized in the process. the french and spanish catholics were fed up with the clergy abuse.

 

[tomarin]

i dont really call violent revolutions as progress. it happens all the time throughout history. its called “payback”. and unfortunately many innocents are victimized in the process. the french and spanish catholics were fed up with the clergy abuse.

i don’t consider it payback, obviously, but rather an expression of anticlericalism, which is common in southern european countries (and your country of origin too). my point is that the movements that attempt to banish god from society in order to “perfect” it are actually really scary and ruthless – partly because their leaders reject traditional morality on principle. this is why i object to your statement “the less religion, the more progressive and tolerant society becomes” – i think you’ve got it exactly backwards.

people will always look for god in their lives and those regimes which have sought to eliminate religion by force (thus bringing about your vision of “less religion”) are neither truly progressive or tolerant.

 

[Pope_Noah_I]

so how does that relate to the noahide laws?

i really heard some jews saying that the noahide laws does not restrict someone from not believing in god.

No, no, no. That was not my intention at all. I do admire the Dalai Lama very much when it comes to his contributions to non-violence, but, the things that he says about organized religion bother me. So, if he tells people to ignore religion, is he evil?

 

[AgnosTheist]

my point is that the movements that attempt to banish god from society in order to “perfect” it are actually really scary and ruthless – partly because their leaders reject traditional morality on principle. this is why i object to your statement “the less religion, the more progressive and tolerant society becomes” – i think you’ve got it exactly backwards.

no matter how good the intentions are, once war breaks out you get atrocities. thats what happened in the crusades. can you blame pope urban for the massacre of entire cities? not me. i’d rather judge a society on what it does in times of peace.

 

[AgnosTheist]

So, if he tells people to ignore religion, is he evil?

Not necessarily. A man is evil if he commits atrocities, or of his words cause his followers to commit evil. If the Lama guy did either of those two please let us know.

 

[magisterfaust]

I’m going to see the Dalai Lama speak in July. I’m frustrated. I want to admire him, so much. He’s a monk, he’s a social revolutionary and a prominent proponent of non-violence. There’s one problem though, he’s a Buddhist. Buddhism makes me angry, mainly because it is the only major religion that denies God. I would have so much more respect for him if he said, “Buddhism is the only way. You cannot lead a productive life or reach Nirvana unless you are a Buddhist.” He could at least side with the other religions, but instead he tells people to avoid organized religion, and insists that religion is subordinate to science. He says religion and faith are unneccesary, and don’t even get me started on his ethics. I want to love the man, but he’s basically the Pope of liberals. He represents “spirituality” with our religious obligation. “Faith? Don’t need it! Buddha? Unneccesary! Religion? Fugedabout’it! Just be nice to other people, and be happy!” Which leads me to ask the question, other atheists showed themselves as the monsters they truly were. What about this atheist? He champions secular ethics while denying God! So, does that make him even more evil than Stalin or Mao? Is he truly one of the most evil men alive?

How can you compare the Dalai Lama with two genocidal despots responsible for the deahs of millions. I am not very often speechless, but you are just priceless.

Maybe you should dust off your dictionary and look up the word “evil”:tsktsk:

 

[HashemEchad]

Although a religious Jew, I recognize that religion has been a major cause of much of the wars and bloodshed in the world.

Even Hitler (yemach shemo) had inscribed on the belt buckles of nazi soldiers, “Gott mit uns” (God is with us).

But atheists have also done their fair share, what with the former USSR and the Jews, Christians and others they brutalized; North Korea and the peoples they brutalized; Red China and the Tibetans they are brutalizing, and the Khmer Rouge, and the Cambodians they brutalized.

As a person who has become physically, spiritually and emotionally exhausted by all the suffering in the world via genocides, crime sprees, and the like, I feel that ANYONE who speaks out in favor of peace and nonviolence is doing a good deed, a mitzvah.

The Dalai Lama is a good man. I would put a picture of him in my home next to the Satmar Rebbe, but unfortunately I cannot because Tibetans see him as a deity in their faith, and for me, that would be tantamount to idolatry.

But he is a good man nonetheless!

 

[Pope_Noah_I]

magisterfaust:
How can you compare the Dalai Lama with two genocidal despots responsible for the deahs of millions. I am not very often speechless, but you are just priceless.

Maybe you should dust off your dictionary and look up the word “evil”:tsktsk:

God. The creator of all that is, the greatest good imaginable. He is Light, Truth, Light. He is love, He is the Supreme Good. Yet the Dalai Lama denies him. The Dalai Lama says that God is of no use, that He is not neccesary. How is that not evil?

 

[magisterfaust]

Get a dictionary. Look up “EVIL”.

 

[notself]

No, no, no. That was not my intention at all. I do admire the Dalai Lama very much when it comes to his contributions to non-violence, but, the things that he says about organized religion bother me. So, if he tells people to ignore religion, is he evil?

If you could provide a link to the post, perhaps I can check it out to see if it is an accurate quote. Context may be everything here. You have to remember he is a member of an organized religion. Granted Buddhist are not as organized as the Catholic Church. They are more like Protestant denominiations without the Reformation.

It is a Buddhist belief that every teaching must be tested for oneself. It isn’t enough to believe, one must practice until one knows, until one realizes the truth of the teaching down to the very tips of the toes. Perhaps this is what he was trying to say in the quote. I can’t tell.

The quote about Buddhism not having a Creator God is completel accurate.

 

[Pope_Noah_I]

If you could provide a link to the post, perhaps I can check it out to see if it is an accurate quote. Context may be everything here. You have to remember he is a member of an organized religion. Granted Buddhist are not as organized as the Catholic Church. They are more like Protestant denominiations without the Reformation.

It is a Buddhist belief that every teaching must be tested for oneself. It isn’t enough to believe, one must practice until one knows, until one realizes the truth of the teaching down to the very tips of the toes. Perhaps this is what he was trying to say in the quote. I can’t tell.

The quote about Buddhism not having a Creator God is completel accurate.

en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dalai_Lama

 

[inthecloud]

So anyone that has different views on religios evil in your book?
He is Buddhist, he just believes what his religion teaches.
You start to sound like a fundie.

 

[Pope_Noah_I]

So anyone that has different views on religios evil in your book?
He is Buddhist, he just believes what his religion teaches.
You start to sound like a fundie.

Well, if they start cultivating those ideas outside of their faith, than, yes. They are working against the true good of humanity.

 

[notself]

en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dalai_Lama

None of the quotes in you previous post appear in the link you provided. Have you actually read the link? Here are the quotes you originally posted followed by some of the quotes in the link above. They do not seem to match.

From your post.

“If you have a particular faith or religion, that is good. But you can survive without it.”

“The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual’s own reason and critical analysis.”

"There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness. "

"We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection. "

"We do not need to become religious, nor do we need to believe in an ideology. All that is necessary is for each of us to develop our good human qualities. "

"… if scientific analysis were conclusively to demonstrate certain claims in Buddhism to be false, then we must accept the findings of science and abandon those claims. "

“I am convinced that everyone can develop a good heart and a sense of universal responsibility with or without religion.”

From the link you provided:

I don’t want to convert people to Buddhism — all major religions, when understood properly, have the same potential for good.
Daily Telegraph 2006

As a result of more contact with people from other traditions, as time passes I have firmed my conviction that all religions can work together despite fundamental differences in philosophy. Every religion aims at serving humanity. Therefore, it is possible for the various religions to work together to serve humanity and contribute to world peace. So, during these last few years, at every opportunity I try to develop closer relations with other religions.
“The Nobel Evening Address” p. 115

As Buddhists, while we practice our own teaching, we must respect other faiths, Christianity, Judaism and so forth. We must recognize and appreciate their contributions over many past centuries to human society, and at this time we must strive to make common effort to serve humankind.
“A Talk to Western Buddhists” p. 87

Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t appreciate kindness and compassion.
“Kindness and Compassion” p. 47

The problems we face today, violent conflicts, destruction of nature, poverty, hunger, and so on, are human-created problems which can be resolved through human effort, understanding and the development of a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood. We need to cultivate a universal responsibility for one another and the planet we share. Although I have found my own Buddhist religion helpful in generating love and compassion, even for those we consider our enemies, I am convinced that everyone can develop a good heart and a sense of universal responsibility with or without religion.
Nobel Acceptance Speech 1989

You will notice that these quotes do not have the same tone as the out of context quotes that you posted. In the very last quote he merely states that both the religious and non religious can develop a good heart and a sense of responsibility. To me this is common sense. I know believers who are irresponsible and I know atheists who are very responsible. I believe you do as well.

Perhaps this clarifies things for you.

Thank you for the link.

 

[Hastrman]

You will notice that these quotes do not have the same tone as the out of context quotes that you posted. In the very last quote he merely states that both the religious and non religious can develop a good heart and a sense of responsibility.

Dalai Lama’s much too nice–comes of being Avalokitesvara’s avatar (bodhisattva of mercy). The Mahayana sect (Zen, especially) would have said, “one can develop a good heart and a sense of responsibility without a religion…but since those are merely the sign of being in a higher level of the wheel of transmigration, so what? You gotta be a Buddhist if you want Enlightenment and salvation from suffering.”

Or in other words, one is not saved by the works of the Law.

Buddhism’s got a very Pauline, almost Evangelical, view of how salvation is achieved; it differs from Christianity mainly in what salvation is.

 

[paarsurrey]

The quote about Buddhism not having a **Creator God **is completel accurate.

Hi

Kidnly elaborate for me as to what you mean by a Creator God here.

Thanks

 

[paarsurrey]

The Dalai Lama says that God is of no use, that He is not neccesary. How is that not evil?

Hi

If that is said by Dalai Lama; then he is not a follower of Gautama Siddhartha Buddha and he has differences with him. Buddha was a bliever in GodAllahYHWH and a truthful ProphetMessenger of Him.

Thanks

 

[grandfather]

Hi

If that is said by Dalai Lama; then he is not a follower of Gautama Siddhartha Buddha and he has differences with him. Buddha was a bliever in GodAllahYHWH and a truthful ProphetMessenger of Him.

Thanks

How would it be possible for Gautama to be a believer of Allah or Yahweh? God revealed Himseld as Yahweh, I am that I am, to the Jews. He revealed Himself as Allah, according to Muslims, to Mohamed. How would Guatama know this? Did he use the name of God as such? A rose by any other name…, but did Guatama speak of the same rose as the Jews or Muslims or Christians have in mind when they think about God? Did he speak of a single transcendent being who made all things from nothing and exists of Himself. Did Guatama call himself a prophet of this being, or servant, all things being under Him?
Did he speak or write of a being who exists of Himself, or Itself, the first cause, or uncaused cause? Did he speak of an infiinite being, the only infinite being? Did he worship this being? When Jesus comes along after the revelation to Moses of Yahweh He says some strange things that may or may not apply to Buddhist thought and Guatama. He says He is the way, the truth and the life. He calls Himself the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep. He says all who came before Him were thieves and robbers. They come to destroy, though they come in sheep’s clothing.

 

[paarsurrey]

Hi friend grandfather!

Yes, Buddha was a believer in GodAllahYHWH. Kindly read the article by accessing:

alislam.org/library/books/revelation/part_2_section_2.html

Thanks