Monday, January 26, 2015

Blog Post 2- The Violent Side of Buddhisim

We have been learning about the different religions in Monsoon Asia and Buddhism has appeared in many forms and many countries. While different branches of the faith contain slight variations they do share core values. One of such values is to do good works in order to reach Nirvana. The term good works generally means to be kind and charitable in order to better meet the needs and welfare of the group. In this article however a Buddhist monk named Ashin Wirathu from Myammar is preaching a completely different kind of rhetoric. This monk is preaching anti-muslium rhetoric that is hateful and violent. His speeches have been known to invoke nationalism to push the Muslim minority to the fringes of society. Many other monks within the country do not support him however he has been able to garner a small following within the country primarily within his own  religious faction. He has also just recently captured international attention by publicly calling the U.N ambassador of the region a whore, his speeches have already started a number of violent outbursts and it is likely that they will inspire a great many more. This article shows an interesting side to the traditionally  peaceful religion and the darker side to the social emphasis of group-welfare
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30930997

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