The countermeasures... two
levels:
1. "One level—the immediate—various governments are taking, including some violent methods, right or wrong. But we have to have a long-term strategy, too. In the Muslim world, certain mischievous individuals will always be there, just like among Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists. We can’t blame the entire Muslim society because of the
mischievous acts of a few individuals. Therefore, at the general public level we must
cultivate the notion of not just one religion, one truth, but pluralism and many truths. We can change the atmosphere, and we can
modify certain ways of thinking.
2.
"...there should be a spirit of dialogue. Whenever we see any disagreements, we must think how to solve them on the basis of
recognition of oneness of the entire humanity. This is the modern reality. When a certain community is destroyed, in reality it destroys a part of all of us. So there should be a clear recognition that the entire humanity is just one family.
Any conflict within humanity should be considered as a family conflict. We must find a solution within this atmosphere.
....At a personal level, as a Buddhist practitioner, I deliberately visualize and think about death in my daily practice. Death is not separated from our lives. Due to my research and thoughts about death, I have some guarantee and some
conviction that it will be a positive experience."
Parliament of the World’s Religions
(Barcelona, 2004):
With long flowing hair and dressed in a purple robe, the self-proclaimed witch, Rev. Selena Fox, spoke to the large group in attendance at
the 'Circles in the Greenwood' workshop. She said, 'You must always focus on the here and now and not any future or eternal life. If you be pagan or not, you must understand that
Paganism is a world religion. All religions either came from paganism or opposition to it.'
Shaking some rattles as she moved about the room she urged everyone to 'honor the divine first in a religious way and then the pagan way.'
...attendees... followed Fox’s instructions....
"Michael
York, a professor at Bath Spa University College, and 'Morgana,' another Wiccan High Priestess, underlined the
importance of humanism, pleasure and honoring the earth. It was suggested that everyone in the room begin to call themselves a priest or priestess. It was revealed that at least 5–6% of the world’s population practice pagan rituals with that number increasing every year....
"...the program for each day... was organized in three primary sections: 1.
INTRA-RELIGIOUS—An opportunity to learn about the teaching of other religious groups. 2.
INTER-RELIGIOUS—Focusing on dialogue and panel discussions. 3. ENGAGEMENT—Sessions to build projects and initiatives together....
No open criticism of Muslim involvement in terrorism was heard.... there was frequent criticism of the U.S.A.
"Keynote speakers
included Hans Kung, Swiss Theologian; Jane Goodall, Zoologist; Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner, Shirin Ebadi; Ela Gandhi, a South African peace advocate and granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi; and health expert and author
Deepak Chopra. Much disappointment was expressed that His Holiness the Dalai Lama was not able to fulfill his scheduled place on the program....
"A few of the statements made at this Parliament were:
'All religions are true and all are equally true'; 'All religions preach peace'...
'Expose our children to all religions so they can choose the best out of all religions'....
"No less than 75 leaders of the liberal
National Council of Churches (NCC)
were in attendance....
"More than 10,000 gathered at the Sagrada Famila Temple for a
'Sacred Music Concert.' They featured Native American, Shumei Ensemble, Sikh, Catholic, Shinto, Muslim and Jewish artists. The only recognizable
'Christian' song was 'O Happy Day 'with hard rock music in the background. The archbishop of the Catholic Church made preliminary remarks before the two hour
'concert.' ...
"Another 'nonprofit religious organization' present... was the
Covenant of the Goddess, a group of Wiccans located in Berkeley, CA, which identified themselves as
'one of the largest and oldest Wiccan religious organizations'....
"While the theme of the parliament was
'Pathways to Peace' with a 'peace pole, peace flame and peace tree' along with much talk about
'peace,' the entire event is a reminder that 'The way of peace they know not' (Isaiah 59:8) and
'They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace" (Jeremiah 6:14).
The Prince of Peace, our Lord Jesus Christ, was ignored and nothing was ever said that
'...we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Watching, Dreaming, Waiting: Non-Violence, Social Change, and the Re-Imagining of Religion
Varun Soni:
"The triad’s visages are of Mohandas ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet. The
three appear together as the embodiment of the modern doctrine of non-violence, and underneath their pictures are inscribed their hopes -
Gandhi:
Watching
King: Dreaming
The Dalai Lama: Waiting.
...
These leaders... translate and transform theological doctrines into social philosophies, and then implement that social change on a mass level. Through these three leaders, a
Hindu, Christian, and Buddhist non-violent social ethic emerges, serving today as an indispensable
escape from the rising religious extremism throughout the world....
"For Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama is considered to be a
bodhisattva, a liberator whose essence is perfected wisdom. In order to understand the
Buddhist ideal of the bodhisattva, it must be evaluated within a Buddhist philosophical context. In Buddhism, all phenomena are impermanent and
human suffering is created by habitually subscribing to the erroneous
conception of a permanent, immutable self. ...everything comes into existence
through a set of causes and conditions....
"Based on the
doctrine of emptiness, one cannot essentialize groups or people, but rather one must focus on common goals. Because
nothing has an inherent essence of its own, people... must be united by common goals, the most obvious being the
freedom from suffering. Buddhism’s social philosophy seeks to create a
situation where people can achieve these common goals, and live life in peace
and happiness. ...
"...
the
Dalai Lama elucidates the bodhisattva non-dualistic ideal of seeing self and other as interchangeable:
A bodhisattva should view himself or herself as the possession of other sentient beings.
Just as phenomena in the natural world are there to be enjoyed and utilized by
others, so must our own entire being and existence be available to them....
"According to the Dalai Lama, there can be only one true emotion.... This emotion is compassion (karuna).Karuna refers to universal
compassion for all sentient beings, not specific compassion for an object of preference or desire....
"The striking substantive similarities between
Gandhi’s satyagraha, King’s social action model, and the Dalai Lama’s socially engaged Buddhism cannot be ignored. They base their philosophies on the presumption that mankind has common underlying goals, namely the desire to be free from suffering....
"These leaders all built
inclusive, interfaith religious coalitions, and reinterpreted traditional texts to promote a universal social ethic of civil disobedience based on love, compassion, non-violence, interconnectedness, and responsibility.
... they provide a powerful alternative to the current politicized, exclusivist models of religion propagated by
religious extremists throughout the world."