FRONTLINE: DISGRACE ON BUDDHA

Friday, February 11, 2011

DISGRACE ON BUDDHA

BY PANDULA RANATUNGA

How do you feel if someone insults your religious belief? It is simply unbearable and intolerable indeed. Once again, Lord Buddha has been abused and discredited. But this time by none other than a Nepali himself. Whether he did it knowingly or unknowingly, but his act is simply unpardonable. His unscrupulous act has caused a serious concern to people who have unwavering faith in Buddha and his teachings; which are as relevant today as they were ever before.

I am sure you would not use the name Allah or Jesus Christ in this manner, as we all know the repercussions will be quite drastic.

The Greedy Buddha, Real Nepalese food, is the name of a restaurant started by Ram Thapa, a Nepali living in London.

By doing this he has insulted

the religious sentiments of not only Buddhists but the entire people living across the world, who believe in the teachings of Lord Buddha.

I was passing through Wandsworth Bridge Road in Fulham, London, recently and to my horror my wondering eye fixed on to something so appalling, which was the name of a restaurant, "Greedy Buddha".

I am a Buddhist myself, and like millions of other Buddhists all around the world who worship Lord Buddha and follow his sacred teachings. I was shocked and saddened by the insensitivity and sheer audacity to choose a name for the restaurant that insults all Buddhists. I am sure whoever the imbecile came up with this name thought that this is a cool and hip thing. But if anyone who has an ounce of knowledge on this great religion and its master would know how wrong and appalling this is. The truth of the matter is that the basic Buddha’s teaching is based on giving up all worldly pleasures and materials, and finally reaching the ultimate bliss of Nirvana. The Buddha is someone who conquered the world giving up all desires including greed and lust. A religion that began 2570 years ago in India and is still growing in popularity by the day in this materialistic obsessed world is by all accounts phenomenal, but for anyone to interpret that in to something so vile and cheap as the restaurant name, I find it nauseating and heart breaking.

For us Buddhists, the Lord Buddha and his teachings are quite sacred and we revered them all throughout our lives. We hold them in a very high place in our hearts and minds. So for us to see his life and teachings being mocked for the sake of financial gains is quite disturbing. We as Buddhist today all over the world are fighting a losing battle to save the Buddha’s image from being exploited and used in an offensive and demeaning manner without any regard whatsoever to those millions of people who worship Buddha and our religion.

This irresponsible attitude is mostly due to ignorance. I am sure the owner wouldn’t have used the name Allah or Jesus Christ in this manner as we all know the repercussions will be quite drastic. I think this is mainly because Buddhists are regarded as passive, peace loving and non-confrontational people, and thus always being taken for granted.

In Buddhist temples and in our homes, a statue of Lord Buddha is placed up in a higher place and we offer flowers and worship and pay homage every day, so to see Lord Buddha’s image being used in a such a callous manner is not only quite demeaning but also sacrilegious. On behalf of all Buddhists, I appeal to the owner of the restaurant to change this tasteless name of his restaurant.

Please show some sensitivity those who have different beliefs to you. I would also contact International Buddhist Council on this as this will certainly be an issue to them. Out of respect to all Buddhists, please change this offensive name.

2 comments:

BulsonFebruary 23, 2011 at 9:51 PM
Re: The Greedy Buddha
The story of Greedy Buddha reminded an incident to me. Some months
back, at work, an Indian colleague said that Buddha was born in India.
I immediately reacted to it and told him, “I don’t know if any other
Buddha was born in the history. The only Lord Buddha was born in
Lumbini in Nepal.” He at the very moment googled and he stepped down.
How could a Nepali entrepreneur name his business in this defaming
way? Is he attracting some attention from the passersby with a
paradox? A Nepali restaurant I recently visited in Sydney is called
‘The Last Bus to Kathmandu.’ I actually went there for the sake of its
name.
This derogatory act is really condemnable and has to be rectified at
the earliest possible. It hurts the sentiments of Buddha’s teachings
and the religious values.

Bulson, Sydney
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roll'em OnJune 18, 2011 at 9:09 AM
The Greedy Buddha, that’s catchy, I can see why Mr. Thapa opted for the name for his restaurant. You’ve nailed it Mr. Thapa!

Mr. Ranatunga, i don’t see any greed in Mr. Thapa’s choice for choosing the very name and i do not see any humiliation to Buddhism. The only thing i can see is how the article was intended to actually bring about a religious strife among people.

The name is nothing cool or nothing hip as you mention. I don’t understand why you’ve delved yourself into Buddha’s teachings. And I see no reason for you to find it nauseating and heart breaking either. The Greedy Buddha is sweet and funny to remember and easy to recommend it to someone else.

Mr. Thapa solely wanted an off beat name for his restaurant, something that was catchy (it did catch your attention too, while you were walking down Wandsworth Bridge Road, you wouldn’t have noticed it if it was hungry Ram!...would you?). I feel sorry for you that you could not understand Mr. Thapa’s dry sense of humour.

Buddha also said.... what you think, you become.

p.s: I am as much Buddhist as you are or anyone who has commented on the post.
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STUDENT'S COLUMN: GLOBAL WARMING: Is it the end? WINNING ARTICLE OF THE MONTH

Ozone layer of the atmosphere, which protects the Earth for the sun’s detrimental UV (Ultra-Violet) rays. The major effect of global warming is rise in sea level, which may cause floods and sinking of coastal areas and Islands.

That does not mean that only the coastal areas will be affected. Many other factors like Irregular weather pattern, desertification of grasslands, melting of snow in Mountains etc. will affect the whole Earth.

After people hear all this they assume that, the end is coming and there is no way to stop it, but what they need to know is that there is time to prevent it and save the Earth. The major cause of Global warming is the release of greenhouse-gasses from various sources.

Many think that the major cause of greenhouse gas formation are the large factories and industries and that they can’t do anything to stop it. But they should know that small changes in their life-style can contribute to save the planet. For example, you can switch to fluorescent (CFL) bulbs, you can turn off idle switches , you can stroll to nearby places instead of taking bus, cab or your own vehicle, you can start recycling and reusing, you can plant trees in your backyard and you can stop using polythene.

That won’t possibly be hard right? Scientists are studying the rate of increase in the Earth’s temperature, the rate of decrease in the Sun’s temperature, the rate of decrease in petroleum fuel using vehicles and the approximate time left until the next ice-age and after much study they have drawn a conclusion that we have a good deal of time left until “Thy apocalypse is upon us”.

So you can stop thinking about taking out all your savings and going to Vegas, because it is not too late to change your ways.

SAJJAN SHARMA

Class:9

SOS Herman Gminer School, Pokhara

(CONGRATULATIONS: Please contact the office of FRONTLINE to collect your PRIZE)

In the land of Buddha!

The nation is celebrating 2553rd birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha. This is the moment of joy and happiness and also a day to remember the Buddha. He was born in Nepal but loved and respected all over the world with profound reverence. Buddha is the apostle of love, peace, and non-violence.
In his entire life he preached about no god, no religion but love, peace and non-violence. Because he knew only these three things can bring peace and prosperity all over the world. During his time many brave kings laid the weapons before Buddha and embraced non-violence, and lived peacefully with the neighboring countries.
One great example is emperor Ashoka the great. He was the most influential emperor during his time. He fought many bloody wars and slain uncountable enemies. But soon he realized the futility of war and the transient nature of the world. Due to the influence of Buddha’s teachings, emperor Ashoka could realize the truth and also the real meaning and purpose of life.
His hunger for wealth, power and fame evaporated like dues under the first rays of the sunlight. Most unfortunately, we have forgotten Buddha’s teachings. His teachings of love, peace and non-violence have remained in books or slogans only. There is no peace in the country and one Nepali is killing another in the name of caste, community and region.
The nation is burning and there is unrest everywhere. The sense of insecurity has gripped the people and we students go to school under the shadow of fear and anxiety. What we read in the books about the teachings of Buddha is completely missing out in the real life. The meaning of peace and love has been hijacked by violence and hatred.
Buddha must be weeping seeing such a sorrowful condition of his country. If we really want to celebrate Buddha Jayanti then let’s take a pledge today that we will give up violence and hatred and embrace love and peace. This could only be a true tribute to Buddha on such an auspicious occasion.
To sum up in few words, to store peace and harmony in the world Buddha’s teachings are more imperative today than ever before!
ANUJ THAPA
Class: X
Global Collegiate Higher Secondary School

My favorite football player

Football is the most popular game in the world. Many players play football. Among them, I like one player. He is a goalkeeper.
A goalkeeper tries to check the ball from going inside the goal post. He is Oliver Kahn. He can be called the best keeper in the history of football. He is a German player.
He got Golden Ball in 2002 and Golden Glove in 2006 world cup. He retired in 2006 after the world cup was held in Germany.
RITESH PAUDEL
Class: 4 Roll No.22
Gandaki Boarding School, Pokhara

Mercy Killing: Right or Wrong?

The word mercy killing has been derived from a Greek word Euthanasia. It means good death. It was, in the past, practiced on animals to kill them with minimum possible pain. And this practice was quite popular in Greek and many other countries for a long time.
But in the recent time mercy killing is not only limited among the animals, but it is also applied on human beings suffering from incurable diseases. Some odd ten countries have legalized the practice of mercy killing.
However, it is illegal in most of the countries. In fact there is a complete set of legal system to be followed before one is granted mercy killing. The first prerequisite of mercy killing is that a team of doctors should be convinced whether a demand of peaceful death is right or not. And patient’s consent is the must.
But there have been recorded cases of mercy killing against the wishes of the victim as well. Some social activists strongly condemn mercy killing. They say it is more like voluntary suicide or involuntary murders. Most think that deliberate death is always wrong.
There are still many people who think that mercy killing is good in the sense that it relieves one from extreme pain when a person’s quality of life is deteriorated beyond repair. Nevertheless, I do strongly condemn the practice of mercy killing.
It is against the law of nature. We can’t lose hope as medical science has been taking a galloping stride. A cure of any incurable disease is only the matter of time. Any moment medical science can find a cure of any incurable disease.
Hence, doctors and relatives of the patients must have patience. And be optimistic. There is always a morning with a bright light.
SHARMILA UPADHAYA
BBA-8
Pokhara Collage of Technology

Street children

Nepal is a small country full of natural beauty. But this is also true that many people are suffering a lot. There are many people doing labor work to run their household purpose. But a few people are lucky enough to lead a luxurious and comfortable life. Nepal’s condition is not good. Moreover, the small children are found in the streets. It’s difficult to live without parents love in their childhood. We can fear difficulties for those children who do not have parents’ love in their lives. To survive, they sometimes steal foods from shops, or eat dirty food lying on the floor. Their clothes are too dirty while some of them don’t even have clothes to put on. Poor children! They live a very miserable life. Tears roll down from my eyes, as they have to sleep, shivering in the cold streets at nights. Huge numbers of poor children die each year due to hunger, cold, lack of care and suffering from many diseases. They feel themselves very unlucky to lead such miserable life and often wish for death. Has god created them to live such miserable life? They do have right to live a happy life, don’t they? Isn’t there any justice for them? At last imagine how miserable and difficult would our life be if we were in their places?
SANDEEP KC
Class 9B ,
Tops Higher Secondary School

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Friday, February 11, 2011

DISGRACE ON BUDDHA

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