Hearing and reading about the attacks on Muslins, by Buddhists, in Burma is rather troubling. As a practising Buddhist I keep getting asked why this is happening. ‘Buddhists are peaceful people aren’t they?’ is a common question, and I find myself having to try to defend the entire faith. There is a misconception that Buddhists exist is some kind of parallel universe, unaffected by the goings on in the real world … wrong.
Buddhists are just people, they believe in a doctrine, that like many other religions, preaches peace, tolerance and understanding, but not at any price, and they are capable of all the normal human reactions to their environment.
I was going to try to put together a piece explaining what has happened in Burma and Sri Lanka to cause these much publicised violent incidents, but then in the course of my research, I happened upon a brilliant article on the BBC website, and decided to link to that, rather than try to rewrite such an excellent piece.
Here it is …
Of all the moral precepts instilled in Buddhist monks the promise not to kill comes first, and the principle of non-violence is arguably more central to Buddhism than any other major religion. So why have monks been using hate speech against Muslims and joining mobs that have left dozens dead?
I apologise to those of you who think this is a cheat, but I couldn’t have written it better, or more objectively, myself.
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
The Search For Enlightenment 
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