MARKETING THE BUDDHA AND ITS BLASPHEMY
December 2, 2019
From tattoos to toilet seats, ‘misused’ Buddha images make some blood boil
December 2, 2019
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Violence against Buddha
A History of Blasphemy
- Chapter:
- (p.152) Violence against Buddha
- Source:
- If You Meet the Buddha on the Road
- Author(s):
- Michael Jerryson
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This chapter addresses the cosmic violence to Buddhism, as well as the personal violence to Buddhists who experience slander and blasphemy. The Buddhist doctrine identifies the violation of Buddhist images as injuring the Buddha. Blasphemy can signal a decline in the Buddhist doctrine and the coming of a Buddhist End Times. Slandering the Buddhist doctrine is not only a signal of the End Times, it is also one of the gravest of sins. But beyond textual analyses, Buddhists explain that they are harmed by such actions. This investigation into blasphemy requires the inclusion of Buddhist experiences, protests, and movements. For Buddhists, like those of the Knowing Buddha Organization, there are correct ways to treat Buddha images. The failure to display a modicum of respect amounts to blasphemy.
