What Insult?

The Buddha taught us the path to cessation of suffering. That means a life free from fear, anger, grief, lamentations, anxiety, depression and despair. This is not difficult once you have learnt the skills. One must learn to have no self (i.e. selfless), no attachment, no greed, hatred and delusion.

What should be a Buddhist’s response to derogatory depictions of Buddhism (the Buddha, statue, Buddhism)? Learned Buddhists will not be angered but instead have a lot of pity for the perpetrator. He is so pitiful to be burnt by the fires of greed, hatred and delusion in his heart. He must be suffering immensely to start doing crazy things that cause him to be censured by wise people. Buddhists will forgive him, for the happiness of Buddhists themselves, because anger and hatred are like holding a burning coal intending to throw at the enemy but only hurt oneself. Out of loving kindness and compassion, Buddhists only wish the best for the perpetrator, which is for him to recognize his mental illness and seek help. Buddhists will response by telling him to stop doing that for his own benefit; he will be punished by himself (his fires of greed, hatred and delusion, and his karma) if he doesn’t take heed of the advice.

One can suffer simply because he has a self. When insulted, he says “It’s ME they are talking about! It’s MY RELIGION AND MY PROPHETS they are talking about!” He will not react the same way if it’s about someone else or other religions/prophets. One will be selfish (i.e. cannot be selfless) if he has a self, or sees the body as the self, or assumes the self is inside the body. He will see things as MINE or YOURS; he feels happy to gain but feels sad to lose. If you don’t have a self (i.e. selfless), then nothing can attach to you; you can neither gain nor lose. We are incapable to lose anything, because nothing really belongs to us. Whatever we “gain” cannot go with us after we die. If we see this reality as it is, instead of what we want reality to be, we will not suffer any loss. Buddhism is not MY or YOUR religion; it is just a religion (or a philosophy). It is not ME and not MY religion which is insulted. Buddhism cannot be insulted; the perpetrator only insults himself. Buddhism is invincible when it has no self, not requiring any protection from the laws or the followers.