Other Religions"And, dear Bhante, what is a Buddhist’s attitude toward other religions?" I asked. "All religions, major and minor, have their origin in the East. Today there are five world religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. "Buddhists do not belittle other faiths in order to extol their own. Even the Buddha, when he had time, visited other religious centers and had friendly talks and discussions with them. Two hundred years after Buddha passed away, King Asoka of India wrote in his inscriptions that, ‘People should respect other religions.’ "If you wish to keep religious harmony, it is better not to interfere with the doctrinal aspects of religion but find out the common factors. In other words, we must find out the areas of concern which the religions share in common. For instance, peace, social justice, removal of poverty, protection of the natural environment from destruction by pollutants and industry, etc. Representatives of different religions should meet and discuss and discover the essential similarities and differences between the religions." |
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