Dharma protectors
Last week somebody called Brit Hume, who I had never heard of before, in an opinion piece on Fox News, said that Tiger Woods "is said to be a Buddhist. I don’t think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. My message to Tiger would be, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world'."
Personally, I see nothing wrong with these words. Hume simply said that Christianity is a religion that places greater stress on forgiveness than Buddhism does, in which he's probably right, and he offered his own personal opinion that Woods would do well to become a Christian, as he clearly didn't do a great job in terms of morality as a Buddhist. I believe Hume has every right to express that opinion when asked.
However, a small number of Buddhist bloggers initiated a letter-writing campaign to Fox News demanding that Hume make a public apology for his opinion. John on Sweep the Dust, Sweep the Dirt, in his letter to the TV station, said he was "deeply offended", and that Hume's words were "insulting" and "derogatory". He went on to tell Fox News that "the Christian faith has not done a bang-up job of keeping up their own moral through-out history" (sic).
Another Buddhist blogger, Bitterroot Badger, wrote to Fox to express his "disgust" and to demand an apology, adding that "it would behoove you to do so quickly." Kyle, at The Reformed Buddhist, suggested Hume was spreading "hate" and, calling him a disgrace to all Americans, urged his readers to write to Fox News. In fact, there were so many bloggers talking about this subject and urging action, it was impossible to keep up.
Not all bloggers acted in the same way of course, Scott, at The Buddha is my DJ, said "I’m not sure which is worse, the stupid things that people say on Fox News or people actually being upset about the stupid things that people say on Fox News" and the vast majority of bloggers ignored it altogether. Meanwhile, I was concerned that Buddhists crying out how offended they are by an opinion and demanding an apology gives the public quite the wrong message.
Not that Buddhists oughn't raise their voices. Last week, while so many people wrote about Brit Hume's personal opinions regarding Tiger Woods, the Chinese sentenced Phurbu Tsering Rinpoche to eight and a half years in prison on what look very much like trumped up charges in an unfair trial, in the lead up to which he had been repeatedly tortured and told his family would be in danger if he didn't make confessions.
News also came out this week that China has sentenced Tibetan film-maker Dhondup Wangchen to six years imprisonment for making a film in which he interviewed Tibetans about their views on living under Chinese occupation. Again, there were reports of torture and Dhondup Wangchen was denied his choice of legal representation during the trial. No Buddhist bloggers, as far as I'm aware, have yet initiated a letter-writing campaign about this.
So here goes. If you joined the letter-writing campaign to Fox News, if you condemned them on your blog or even just left a comment on a blog elsewhere, now consider doing at least double the amount of writing in the case of Buddhists who are being imprisoned and tortured on a near daily basis. Read the links below, find out what's been going on, and write a letter condemning the use of torture and unfair trials in China against Buddhists. Post it up on your blog as a model for others to copy, and then sign it and send it. I'll be doing the same.
Oh, and here are some addresses to be getting on with:
UK
Madame Fu-Ying
The Chinese Embassy
49-51 Portland Place
London, W1B 1JL
TEL: 020 72994049
US
Ambassador Mr Zhou Wenzhoung
The Chinese Embassy
3505 International Place, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel Operator: +1-202-4952000
E-mail: chinaembassy_us@fmprc.gov.cn
China
President Hu Jintao
Guojia Zhuxi
Beijing
People's Republic of China
Premier Wen Jiabao
Guowuyuan
No. 9 Xihuang-chenggen Beijie
Beijingshi 100032
People's Republic of China
Wu Aiying
Minister of Justice
No. 10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie
Chaoyangqu
Beijingshi 100020
People's Republic of China
TEL: (86) 10 6520 6706
TEL: (86) 10 8313 9065
Email: pfmaster@legalinfo.gov.ch
Email: minister@legalinfo.gov.cn
Links:
Hume comments:
Photo: This wonderful image of Thai Dharma Protector was taken my good friend, and skilled photographer, Noot. Thank you for allowing me to use it!
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