VATICAN NOTE ON OCCASION OF BUDDHIST VESAKHA

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"Seeking Truth in Freedom: Christians and Buddhists Live in Peace"

VATICAN CITY, MARCH 31, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is the letter of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue addressed to Buddhists on the occasion of Vesakha, which commemorates the birth, enlightenment and passing away of Buddha.

The message is titled "Seeking Truth in Freedom: Christians and Buddhists Live in Peace," and is signed by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the dialogue council, and Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, its secretary.

Vesakha is observed this year in on April 8 in Japan, May 10 in Korea, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore and those that follow the Mahayana traditions, and on May 17 in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and those of the Theravada school.

* * *

Dear Buddhist Friends,

1. On behalf of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue I am happy once again to offer heartfelt good wishes to all of you on the occasion of Vesakh/Hanamatsuri. I pray that this annual feast may bring serenity and joy to Buddhists throughout the world.

2. In the light of an exchange of mutual friendship, as in the past, I would like to share with you some of our convictions in the hope of strengthening relations between our communities. My thoughts turn first to the relationship between peace, truth and freedom. In the pursuit of authentic peace, a commitment to seek truth is a necessary condition. All persons have a natural duty to seek truth, to follow it and freely to live their lives in accordance with it (Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis Humanae, no. 1). This human striving for truth offers a fruitful opportunity for the followers of the different religions to encounter one another in depth and to grow in appreciation of the gifts of each.

3. In today’s world, marked by forms of secularism and fundamentalism that are often inimical to true freedom and spiritual values, interreligious dialogue can be the alternative choice by which we find the "golden way" to live in peace and work together for the good of all. As Pope Benedict XVI has said, "for the Church, dialogue between the followers of the different religions represents an important means of cooperating with all religious communities for the common good" (Message for the World Day of Peace 2011, no. 11). Such dialogue is also a powerful stimulus to respect for the fundamental human rights of freedom of conscience and freedom of worship. Wherever religious freedom is effectively acknowledged, the dignity of the human person is respected at its root; by the sincere search for what is true and good, moral conscience and civil institutions are strengthened; and justice and peace are firmly established (Cf. ibid., no. 5).

4. Dear Buddhist friends, we pray that your celebration of Vesakh will be a source of spiritual enrichment and an occasion to take up anew the quest of truth and goodness, to show compassion to all who suffer, and to strive to live together in harmony. Once again allow us to express our cordial greetings and to wish all of you a Happy Feast of Vesakh/Hanamatsuri.

Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran

President

Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata

Secretary

Sam Harris and Deepak Chopra: Consciousness and the Brain

I would like to say that this is the beginning of a very interesting discussion on what constitutes 'I'. There are no winners or losers in this discussion, yet truth pervades both arguements and we must be open to that which transcends all. I will write more on this soon. Wonderful!

Belief-O-Matic

Based upon James Ford Roshi's recent post I decided to take the Belief-O-Matic Quiz to see how my answers to the quiz compared to others and below is a list of how my answers matched those of various professed faiths. 

How did the Belief-O-Matic do? Discuss your results on our message boards.

1.	Theravada Buddhism (100%)
2.	Hinduism (88%)
3.	Mahayana Buddhism (86%)
4.	Unitarian Universalism (86%)
5.	Taoism (72%)
6.	Jainism (68%)
7.	Liberal Quakers (62%)
8.	Secular Humanism (52%)
9.	Neo-Pagan (49%)
10.	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (40%)
11.	New Age (40%)
12.	New Thought (40%)
13.	Scientology (40%)
14.	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (36%)
15.	Nontheist (36%)
16.	Sikhism (34%)
17.	Orthodox Quaker (32%)
18.	Baha'i Faith (19%)
19.	Jehovah's Witness (13%)
20.	Seventh Day Adventist (9%)
21.	Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (0%)
22.	Eastern Orthodox (0%)
23.	Islam (0%)
24.	Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (0%)
25.	Orthodox Judaism (0%)
26.	Reform Judaism (0%)
27.	Roman Catholic (0%)

Korean Christians pray for Buddhist temples to collapse

Occasionally I find things that are disturbing on the internet and wish to share them with others and this is one of those times. The outward destructive nature of this video is not teaching the peace and compassion of the Jesus I know from the new testament, but as the Christians often say, God gave everyone free will. (That is another discussion entirely.) If you are interested then watch the video and come to your own conclusions, I wouldn't want to follow a path that leads to the destruction of anything. May all beings attain their true self and save this world from suffering.

Catholic Bishops rail against Reiki

from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Web Site


Reiki Therapy Unscientific, 'Inappropriate for Catholic Institutions,' Say Bishops' Guidelines

WASHINGTON—The U.S. bishops have issued guidelines that call Reiki therapy, an alternative medicine originating in Japan, unscientific and inappropriate for Catholic institutions.
They outlined the position in "Guidelines for Evaluating Reiki as an Alternative Therapy." The guidelines were developed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on Doctrine, chaired by Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Connecticut. They were approved by the USCCB Administrative Committee, March 24, during its spring meeting in Washington. The Administrative Committee is the authoritative body of the USCCB to approve committee statements.
The document can be found at http://www.usccb.org/dpp/doctrine.htm
The Guidelines describe Reiki as a healing technique "invented in Japan in the late 1800s by Mikao Usui, who was studying Buddhist texts." The guidelines state that "according to Reiki teaching, illness is caused by some kind of disruption or imbalance in one's 'life energy.' A Reiki practitioner effects healing by placing his or her hands in certain positions on the patient's body in order to facilitate the flow of Reiki, the 'universal life energy,' from the Reiki practitioner to the patient."
The Guidelines state that "Reiki lacks scientific credibility" and "has not been accepted by the scientific and medical communities as an effective therapy."
"Reputable scientific studies attesting to the efficacy of Reiki are lacking, as is a plausible scientific explanation as to how it could possibly be efficacious," they state.
The Guidelines note that "Reiki is frequently described as a 'spiritual' kind of healing as opposed to the common medical procedures of healing using physical means." They assert, however, that there is a radical difference between Reiki therapy and the healing by divine power in which Christians believe: "for Christians the access to divine healing is by prayer to Christ as Lord and Savior, while the essence of Reiki is not a prayer but a technique that is passed down from the 'Reiki Master' to the pupil, a technique that once mastered will reliably produce the anticipated results."
In sum, Reiki therapy "finds no support either in the findings of natural science or in Christian belief," the Guidelines state.
"For a Catholic to believe in Reiki therapy presents insoluble problems," the Guidelines state. "In terms of caring for one's physical health or the physical health of others, to employ a technique that has no scientific support (or even plausibility) is generally not prudent."
The guidelines warn that in using Reiki for one's spiritual health, "there are important dangers."
"To use Reiki one would have to accept at least in an implicit way central elements of the worldview that undergirds Reiki theory, elements that belong neither to Christian faith nor to natural science. Without justification either from Christian faith or natural science, however, a Catholic who puts his or her trust in Reiki would be operating in the realm of superstition, the no-man's-land that is neither faith nor science," they state.
"Superstition corrupts one's worship of God by turning one's religious feeling and practice in a false direction," the Guidelines state. "While sometimes people fall into superstition through ignorance, it is the responsibility of all who teach in the name of the Church to eliminate such ignorance as much as possible."
"Since Reiki therapy is not compatible with either Christian teaching or scientific evidence, it would be inappropriate for Catholic institutions, such as Catholic health care facilities and retreat centers, or persons representing the Church, such as Catholic chaplains, to promote or to provide support for Reiki therapy," the Guidelines said.
Keywords: Bishops, science, USCCB, Catholic, Reiki, Bishop William Lori, Doctrine, medicine

Religion in Korea

As of 2005, approximately 46.5% of the South Korean population express no religious preference. Of the rest, most are Buddhist or Christian; according to the 2005 census, 29.2% of the population at that time was Christian (18.3% professed to being Protestants and 10.9% Catholics), and 22.8% were Buddhist. Approximately half of Koreans (49.3% in 1995) are unaffiliated with any religion, and the remaining portion (1.3% in 1995 affiliated with other religions, including Islam and various new religious movements such as Jeungism, Daesunism, Cheondoism and Wonbuddhism.

A turning point

What would you do if you were brought up from a very young age to become the savior of humanity? What would you do if you were picked from obscurity and poverty in India, separated from your family, with the exception of your younger brother, and educated and groomed in the best colleges of Europe? Could you be true to yourself? Jiddu Krishnamurti was such a man, please explore the strength of self resolve and dedication to the truth.