Criticism of Buddhism
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Buddhist denominations, nations and leaders have been criticized by the anti-religious, by proponents of other religions and by practitioners of Buddhism itself.
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[edit] Critical Buddhism
Critical Buddhism is a branch of Japanese Buddhist scholarship which aims to reform Buddhism through critical examination of its practices and philosophy.
[edit] Buddhist "just war theory" and use in war
Sam Harris argues that the kamikaze attacks of WWII were inspired by Buddhism[1]. In the book God is not great, Christopher Hitchens argues that both the Showa period in Japan and the anti-Tamil governments in Sri Lanka were inspired by Buddhism.[2] Hitchens believes that there is a problem with Buddhists' desire to "put their reason to sleep, and to discard their minds along with their sandals".[3]
[edit] Sociology of Tibetan Buddhism
The writer Michael Parenti has also criticized pre-Chinese Tibet for having theocratic and feudal elements [4].
Regarding the Dalai Lama, Christopher Hitchens has been a vocal critic.[5]
[edit] Christian critics
Before becoming Pope, Cardinal Ratzinger criticised Buddhism in 1997 as an “autoerotic spirituality” that offers “transcendence without imposing concrete religious obligations,” predicting that Buddhism would replace Marxism as the Catholic church’s main enemy.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Harris, Sam (2004). The End of Faith, ch. 7, "Experiments in Consciousness."
- ^ See the chapter "There is no Eastern Solution" in God is not great, Atlantic, New York, 2006
- ^ Page 204 in God is not great, Atlantic, New York, 2006
- ^ Friendly Feudalism - The Tibet Myth
- ^ Hitchens, Christopher (2007). God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. Twelve Books, Hachette Book Group. pp. Chapter Fourteen: There Is No "Eastern" Solution. ISBN 978-0-446-57980-3.
- ^ Hasan, Khalid. "New Pope called a “disaster for the world”". Daily Times (Pakistan). http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_21-4-2005_pg7_37. Retrieved on 2009-06-07.
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