“Judge not, that ye be not judged.”
- Mathew 7:1
“We live in illusion and the appearance of things. There is a reality. We are that reality. When you understand this, you see that you are nothing, and being nothing, you are everything. That is all.”
- Kalu Rinpoche, Tibetan Lama
“I think he’s lost his family, it’s not clear to me if he’ll be able to have a relationship with his children, but the Tiger Woods that emerges once the news value dies out of this scandal — the extent to which he can recover — seems to me to depend on his faith. He’s 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. So 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.”
- Brit Hume
Aren’t we blessed to have someone like Brit Hume in this day and age?
Just when I was thinking how my life is out of balance and what I should do to save my soul and put my life back on track, Brit had the answer for everyone: Christianity. After all, if Tiger’s seven time damned whore mongering soul has a chance of being redeemed through Christianity, then me, as a loud mouthed blasphemer, should have no problem at all.
According to Brit, Buddhism does not offer the redemption and forgiveness as Christianity does. Wow. What a mind. After the last decade or so in my studies of comparative religion, I never would have had the co hones to make such an empirical statement. And now, Brit, on national television (let alone the internet), has enlightened us with his divine knowledge of all paths. He told us as to what is right and what is wrong.
That’s something else.
Okay, so which brand of Christianity should we go to? There’s Amish, Catholicism, Christian Science, Eastern Orthodoxy, Gnosticism, Jesus People, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mandaeanism, Maya, Lutheranism, the Episcopal Church, Mormonism, Opus Dei, Pentecostalism, Protestantism, Quaker, Santeria, Unitarian, and oh, a couple of hundred other flavors. Which one of them offers the particular cure all of proper penance for someone like Tiger or even someone like me?
If Tiger was a Buddhist, I can tell you now, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the path he chose. After all is said and done with the media as well as his personal failings as to the vows he took with his wife, the one person who is going to have to forgive Tiger is… Tiger.
I mean that’s what we are talking about. Brit was concerned about Tiger’s actual soul. My experience with Christianity shows that penance is gained by three very specific methods: 1) personal penance after sufficient reflection, 2) a priest after going into a booth and saying magical Latin words and a bunch of prayers to be said by the sinner, or 3) Christian rebirth or being “born again”. The last two are the equivalent of having some kind of charlatan wave his arms about and say, “Heal, heal, feel my power.”
The first solution, however, is very similar to the meditation Buddhists do. What’s more, a compassionate Buddhist would never have cheated on his wife to begin with. He would have been mindful enough to not cause that kind of pain to another person.
Now, I’m not a total hypocrite. I realize that there are also several flavors of Buddhism out there as well. However, the base of Buddhism, as well as the REAL base of Christianity, boil down to the same phrase – “Love one another.” The real difference with Buddhism and Christianity is that Buddhism is more tolerant of other religions. Indeed, a Christian believer can enhance their spiritual experience by using the techniques taught in Buddhism. There is no real conflict – only on the Christian side. It is an enhancement. It is a method of knowing yourself and being mindful of your own actions. It is done without all of the dogma and silly mythology that is attached to most Christian religions.
It can also be said that true Buddhism is not a religion at all. It more teaches us awareness of the present moment and the realization that we are all one entity. So therefore, compassion is a given. Buddhism is a method and a philosophy that can be measured through science at times and through quantum physics.
So, what am I saying after all of this in regard to Brit Hume and his proselytizing. Simply that Brit doesn’t know at all. The kindest thing I can say is that Christianity works for him. Which is nice but it’s not for everyone – which is contrary to most Christian doctrines. The worst thing I can say about Hume is that he chose national television to express his opinion about a subject that he failed to research as a newsman.
And that should never be done on a news network… not even on Fox.
Recent Comments