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Buddha was an animal and human rights activist long before the popularity of PETA , Amnesty International, vegan and vegetarian activism.

Buddha was an animal and human rights activist long before PETA and Amnesty International.

During the time of Buddha, circa 500 BC, the Vedic religion of the Brahmin priesthood in India had become degenerate and suppressive and engaged in frequent animal sacrifices.

The Buddha is reputed to have denounced the Vedic religion at the time. He especially denounced the religious animal sacrifices so common during those days.

“Immense sacrificial ceremonies, such as the sacrifice of the horse (ashvameda), through which the Brahmans imposed their power, ruined the states financially,” writes Alain Danileou in his book While the Gods Play.
Danileou continues: “Gautama was at first attracted by the antisocial mysticism of the Shaivas (Tantra). For a time, he was also a disciple of Gosala and very close to Mahavira, who was three years younger. For several years he practiced with them the austere and free life of a wandering monk.”

The Buddha was not alone in denouncing these Vedic practices. His friend Mahavira, the now well known founder of the Jain religion in India, also became an ardent follower of ahimsa, or nonviolence.

Although it is commonly accepted that the Buddha spoke out against the ritualistic portions of the Vedas (karmakanda), it is doubtful that he rejected the Vedas outright.

“[Both Buddha and Mahavira] were in open revolt against the karmakanda [prehistoric ritualistic portions] of the Vedas, but they were not so opposed to the the jinanakanda [more recent philosophical portions, including certain Upanishads and Vedanta], because these were quite popular with spiritual aspirants.”

“Both Buddha and Mahavira vehemently opposed the ritualistic sacrifices, especially of animals, and both of them protested against the hostile attitude of the so-called dharma towards morality.” Quoted from Namami Shiva Shantaya by Shrii Shrii Anandamurti

In other words, Buddha was an animal and human rights activist long before the popularity of PETA , Amnesty International, vegan and vegetarian activism. About 2500 years before PETA, in fact.

Fellow yogis, maybe we should all learn something from Buddha. Maybe we also should protest against those aspects of the Vedas that are not so kind against women, animals, and the lower castes, the untouchable dalits (population 160 million), for example.

Violence against Dalits is commonplace. Hillary Mayell, (2003) sampled some mainstream Indian newspapers and found headlines such as: “Dalit boy beaten to death for plucking flowers”; “Dalit tortured by cops for three days”; “Dalit ‘witch’ paraded naked in Bihar”; “Dalit killed in lock-up at Kurnool”; “7 Dalits burnt alive in caste clash”; “5 Dalits lynched in Haryana”; “Dalit woman gang-raped, paraded naked”; “Police egged on mob to lynch Dalits” (as cited in Hillary Mayen, 2003).

Moreover, the UN and Amnesty International calls the caste system “human rights abuse.”

Next time you hear someone like Deepak Chopra or Georg Feuerstein or David Frawley make blanket statements,

claiming that “yoga came from the Vedas”, you tell them that yoga at least has nothing to do with that portion of the Vedas supporting animal sacrifices and the despicable caste system. At least.

Tell them Buddha told you.

Maybe this is one way we can give something back to India, the country that gave us yoga, these wonderful body-mind-spirit exercises we practice?

What do you think?

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A man who identified himself as a military police official but refused to give his name, said his forces had no choice but to fire on the villagers who were violently defying an order to vacate their land.

A 14-year-old girl was shot dead this morning by heavily armed officials who opened fire on a group of about 1,000 families they were sent to evict in Kratie province, military police have confirmed.

A man who identified himself as a military police official but refused to give his name, said his forces had no choice but to fire on the villagers who were violently defying an order to vacate their land.

Heng Chantha, 14, was killed while two other villagers were injured and four arrested during the incident that took place in Krama village, Kampong Damrei commune. Read more…

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A man who identified himself as a military police official but refused to give his name, said his forces had no choice but to fire on the villagers who were violently defying an order to vacate their land.

A 14-year-old girl was shot dead this morning by heavily armed officials who opened fire on a group of about 1,000 families they were sent to evict in Kratie province, military police have confirmed.

A man who identified himself as a military police official but refused to give his name, said his forces had no choice but to fire on the villagers who were violently defying an order to vacate their land.

Heng Chantha, 14, was killed while two other villagers were injured and four arrested during the incident that took place in Krama village, Kampong Damrei commune. 

About 200 heavily armed military police officials assisted by a helicopter stormed the village in the eviction operation before an unknown number of them opened fire. 

Military police have blocked off the area and are allowing no one in. 

The villagers were being evicted from the area to make way for agro-business company Casotim, military police and rights groups said. 

The fatal shooting follows the slaying of Chut Wutty last month and several other incidents this year already in which guns have been used against defiant villagers or protesters.

Courtesy The Phnom Penh Post   Wednesday May 16, 2012

Related material http://www.templenews.org/2012/05/08/land-disputes-on-the-rise-in-cambodia

Continue reading »]]> According to an ancient story, Buddha was known as a man who could not be provoked to anger or hostility. A man traveled hundreds of miles to test Buddha’s reputation. When he found Buddha, he immediately began to criticize everything he could; he insulted him, he challenged him, he did everything he could to offend Buddha. Buddha was unperturbed.
He said, “May I ask you a question?”

“Of course,” the man responded.

Buddha said, “If someone offers you a gift and you decline to accept it, to whom then does it belong?”

The man said, “Then it belongs to the person who offered it.”

Buddha smiled. “That is correct. So if I decline to accept your abuse, does it not then still belong to you?”
by Michael Josephson on December 20, 2011
in Quotes, Observations. Courtesy What will matter

Continue reading »]]> By Walter Jayawardhana, The Buddhist Channel, May 7, 2012

Mumbai, India — Bollywood screen’s latest success story,  actress Paoli Dam coinciding with Vesak or as the Indians call it Buddha Purnima told the Times of India that the reason for her success is her religion Buddhism.

In an interview she said, “I have been following this Buddhism for seven years now. Within the initial years of my practice, my life changed completely and new opportunities in my career suddenly opened up. Through Buddhism, I am able to maintain peace and balance in my life. It just feels so good.”

Many leading actors and actresses of Hollywood during the last decades have become Buddhists following the preaching of  the Dalai Lama. Films depicting Buddhism was one of the result of their close association with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. Read more..

Continue reading »]]> By Walter Jayawardhana, The Buddhist Channel, May 7, 2012

Mumbai, India — Bollywood screen’s latest success story,  actress Paoli Dam coinciding with Vesak or as the Indians call it Buddha Purnima told the Times of India that the reason for her success is her religion Buddhism.

In an interview she said, “I have been following this Buddhism for seven years now. Within the initial years of my practice, my life changed completely and new opportunities in my career suddenly opened up. Through Buddhism, I am able to maintain peace and balance in my life. It just feels so good.”

Many leading actors and actresses of Hollywood during the last decades have become Buddhists following the preaching of  the Dalai Lama. Films depicting Buddhism was one of the result of their close association with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.

But the spiritual leader of Paoli Dam has been the Japanese Buddhist leader  Dr. Daisaku Ikeda.
The newspaper, with the world’s largest circulation said, “Not many know that Paoli Dam, the new success story in Bollywood, practices Nichiren Buddhism and is an extremely spiritual person. Paoli is a part of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) which is a lay Buddhist organization that promotes peace, education and culture throughout the world.”

The newspaper quoted  her as saying, “Buddhism has been a huge support in my life and whatever I have done till date has only been possible because of my mentor Dr. Daisaku Ikeda and by chanting Nam Myoho Renege Kyo. (Glory to the Sutra of the Lotus of the Supreme Law) It brings out my true spirit from within”

Paoli has been so affected by this wonderful philosophy that she’s even introduced her brother to Buddhism! .the Times said.

The IANS news service wrote on her recently, “She is as bold as one can get. But Paoli Dam, who did a full frontal nudity scene in her Bengali movie “Chatrak” last year, says boldness is all in the head. “What is bold for you may not be bold for me. Boldness is a state of mind,” Paoli, now the lead actress of Bollywood film ‘Hate Story’, said to be topped with dollops of sex and violence, told IANS in an interview

The 31 year old Paoli Dam who has completed her post graduate studies in a Bengali university in Chemistry says her parents have approved of her bold acting in the films.

 “I want to do good cinema with good directors and banners. Script matters to me. I am a newcomer and different people have their own way of growing. I don’t want to compare myself with anyone. For me bold is beautiful in its own way,” she added. Courtesy The Buddhist Channel

Continue reading »]]> Agence France-Presse, May 10, 2012
Seoul, South Korea — The leadership of the South Korea’s largest Buddhist order resigned en masse after video footage of junior monks playing poker with thousands of dollars at stake emerged.

Prosecutors launched a probe after the footage came to light this week of eight monks from the Jogye Order gambling at a hotel room in southern Jangseong County.

Gambling is illegal in South Korea, except for in special areas such as casinos for foreign tourists, and is also a breach of the Buddhist order’s code of discipline.

The gambling, which took place last month, was filmed by another monk and the video footage was given as evidence to the police. The eight monks were also allegedly drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes in breach of Buddhist rules.

“All the six members of the executive committee of the Jogye Order have tendered their resignations, holding themselves responsible for the incident,” a Jogye Order spokesman told Agence France Presse (AFP).

Jaseung, head of the order, said that the monks would face tough punishment and would be required to make an apology to the nation as early as on Friday, Yonhap news agency said.

The gambling controversy is the latest incident in a long-running feud between supporters of the Jogye Order’s current administration and its opponents, as the footage was secretly recorded by an opponent and then made public.

One of the opponents, known by his Buddhist name Seongho, sued his eight fellow monks for gambling and betting “hundreds of millions of won.”

The Jogye Order, which claims 10 million followers among South Korea’s 50 million population, has been plagued by factional feuds. Dozens of monks were injured when rival factions clashed in 1999.
Courtesy The Buddhist Channel

Continue reading »]]> Zeenews, May 13, 2012
Dharmsala, India — The Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fears Chinese agents have given training to bogus female devotees to kill him with poison while seeking blessings.

Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, the Dalai Lama, 76, said that he had received the warning of the plot from inside Tibet.
 
Indian security officials have advised the Nobel laureate to live in a high security cordon in his temple palace grounds in Dharamsala, a hill station in Himachal Pradesh.

“We received some sort of information from Tibet,” he said. “Some Chinese agents training some Tibetans, especially women, you see, using poison – the hair poisoned, and the scarf poisoned – they were supposed to seek blessing from me, and my hand touch.”

The ties between China and the Tibetan government-in-exile in India remain murky. Courtesy The Buddhist Channel