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What should be a Buddhist's response to derogatory depictions of Buddhism?

7 votes
4 answers
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I have come across multiple instances where famous people or mainstream media have treated Buddhism and its culture in a derogatory manner, though I like to think most of the time it was because they are ignorant and not deliberate. This is not limited to famous ones of course. I will note 2 popular examples here. The first one: SNL or Saturday Night Live (an American weekly television show) did an episode titled **Rude Buddha** , which was about the rude mentality of Lord Buddha. It consisted of a famous celebrity acting as Lord Buddha and being condescending and rude towards his followers, including sexual innuendos. Now, it's obviously a humorous dig at Lord Buddha's life. And I am not going to deny, I found it quite hilarious. There's another example where the famous Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo uploaded a photo to his Instagram where he seems to have **one foot resting on the base of a statue of Buddha's head** . Fans were outraged and the photo was met with severe criticism. However, despite the incident being as old as from 2016, the photo still can be seen in his Instagram. It seems like the sentiment of Buddhists is not taken seriously enough for this photo to be removed. While I found the SNL episode funny, I do not view this in the same sense. He could have obviously taken it down considering how insensitive it is to Buddhists as a whole. I believe no religion should be excluded from criticism. It enables people to engage in intellectual discourse on religions. However some incidents lean more towards mockery. Most of the comments in the SNL video (it's available on YouTube and I have provided the link above) are about how most Buddhists would find this funny and move on. However, I always wonder, to what extent should we tolerate these? My moral dilemma is, how far can we be okay with our religion being mocked or treated insignificantly? Do we always have to **give the benefit of ignorance when someone disrespects Buddhism and its culture**? And how should **a good Buddhist react to incidents like these**?
Asked by Sandun (181 rep)
Jun 17, 2021, 11:11 AM
Last activity: Jun 30, 2021, 07:00 AM