When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by An Eternal Now @ Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:47:27 +0800

An Eternal Now — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:47:27 +0800

Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:

I ask you what is more important, the person or the religion?

This is a personal question and varies for people to people.

I don't intend to get married (at least for now), so you may not be asking the right person.

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by Herzog_Zwei @ Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:11:34 +0800

Herzog_Zwei — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:11:34 +0800

Originally posted by An Eternal Now:

You mean Buddhist.. not Buddha..

Hope this helps:

http://www.jenchen.org.sg/vol6no3c.htm

Mutual respect begets harmony

How may a family whose members have different religions live together harmoniously?

One common principle that mankind all over the world abides by is the freedom of choice of religion and faith. A country may have different religions co-existing at the same time, such as Buddhism, Catholicism, Christianity or Islam. But, we have to understand that it is the condition arising from love that causes people to have families, parents and children. It is a good thing if the family is happy and blissful. However, if the family members bear different faiths, so long as each member keeps his faith to himself, refrain from slandering or debating over each other’s faith, but mutually respecting each other’s faith and character, then the family will naturally be harmonious.

Further, the younger generation ought to refrain from arguing with their elders because it is their parents who brought them up. Moreover, there is no purpose in arguing with them. We have to practise filial piety and be good so that we do them proud. Then, they will feel that their children are righteous, well behaved, and may willingly join us to learn about Buddhism. This will be ideal. Otherwise, it is not filial to constantly argue with them. When we learn and practise Buddhism, we have to exercise wisdom. With regards to differences in religions and faiths, as long as we maintain mutual respect, I believe, the family will be harmonious.

Freedom in choice of religion

If the children of a Buddhist family choose to marry a person of a different faith, will the marriage work out well?

Although a person may be a Buddhist himself, it is not necessary that his children must also Buddhists. We may, of course, promote and encourage our children to embrace Buddhism. However, we cannot force it upon them. Moreover, we should not object to their marriage just because their partners are from a different faith.

In this present age, everybody has the freedom to love and choose his or her own lifetime partner. Similarly, everyone has the freedom of choice of religion and faith. No religion can compel its followers (and their dependants) to only believe in that particular faith, and object to marriages outside that particular faith. I believe, as parents, with regards to their children’s marriages, the primary concerns are the relationship between the two parties and how to guide their children in deciding their lifetime partners. Religion and faith are secondary factors; it is their happiness after the marriage that matters most of all. It would be useful for parents to counsel their children about the code of family ethics, such as the role and responsibilities of a husband and wife, and how to be good parents themselves. If they do not know how to live harmoniously and fulfil their responsibilities as husband and wife, or to be good parents, even if both of them believe in Buddhism, the marriage may still not work out well. If, for instance, the choice partner believes in a different faith, as a parent, one may promote the teachings of Buddhism so that he or she finds it acceptable. It will, of course, be good to establish a household based on the principles of Buddhism. If, meanwhile that cannot be achieved, one should adopt the Buddhist teaching of loving-kindness, compassion and equality towards all beings, in relation to the son-in-law or daughter-in-law. It is a good thing for a couple to bear the same faith and share the same principles and values, with both cultivating together and becoming partners on the Bodhi-path. It would be even better if they were eventually reborn in the Buddha-land.

I ask you what is more important, the person or the religion?

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by Herzog_Zwei @ Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:09:42 +0800

Herzog_Zwei — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:09:42 +0800

Originally posted by Zarks:

Christian and Buddha..

I got problem with this cuz my babe is christian and im buddha.. sigh....

Sigh to me, i feel like religion is nothing in our world.. its just like some rules created which u dont know if its the truth. TO me, i prefer believe in my own to create my own future. not to let my life on my god's hand.

I prefer not to stick to any religion as the end results tend to get very sticky.

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by An Eternal Now @ Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:03:54 +0800

An Eternal Now — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:03:54 +0800

Originally posted by Zarks:

Christian and Buddha..

I got problem with this cuz my babe is christian and im buddha.. sigh....

Sigh to me, i feel like religion is nothing in our world.. its just like some rules created which u dont know if its the truth. TO me, i prefer believe in my own to create my own future. not to let my life on my god's hand.

You mean Buddhist.. not Buddha..

Hope this helps:

http://www.jenchen.org.sg/vol6no3c.htm

Mutual respect begets harmony

How may a family whose members have different religions live together harmoniously?

One common principle that mankind all over the world abides by is the freedom of choice of religion and faith. A country may have different religions co-existing at the same time, such as Buddhism, Catholicism, Christianity or Islam. But, we have to understand that it is the condition arising from love that causes people to have families, parents and children. It is a good thing if the family is happy and blissful. However, if the family members bear different faiths, so long as each member keeps his faith to himself, refrain from slandering or debating over each other’s faith, but mutually respecting each other’s faith and character, then the family will naturally be harmonious.

Further, the younger generation ought to refrain from arguing with their elders because it is their parents who brought them up. Moreover, there is no purpose in arguing with them. We have to practise filial piety and be good so that we do them proud. Then, they will feel that their children are righteous, well behaved, and may willingly join us to learn about Buddhism. This will be ideal. Otherwise, it is not filial to constantly argue with them. When we learn and practise Buddhism, we have to exercise wisdom. With regards to differences in religions and faiths, as long as we maintain mutual respect, I believe, the family will be harmonious.

Freedom in choice of religion

If the children of a Buddhist family choose to marry a person of a different faith, will the marriage work out well?

Although a person may be a Buddhist himself, it is not necessary that his children must also Buddhists. We may, of course, promote and encourage our children to embrace Buddhism. However, we cannot force it upon them. Moreover, we should not object to their marriage just because their partners are from a different faith.

In this present age, everybody has the freedom to love and choose his or her own lifetime partner. Similarly, everyone has the freedom of choice of religion and faith. No religion can compel its followers (and their dependants) to only believe in that particular faith, and object to marriages outside that particular faith. I believe, as parents, with regards to their children’s marriages, the primary concerns are the relationship between the two parties and how to guide their children in deciding their lifetime partners. Religion and faith are secondary factors; it is their happiness after the marriage that matters most of all. It would be useful for parents to counsel their children about the code of family ethics, such as the role and responsibilities of a husband and wife, and how to be good parents themselves. If they do not know how to live harmoniously and fulfil their responsibilities as husband and wife, or to be good parents, even if both of them believe in Buddhism, the marriage may still not work out well. If, for instance, the choice partner believes in a different faith, as a parent, one may promote the teachings of Buddhism so that he or she finds it acceptable. It will, of course, be good to establish a household based on the principles of Buddhism. If, meanwhile that cannot be achieved, one should adopt the Buddhist teaching of loving-kindness, compassion and equality towards all beings, in relation to the son-in-law or daughter-in-law. It is a good thing for a couple to bear the same faith and share the same principles and values, with both cultivating together and becoming partners on the Bodhi-path. It would be even better if they were eventually reborn in the Buddha-land.

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by Zarks @ Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:01:35 +0800

Zarks — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:01:35 +0800

Christian and Buddha..

I got problem with this cuz my babe is christian and im buddha.. sigh....

Sigh to me, i feel like religion is nothing in our world.. its just like some rules created which u dont know if its the truth. TO me, i prefer believe in my own to create my own future. not to let my life on my god's hand.

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by Herzog_Zwei @ Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:27:00 +0800

Herzog_Zwei — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:27:00 +0800

Originally posted by An Eternal Now:

I am just stating matter of factly, refering to his statement "I say to fark nature and fark morality, just need to do what is required for the continuaty of mankind."

If genetic modification on the whole is beneficial to mankind, who are you to say no?

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by Herzog_Zwei @ Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:25:42 +0800

Herzog_Zwei — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:25:42 +0800

Originally posted by An Eternal Now:

If you're talking about GM food it is perfectly fine. I do not think it is against ethics and nature since genetical modifications happen all the time in natural mutations as well.

It is only against ethics if one does something for one's own selfish benefits while creating harm and suffering on others. But since GM food is for the good of all, it is not made for the wrong ethical reasons.

Yeah, what about the new gene sequence mutates and end up causing more harm than expected? There are so many ethics and morality cases against the "Golden Rice" strain that the super drought resistant version is still not planted in places with drought.

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by rokkie @ Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:42:17 +0800

rokkie — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:42:17 +0800

Originally posted by An Eternal Now:

I am just stating matter of factly, refering to his statement "I say to fark nature and fark morality, just need to do what is required for the continuaty of mankind."

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by An Eternal Now @ Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:50:15 +0800

An Eternal Now — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:50:15 +0800

Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:

You are the only one into bestiality, AEN.

As in the discussion for GM food, there is the case of the "Golden Rice". If the person who created it did not genetically modify the strain, then it would not have appeared naturally for a whole millenium. With "Golden Rice, there were a lot of malnutrition problems stopped. So I say: Fark Ethics and Fark Nature, Do what's Right!

If you're talking about GM food it is perfectly fine. I do not think it is against ethics and nature since genetical modifications happen all the time in natural mutations as well.

It is only against ethics if one does something for one's own selfish benefits while creating harm and suffering on others. But since GM food is for the good of all, it is not made for the wrong ethical reasons.

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by An Eternal Now @ Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:49:04 +0800

An Eternal Now — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:49:04 +0800

Originally posted by rokkie:

please do not attack people ,though he posess different opinion,this forum is for buddhist ,and non buddhist who have enquiry,if buddhism teaching is convincing ,he will follow automatically ,right?

I am just stating matter of factly, refering to his statement "I say to fark nature and fark morality, just need to do what is required for the continuaty of mankind."

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by Herzog_Zwei @ Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:41:27 +0800

Herzog_Zwei — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:41:27 +0800

Originally posted by An Eternal Now:

Herzog wants to live worse than an animal.

You are the only one into bestiality, AEN.

As in the discussion for GM food, there is the case of the "Golden Rice". If the person who created it did not genetically modify the strain, then it would not have appeared naturally for a whole millenium. With "Golden Rice, there were a lot of malnutrition problems stopped. So I say: Fark Ethics and Fark Nature, Do what's Right!

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by rokkie @ Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:25:38 +0800

rokkie — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:25:38 +0800

please do not attack people ,though he posess different opinion,this forum is for buddhist ,and non buddhist who have enquiry,if buddhism teaching is convincing ,he will follow automatically ,right?

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by An Eternal Now @ Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:15:15 +0800

An Eternal Now — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:15:15 +0800

Originally posted by dragon_stone:

"fark nature and fark morality" and loosed our moral beliefs and knowledge to be unethical...?

Herzog wants to live worse than an animal.

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by Herzog_Zwei @ Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:44:32 +0800

Herzog_Zwei — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:44:32 +0800

Originally posted by dragon_stone:

"fark nature and fark morality" and loosed our moral beliefs and knowledge to be unethical...?

Why not?

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by dragon_stone @ Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:01:33 +0800

dragon_stone — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:01:33 +0800

Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:

I say to fark nature and fark morality, just need to do what is required for the continuaty of mankind.

"fark nature and fark morality" and loosed our moral beliefs and knowledge to be unethical...?

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by rokkie @ Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:28:14 +0800

rokkie — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:28:14 +0800

Originally posted by jacqn:

I had heard very negatve comments from christians about buddhism too. the more i attended church meetings, the more i resented them. to me they treat their religion more of a obession than anything else. but i never voiced out to my christian friends, cos this is the basic respect. I argued on few ocassions with my husband who is a christian, but more often we decided to change topic and let the matter rest. its better this way.

I used to attend a church meeting ,they tell christian male should marry christian female rather than other religions ,to avoid conflict

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by Herzog_Zwei @ Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:12:11 +0800

Herzog_Zwei — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:12:11 +0800

Originally posted by dragon_stone:

yes, i figure that if the GM experiments goes on, then they will experiment on humans...change/modify the male's genes to female and vice versa, then human becomes bisexual and no need partners to have children...then our normal human procreation is no longer to the natural existence. We are going against nature...

I say to fark nature and fark morality, just need to do what is required for the continuaty of mankind.

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by jacqn @ Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:04:52 +0800

jacqn — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:04:52 +0800

Originally posted by bohiruci:

For your info , my decease uncle is a diehard .. he was one of the indonesia methodist church Senior Pastor .Well my mum also smiled when He ask weird question abt Guanyin

I had heard very negatve comments from christians about buddhism too. the more i attended church meetings, the more i resented them. to me they treat their religion more of a obession than anything else. but i never voiced out to my christian friends, cos this is the basic respect. I argued on few ocassions with my husband who is a christian, but more often we decided to change topic and let the matter rest. its better this way.

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by jacqn @ Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:49:10 +0800

jacqn — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:49:10 +0800

Originally posted by bohiruci:

I do have some unpleasant christian uncle last time who come to our house and blabber nonsense in front of my altar and say the good thing of God

i feel heng , becos now he is nine inch under the ground liao

anyway have unpleasant experience with zealous relative who heck care other relative religion ????

why you felt heng? its up to individual to have different beliefs. I feel one should respect one another to avoid conflicts. this is very basic courtesy. your uncle is wrong, just ignore these type people. they will shut up if you simply ignore them.

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by dragon_stone @ Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:21:50 +0800

dragon_stone — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:21:50 +0800

Originally posted by Beyond Religion:

In vitro fertilisation is also going against nature, but it has brought hope and joy for many couples.

You have to know that going against nature per se is not something that is bad. If going against nature can result in benefits to the human kind, then it is good. The immediate benefits of GM experiments will be elimination of diseases. You cannot overlook that.

Agree. But not GM food. There are cases where GM food meant for the cattle ending up consuming by humans (in the US)
Our AVA do not see the need to label GM food products with the normal products, the consumers do not have a choice to choose...

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by Beyond Religion @ Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:37:43 +0800

Beyond Religion — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:37:43 +0800

Originally posted by dragon_stone:

yes, i figure that if the GM experiments goes on, then they will experiment on humans...change/modify the male's genes to female and vice versa, then human becomes bisexual and no need partners to have children...then our normal human procreation is no longer to the natural existence. We are going against nature...

In vitro fertilisation is also going against nature, but it has brought hope and joy for many couples.

You have to know that going against nature per se is not something that is bad. If going against nature can result in benefits to the human kind, then it is good. The immediate benefits of GM experiments will be elimination of diseases. You cannot overlook that.

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by dragon_stone @ Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:07:36 +0800

dragon_stone — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:07:36 +0800

Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:

If you don't ever start working on it, you will never even understand it. That's experimenting. Go figure.

yes, i figure that if the GM experiments goes on, then they will experiment on humans...change/modify the male's genes to female and vice versa, then human becomes bisexual and no need partners to have children...then our normal human procreation is no longer to the natural existence. We are going against nature...

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by Herzog_Zwei @ Fri, 28 Mar 2008 15:56:25 +0800

Herzog_Zwei — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 15:56:25 +0800

Originally posted by dragon_stone:

You are missing my point totally.

Mankind should not play God to clone animals, genetically modified our food chain, etc...The scientists still do not fully understand the effects of GM experiments. You can read more of GM food and experiments at this link www.i-sis.org.uk/index.php

But not the understanding and curing of sickesses such as diseases and bacterias. The knowledge gain benefited mankind but not harm mankind.

If you don't ever start working on it, you will never even understand it. That's experimenting. Go figure.

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by rokkie @ Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:25:24 +0800

rokkie — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:25:24 +0800

Originally posted by distorted:

Love all regligion folk, they love to talk and i'll listen,then i'll brainwash them ha ha ha

r u kidding me?

When Buddhist and Christian relatives meet ... conflict replied by dragon_stone @ Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:56:15 +0800

dragon_stone — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:56:15 +0800

Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:

If man never played God, then you should not survived your last bout of whatever bacteria infection. Go figure what should be done.

You are missing my point totally.

Mankind should not play God to clone animals, genetically modified our food chain, etc...The scientists still do not fully understand the effects of GM experiments. You can read more of GM food and experiments at this link www.i-sis.org.uk/index.php

But not the understanding and curing of sickesses such as diseases and bacterias. The knowledge gain benefited mankind but not harm mankind.

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