What do I do with a statue of Buddha?

[matahari]

Received a small statue of Buddha from a friend. The object is definately artful and appears that it could fetch a nice sum should I decide to sell it. I couldnt find the heart to decline the gift…however, I simply do not want this object in my house since I do not respect the Buddhist religion. How should I dispose of the object? It probably would be unethical to sell the statue since it was a gift (and do not need the money.) I cannot bring myself to re-gift it to someone else since the recipient may feel that I am pushing Buddhism.

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Why not just dump it ?

 

[blaskoman]

Update:

Was getting a car wash about a week ago, asked if the guy doing the vacuuming wanted it (kept it safe in my trunk), he said yes…end of story…found it odd though that he took it. Most mexicans are catholic–why would he want it???

 

[JPUSC]

Update:

Was getting a car wash about a week ago, asked if the guy doing the vacuuming wanted it (kept it safe in my trunk), he said yes…end of story…found it odd though that he took it. Most mexicans are catholic–why would he want it???

I dunno, cause it was free? Everyone likes free stuff, haha.

What’s odd is, why you chose this particular person to bestow the gift upon if you had a feeling he was Catholic!!

 

[blaskoman]

ok good point jpusc (btw, did you ever attend USC?). In hindsight I hope the statue doesnt bring a curse upon his home then.

I’m just glad I got rid of it. Next time I will have a spine and decline any similar gifts.

 

[Contarini]

I hope the statue doesnt bring a curse upon his home then.

Neither you nor anyone else has made a convincing argument giving grounds for such a fear. The best shot so far is RosaryCrusader’s patently illogical equation of Buddha with ancient pagan gods and even with Satan (something Rosary Crusader was either unable or unwilling to defend in later posts, but has not yet been so honorable as to retract).

Given that everything we know of Buddha indicates that he was a wise, virtuous, perhaps even holy man, why would a statue of him bring a curse? And how is your irrational fear of such a statue any different from the Protestant’s irrational fear of a statue of the Blessed Virgin?

Don’t say “because the Virgin Mary is Christian, and Buddha isn’t.” That’s using a label to avoid actually thinking. The claim fundamentalist Protestants make is that the “Catholic Mary” is in all essentials a pagan goddess superimposed on the “real” Biblical Mary. They would argue that simply by “worshiping” her Catholics are ceasing to be “Christian.” While I disagree with them in the strongest possible terms, I think that their argument does highlight the fact that calling a religious act “Christian” doesn’t automatically justify it.

Edwin

 

[Siddhartha]

…Most mexicans are catholic–why would he want it???

Buddhism arrived in Latin America via trade and immigration from Southeast Asia. It gained in popularity in Mexico in the 1940s and '50s, spread by intellectuals, not least by the late poet Octavio Paz, who’d served as a diplomat in Japan and as Mexico’s Ambassador to India. The first Tibetan Lamas visited in the 1970s and the Dalai Lama has made a number of visits. Today there are 12,000 Buddhists in a dozen Mexican cities. Marco Antonio Karam is the founder of Casa Tibet or Tibet House, a small home on a side street in the Mexican capital.
…
For the first time, Mexicans are viewing miniscule glass spheres containing the cremated relics of 35 of Tibet’s most prominent Buddhist masters, some more than 2,500 years old. The relics come from Tibet, China, and India, a legacy of the spread of Tibetan Buddhism over the centuries. Relics in one crystal jar are said to be from the remains of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha himself, born in 624 BC in what is now Nepal. Beside it sits a bronze Buddha statue, surrounded by bouquets of lilies and baskets of fruit. Mexican Buddhist Angela Michelena Lopez says the relics are the physical manifestation of Buddhism’s essence, positive change.

…And the exhibit has become a magnet for Mexican Catholics. Some say they feel a kinship with Buddhists; they too venerate relics and iconic symbols. Many wait patiently, quietly, for up to five hours to enter a small room with muted light, shrouded in the sweet aroma of incense. Gabriella Perez Castillo is a 25-year-old biotech engineer.

CASTILLO: Although I am a Catholic, I mean a religious Catholic, I really feel the power of peace in these Buddhist symbols. And here in Mexico we need to feel the peace of Buddhism, because here we live every day with violence and killing.

 

[RosaryCrusader]

Most mexicans are catholic–why would he want it???

Target practice.

I would’ve taken it too.

 

[RosaryCrusader]

Neither you nor anyone else has made a convincing argument giving grounds for such a fear. The best shot so far is RosaryCrusader’s patently illogical equation of Buddha with ancient pagan gods and even with Satan (something Rosary Crusader was either unable or unwilling to defend in later posts, but has not yet been so honorable as to retract).

Edwin, the lives of the Saints (and the Bible) are chock full of episodes of the destruction of idols, statues, and other icons of false religions. That you choose to ignore them or explain them away doesn’t prove anything.

You seem to think that since, strictly speaking, a buddhist does not worship the statue but merely respects it to show veneration to the person whom it represents, similar to Catholic practice, that somehow that makes it alright. Maybe St. Benedict would’ve given pause before a statue of Buddha while destroying the sacred objects of the pagans? On the contrary, I’m sure he would’ve given one of his brother monks the wink; ‘have at it.’

You see, everyone is in such a friendly feel good huggy kissy mood these days that they go so far as to suggest that we all worship the same God - we just don’t know it. This seems to be the line you’re giving me.

Do you have the same objections over smashing a hindu idol (who do view them as idols) that you do for the Buddha?

Also, did you know that exorcists have gone so far as to warn the faithful to stay away from eastern mysticism since it can open the door to the diabolical? Why do you suppose that is?

It’s very unecumenical of them to say such things if they aren’t true.

 

[DD2007]

Received a small statue of Buddha from a friend. .

Either give it back or destroy it. It is an idol from a false religion.

 

[Contarini]

Edwin, the lives of the Saints (and the Bible) are chock full of episodes of the destruction of idols, statues, and other icons of false religions. That you choose to ignore them or explain them away doesn’t prove anything.

But that you persistently refuse to explain how Buddha can be put in the same category as ancient Indo-European deities does at least indicate something about your inability to defend your position. So does your refusal either to defend or retract your hideously inappropriate comparison of Buddha with Satan.

You seem to think that since, strictly speaking, a buddhist does not worship the statue but merely respects it to show veneration to the person whom it represents, similar to Catholic practice, that somehow that makes it alright.

I do not think that I am called to decide what is “alright” or not for Buddhists. That isn’t the point at issue. Furthermore, my argument is not simply that Buddhists do not strictly worship statues of Buddha (few people admit to worshiping a statue in the strict sense) but that Buddha’s moral character is very different from that of ancient pagan deities. That is in fact the argument I have stressed. Why do you ignore it?

Maybe St. Benedict would’ve given pause before a statue of Buddha while destroying the sacred objects of the pagans? On the contrary, I’m sure he would’ve given one of his brother monks the wink; ‘have at it.’

I have no way of knowing what St. Benedict would have done if he had had the opportunity and willingness to study and understand Buddhism. The supposition is so anachronistic that I don’t see how it can be helpful. The Portuguese in Sri Lanka certainly treated Buddhists as idolaters. But they clearly didn’t understand Buddhism very well, so I don’t take their actions as a model to follow (never mind that Christians of all sorts did a lot of particularly reprehensible things in the sixteenth century).

You see, everyone is in such a friendly feel good huggy kissy mood these days

We would have a more profitable conversation if you would make specifically theological arguments instead of vague denunciations of a “mood” you happen to dislike.

that they go so far as to suggest that we all worship the same God - we just don’t know it. This seems to be the line you’re giving me.

We would also have a more profitable conversation if you would be less wild in your speculations about my “line.” I am not sure that saying that Buddhists “worship the same God we do” is respectful to Buddhists. In some sense this may be true–God is ultimate Reality and so insofar as Buddhist devotion is directed toward something real and good it’s directed toward God. But we can’t ignore the huge differences between Buddhism and Christianity.

Do you have the same objections over smashing a hindu idol (who do view them as idols) that you do for the Buddha?

It’s unsafe to generalize about how Hindus view the images they use in worship. (The Hindu term is “murti,” I believe. Some Hindus are happy to use the word “idols,” largely I think in defiance of Christian polemic. Other Hindus, and scholars of Hinduism, prefer the word “icons.” Obviously both terms are loaded.) And similarly, I am unwilling to generalize about what a Christian’s attitude to such images should be. I can certainly conceive of situations in which smashing a Hindu image would be appropriate, depending on the image, the smasher, and the relationship between the two. (I can even conceive of situations in which smashing a statue of the Buddha would be appropriate, though I think they would be less frequent.)

Also, did you know that exorcists have gone so far as to warn the faithful to stay away from eastern mysticism since it can open the door to the diabolical? Why do you suppose that is?

Probably for the same mixed reasons that some Protestant exorcists and “experts” on the occult have warned people that Catholic devotion to the saints can open the door to the diabolical.

Edwin

 

[RosaryCrusader]

But that you persistently refuse to explain how Buddha can be put in the same category as ancient Indo-European deities does at least indicate something about your inability to defend your position. So does your refusal either to defend or retract your hideously inappropriate comparison of Buddha with Satan.

Here’s the quote of mine you’re referring to:

"The simple truth is if a relative sent you a statue of the devil you would probably have no issue with destroying it. "

This was in response to your oppinion that the gift should be retained simply because it was a gift despite the fact that it’s a non-Christian religous artifact. My point is that something should not be kept merely because it’s a gift which was blatantly obvious from my post. You’re completely twisting what I said.

Second, it’s obvious how Buddha can be put in the same basket as pagans, heathens etc. and that is because 1) It’s a non-Christian religion and 2) It’s a false religion. “Pagan” has a much more broad definition than merely the ancient Greek or Roman deities or other Indo-European deities.

The Catholic Encyclopedia defines it thus: Paganism, in the broadest sense includes all religions other than the true one revealed by God, and, in a narrower sense, all except Christianity, Judaism, and Mohammedanism. The term is also used as the equivalent of Polytheism.

I do not think that I am called to decide what is “alright” or not for Buddhists. That isn’t the point at issue. Furthermore, my argument is not simply that Buddhists do not strictly worship statues of Buddha (few people admit to worshiping a statue in the strict sense) but that Buddha’s moral character is very different from that of ancient pagan deities. That is in fact the argument I have stressed. Why do you ignore it?

See above comment. Buddha’s moral character is irrelevant. I know a very nice Wiccan - it doesn’t change the fact that she is practicing a false religion.

I can certainly conceive of situations in which smashing a Hindu image would be appropriate, depending on the image, the smasher, and the relationship between the two. (I can even conceive of situations in which smashing a statue of the Buddha would be appropriate, though I think they would be less frequent.)

AH! Finally!! The beastly man in you comes out although it’s much tamed and put on a very short leash. Nevertheless it will suffice.

The idol smashing Saints were filled with righteous anger just Our Lord was when He drove out the money changers. There’s nothing wrong with it… there’s a time and place for everything.

Probably for the same mixed reasons that some Protestant exorcists and “experts” on the occult have warned people that Catholic devotion to the saints can open the door to the diabolical.

Edwin

Ah! But one is a religion led by Truth itself and given power to know and exorcise demons by the Author of life itself. The other is a misled rebellion of man against the Divine and without authority so it matters not what they do.

 

[AnAtheist]

The idol smashing Saints were filled with righteous anger just Our Lord was when He drove out the money changers. There’s nothing wrong with it… there’s a time and place for everything.

And what about the iconoclasts? Nothing wrong with them?