09-29-2006, 02:46 AM
I got this in the e-mail.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->This is a worthy effort and rather timely. The Indic faiths need to hang together or they will hang separately.
<b>Looking at historical patterns, there are two paradigms that come to mind: </b> The one that reconciled Jainism with Sanatana Dharma and the other that eliminated the rivalry within India between Sanatana Dharma and Buddhism.
The Jain approach was always more of a grassroots process and relied heavily on the family and business links between the trading classes. This model has resulted in very close practical alignments between the two faiths in the North, while in TN it has essentially merged the two faiths together.
<b>I will argue that the Jaina model will not work with Buddhism.</b>
<b>Reconciliation with the Buddhists has to come from SL, Burma and Thailand, because these nations(being Theravada) have the strongest tendency to use Hinduism as a frame of reference.</b> Tibetan Vajrayana, while signifying Buddhism to Westerners, is a Buddhist variation of Tantra and is not a true doctrinal peer of Theravada. <b>East Asian(Chinese, Japanese, Korean) Hinayana really has its centre of gravity in Confucianism.</b> Indo-Chinese(Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam) Buddhism, though nominally Theravada, is somewhat peripheral and will take the lead from SL, Burma and Thailand.
So in the process of forming a united front with Buddhism, the Dalai Lama will present obvious psyops value but little more. <b>To get real effects, we will have to meet Theravada head on.</b>
Within Theravada, Burma should be the easiest to crack and may help the process get momentum. This is because the rivalry with Sanatana Dharma, as manifested by practicing Hindus in Burmese territory, is no longer an issueâ¦has not been since the 1960s.
Thailand should be similarly painless. The Thai Kings have shown the way by essentially acting as proto-neo-Hindus for the last 3 centuries.
<b>
SL is the toughest nut to crack. The Sinhala Bhikkus see themselves as being caught in a pincer between Sinhala and Tamil Christianity on the one hand and Tamil Hinduism on the other. </b> The more perceptive of them see Christianity using Hinduism to do its dirty work in SL. <b>They will not be amenable to any meaningful overtures until they see the pressure ease on the ground. Anti-Conversion laws of the Gujarat kind will not help as the Bhikkus are of the mind to âreclaimâ much of the Sinhala coastal population from Christianity. Whether people in New Delhi want to see things this way or not, to the Bhikkus, India is Hinduism. Till they perceive India/ Hinduism helping them in their struggle, they will not accept the hand of cooperation. </b> Now, this does not mean that I recommend India abandon the Tamil Hindus, notwithstanding their cryto-Christian terrorist elite.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I am partially quoting for the mail has more suggestions.
So what do we know of Threvada Buddhism of Sri Lanka?
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->This is a worthy effort and rather timely. The Indic faiths need to hang together or they will hang separately.
<b>Looking at historical patterns, there are two paradigms that come to mind: </b> The one that reconciled Jainism with Sanatana Dharma and the other that eliminated the rivalry within India between Sanatana Dharma and Buddhism.
The Jain approach was always more of a grassroots process and relied heavily on the family and business links between the trading classes. This model has resulted in very close practical alignments between the two faiths in the North, while in TN it has essentially merged the two faiths together.
<b>I will argue that the Jaina model will not work with Buddhism.</b>
<b>Reconciliation with the Buddhists has to come from SL, Burma and Thailand, because these nations(being Theravada) have the strongest tendency to use Hinduism as a frame of reference.</b> Tibetan Vajrayana, while signifying Buddhism to Westerners, is a Buddhist variation of Tantra and is not a true doctrinal peer of Theravada. <b>East Asian(Chinese, Japanese, Korean) Hinayana really has its centre of gravity in Confucianism.</b> Indo-Chinese(Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam) Buddhism, though nominally Theravada, is somewhat peripheral and will take the lead from SL, Burma and Thailand.
So in the process of forming a united front with Buddhism, the Dalai Lama will present obvious psyops value but little more. <b>To get real effects, we will have to meet Theravada head on.</b>
Within Theravada, Burma should be the easiest to crack and may help the process get momentum. This is because the rivalry with Sanatana Dharma, as manifested by practicing Hindus in Burmese territory, is no longer an issueâ¦has not been since the 1960s.
Thailand should be similarly painless. The Thai Kings have shown the way by essentially acting as proto-neo-Hindus for the last 3 centuries.
<b>
SL is the toughest nut to crack. The Sinhala Bhikkus see themselves as being caught in a pincer between Sinhala and Tamil Christianity on the one hand and Tamil Hinduism on the other. </b> The more perceptive of them see Christianity using Hinduism to do its dirty work in SL. <b>They will not be amenable to any meaningful overtures until they see the pressure ease on the ground. Anti-Conversion laws of the Gujarat kind will not help as the Bhikkus are of the mind to âreclaimâ much of the Sinhala coastal population from Christianity. Whether people in New Delhi want to see things this way or not, to the Bhikkus, India is Hinduism. Till they perceive India/ Hinduism helping them in their struggle, they will not accept the hand of cooperation. </b> Now, this does not mean that I recommend India abandon the Tamil Hindus, notwithstanding their cryto-Christian terrorist elite.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I am partially quoting for the mail has more suggestions.
So what do we know of Threvada Buddhism of Sri Lanka?