A Zen master is a Buddhist fundamentalist. Zen masters, such as the late Shunryu Suzuki, shown in the picture here, try to practice Buddhism in its pure form. They try to do things the way Buddha did them, and they try to follow Buddha's teachings. They live austere lives devoted to meditation and teaching, just like Buddha did. They try to focus more on direct experience than in learning doctrines (something Buddha repeatedly stressed in his teachings). They try not to conceptualize too much. They get their students to learn about their own minds from long periods of meditation.
A Buddhist fundamentalist cultivates a state of calmness and kindness, and cultivates the ability to keep her or his attention in in the present moment and not in the past, the future, or lost in thought.
These are Buddhist fundamentalists.
If Zen devotees work hard, most of them will achieve a state of abiding inner peace and a profound and lasting feeling of kindness toward others.
Islamic fundamentalists try to practice Islam in its pure form. They try to do things the way Mohammad did them, and they try to follow Mohammad's teachings. They live austere lives devoted to jihad. They don't sit around contemplating their navels. They prove their devotion with action. They try to make the law of Allah the supreme law of the world. They devote their lives to fulfilling the political goal of Islam, just as Mohammad dedicated his life to it, and just as Mohammad taught his followers to do.
An Islamic fundamentalist cultivates hatred toward non-Muslims and works toward the day when all non-Muslims are either subjugated as dhimmis, converted to Islam, or dead.
These are Islamic fundamentalists.
If Islamic devotees work hard, most of them will find themselves in some form of warfare with non-Muslims and ideally will be killed fighting in the way of Allah.
Are all fundamentalists dangerous? Are all ideologies the same? Would it matter to you what kind of fundamentalist you had as your neighbor? Would it matter to you what kind of fundamentalist your children chose as close friends or heroes? Would it matter to you what kind of fundamentalist your country allowed to immigrate to your country?
Citizen Warrior,
ReplyDeleteI think a possible answer to your question is, "if it doesn't matter to you, it should" If all ideologies, even all religions were basically the same, the world would be a very uniform place. But people think differently and are raised to think differently. Different world views are differently, sometimes radically so. Even if one ignores Islam entirely, including fundamentalist Islam, there are still many other radically different ways that people view the world than what people in the west are used to.
Answering those last questions with specificity would cause most people to become squeamish and walk off.
ReplyDeleteHowever, we MUST FACE THIS QUESTION: Are all fundamentalists dangerous? The answer will unite us and ultimately set us free. But since it has taken so long to form the question and consider its answer, and it will take decades to respond. Human liberty, and as we are political beings, political liberty MUST BE DEFENDED. For multi-culturalism is a lie; some beliefs deserve no respect.
Thank you, Citizen Warrior.
Someone just sent me this comment:
ReplyDeleteFear the Amish fundamentalists. Sounds kinda dumb, huh? The Amish are about as fundamentalist as you can get, yet no one fears them. They practice the fundamental tenet of Christianity, "Love". True Moslems practice the fundamental tenet of Islam, "Fear".
The other major difference is the rule book. To Amish, their book is the Bible, written by mere mortals. To Moslems, the book is the Koran, the recitation by Allah, via Gabriel, to humans. As the spoken, eternal, direct words of Allah, the Moslem cannot ignore any part that is uncomfortable. All the Koran is mandated to all Moslems, for all time. Moslems cannot ignore "...make a great slaughter in the land". Allah directly spoke it to them.
Amish attempt to emulate their perfect man, Christ. Dying a torturous death on the Cross, He asked God to "forgive them", them being his torturers and executioners.
The Moslems must emulate their perfect man, Mohammad. He had sex with a 9 year old. He tortured a husband to death, and then raped his widow in the same day. He bought and sold female slaves who he said were the sexual slaves of their slave masters, subject to rape whenever the whimsy struck.
Now do you see a fundamental difference?
Someone just emailed me this comment:
ReplyDeleteBrilliant post!
I've been a Zen practitioner (and teacher) for over forty years.
Your analogy and comparison are entirely apt.
Zen mediation is a way of perfecting and improving oneself. The Islamic way is the inner Jihad of inner struggle. You can see how much weight this inner Jihad has by doing a count in the Koran. It is far outnumbered by verses referring to the Jihad of killing non-Muslims. After the 911 attack the Harvard University commencement featured a Muslim who spoke on the importance of this alleged inner Jihad. Probably a nice civilized Muslim guy but by misleading Americans he became a tool of the violent Jihad of conquest. The same Jihad that Muhammad and his successors used to conqueror the Middle East and kill millions of Christians.
ReplyDeleteI've done lots of meditation and Zen meditation. That photo of Zen master Shunryu Suzuki is on the cover of his most famous book. I must have read that book a 1000 times. Of course Islam is an aggressive religion that fits its killer Jihadists like a fine suit. Buddhism is the opposite. A good example is today is how the Jihadists in Southern Thailand are trying to drive out the Buddhists via the terror tactics that Muhammad advocates in the Koran. Those Buddhists need to fight back in the only way the Muslims understand. Start bombing and leveling Mosques and assassinating violent Imams. Start wiping out Jihadist clans because Islam is very inter-married and very clan oriented
The Shaolin monks invented martial arts to defend themselves against predators and bandits. You don't have to passively chant OM when someone holds a sword over you.
Whether a fundamentalist is dangerous or not depends on the danger of the fundamentals that they believe and/or practice.
ReplyDeleteFighting the political battle against Islam is an important action to take before fighting the legal battle, but is not a substitute for fighting the legal battle. In the USA, I suspect that that progress in fighting the legal battle will continue to be slow until the muslim is voted out of the white house.
ReplyDeleteYes,all fundamentalism,be it religious,economic or political,is dangerous when it seeks to stifle dissent,free thought and free expression
ReplyDelete