Page 134 - Applied Buddhism

erect the tallest or biggest Buddha image all over the world.
At the micro level, Buddhist activities now tend to be more
secular and sensational than before. It is not uncommon to see
revealing and seductive dancers performing at Buddhist functions.
What is even more surprising is that some of these dance troupes
were trained and sponsored by temples. Some of them genuinely
do not know that there have succumbed to the sensate culture of the
present day.
Greedbalisation also means widening of the gap between the
rich and poor, making the poorer nations much more dependant
on the richer nations than before. Colonisation in the past had
impoverished many nations and present day Greedablisation
has aggravated the situation further. Many Buddhist countries,
unfortunately, were such victims, who are now fully exploited by
the richer nations. Saddled with poverty and other accompanying
problems, these countries could not defend their own sovereignty
let alone contribute to the development of Buddhism.
The Challenge of Unethical Conversion by Christians
NGOs
It is a historical fact that Christian missionaries of different
denominations have attempted to convert the East since about 7
CE (300 years after the founding of Christianity since Christianity
as a religion only emerged during the 4th CE). Missionaries of the
Nestorian church arrived in China during the Tang Dynasty. The
mission, however, was not very successful.
The second wave of Christian missionary assault came during
the period of colonisation. This time around, armed with the carrot
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of the Bible and the stick of cannon balls, they were much more
successful. The heinous crimes and atrocities committed by the
colonists and the missionaries have been proven, some of which
the present Pope has offered apologies.
Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Prize laureate, and archbishop of
Johannesburg, commented that, “Before the missionaries came,
we owned our land, and held our bread in our hands. Then they
came, with Bibles in their hands. They said, lets pray. And so we
closed our eyes and prayed. When we opened our eyes, we found
the Bibles in our hands, and their hands holding our bread and their
legs standing on our lands.”
Today, during the period of globalisation, the Christian
missionaries have launched their third wave of assault on the East.
The efforts to convert Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists, Muslims and
other non-Christians is now carried out on a worldwide scale, by
business-like church organisations and NGOs backed by rich and
powerful nations. With their powerful machinery and multi-billion
dollar funding, they seek converts using unscrupulous, unethical
and manipulative means. Some, like World Vision, carry out their
missionary objectives under the cloak of charity. They raised funds
from the ignorant but wealthy Buddhists and then channeled them
to convert the poor Buddhists somewhere else. Sri Lanka, Thailand,
Mongolia, India, Cambodia are all targets of mass conversion. The
unethical approach has compelled certain states in India, like Tamil
Naidu and Orrisa to pass an anti-unethical conversion law, and
a similar proposal is being considered by the Government of Sri
Lanka.
Mass conversion disrupts the harmony within the community,
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