________________
BHANTE GUNARATANA
about other religions. Recently, the Pope made a certain statement about Buddhism. And there was a sort of upheaval in some Buddhist countries, some protests. I think that's very sad. We don't need to protest. Because if he made a mistake, it is our duty to point it out to the Pope; I think the Pope would have accepted it. Buddha said: If somebody criticizes the dhamma, or criticizes the Buddha's dispensation, don't get upset. If I get angry because you get angry, I play this interdependent role.
This is how sincerely and honestly we have to work with each other's religions. I tell people that when we started our Buddhist vihara in Washington, we did not have many Buddhists. Ninety percent of our supporters were American Christians. There was a Christian minister on our board, I think he was a Methodist. And four Franciscan friars came and helped us with installing our shrine room
In one Sri Lanka village there is a Catholic church; but there is not one single Catholic living there now. So the bishop appointed a man to be caretaker. He doesn't have any money, he is very poor. So the Buddhists in that area, every Christmas they bring a lot of food and gifts and money to this man. Now Buddhists don't celebrate Christmas. But they know that this man is Christian, and that he celebrates Christmas.
L.M.: That leads us back to the very beginning. About meditation: is not love the whole point of our meditation?
B.G.: Yes, the whole point of meditation. Even materially speaking, biologically speaking, we are all one. We are all made of the same material. We differ from one another only through psychological conditioning. Materially, we are all the same. Our differences are conditional differences. In a spiritual sense also, we become one if we remove these conditions. I may be a Buddhist because I love the dhamma. You are a Christian, because you are brought up in a Christian background. We think that all of us have the same spirit--the spirit of love, of understanding, of compassion.
Sometimes we forget our fundamentals. When we say so and so is a fundamentalist, that is very scary to us. But that is not the real meaning of a fundamentalist. Real, fundamental Christianity is: “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” If Christians follow that fundamental—that is a fundamental teaching—there is no way they can fight. There is no way that people can be annoyed or upset when somebody says something to them.
169
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
