Buddhism Bad! More Misconceptions about Buddhism

You know this whole Western vs non-Western Buddhist thing really is just a back drop to a bigger issue of ignorance by some people who don't know what Buddhism really is. For me, I'd rather stop fighting with my friends for we are all Buddhists, just simple Buddhists without qualifiers at the end of the day. If we disagree on practice or tradition, it is something we can work through, but with this kind of ignorance "Buddhism Bad!" we need to stand together as one tradition, regardless of race, culture or practice. People really do believe this shit, and hopefully, we can be a helpful force to spread some truth about what Buddhism really is all about.

(edit: Sorry, I had to add a couple of the funnest and saddest quotes from this article.)
http://lutheransurrealism.blogspot.com/2009/07/buddhism-bad.html

There are no criteria for anger within Buddhism. You are never supposed to be angry. You just stay calm, and focus on your own inner peace. Buddhism doesn't even have moral criteria. The ten commandments has no correlative in Buddhism. Everything just is. If someone chops your leg off, your job is to remain sanguine. If someone kills a child, try to see everything as transience, and stay in the groove. There are no jeremiads in Buddhism. Say om again and get on with nothingness.

Tibet itself was once a martial nation before Buddhism came, but it's become a bunch of marshmallows sitting around on pillows.

Therefore, Buddhists don't have a journalistic tradition. Even if they did have one, they wouldn't have any newspapers, because freedom of the press doesn't exist in any Buddhist countries. We used to have freedom of the press, at least, in the Protestant west, but now that Buddhism and Marxism have combined to wipe out our intellectual class and turn them into followers of the Pied Piper, I don't expect much from that sector any longer.

If so, why hasn't anybody done a report on the evils of Buddhism, and how it turns its practitioners into mental marshmallows? Maybe when you are doing the research, you turn into such a marshmallow you can't finish the report.

Ok Thank you Jack for reminding me about this scene from Ghostbusters!! Very appropriate given the comments above. LOL



So in honor of this rather ill-informed individual, here is a list, in no particular order, of commonly held misconceptions about Buddhism and Buddhists that I have heard and seen over the last few years from many not familiar with the teachings. Feel free to add your own.

1. Buddhism is about lapsing into some tranquil black hole.
2. All Buddhists are vegetarian and don’t drink alcohol.
3. All Buddhists are pacifists and non-violent.
4. Enlightened Buddhists have supernatural powers and live in a different reality.
5. With enough good Karma one can acquire enlightenment.
6. All Buddhists believe in literal reincarnation.
7. People that take psychedelic drugs can experience nirvana.
8. Buddhism is a nihilistic religion.
9. Buddhists believe the Buddha is a God and is worshiped as such.
10. Good Buddhists shouldn’t have opinions, hold judgments or express emotional feelings.