Letters and Comments

Tiger Woods, Brit Hume, and Religion

By U.S. News Staff

January 8, 2010 RSS Feed Print

I don’t care what anyone says. To publicly state that someone else’s religion/spiritual beliefs are inadequate and that they should consider yours instead is just arrogant [“Brit Hume Confuses Faith and Religion on Tiger Woods,” usnews.com]. What exactly gives anyone the right to judge? The really funny thing about his “opinion” is that he criticizes one of the few (if only) religions that truly does not discriminate against or judge other religions. Yes, everyone is entitled to his/her opinion. Unfortunately, not everyone is smart enough to know when and where to voice those opinions. Brit Hume [was] being completely and totally disrespectful.

Comment by Haiden of IL

Buddhists don’t believe in the existence of “God.” So if Tiger is Buddhist, there is no God for him to ask forgiveness from. Buddhism teaches us that our actions affect ourselves and those around us. Tiger needs to forgive himself, and then take the right actions to improve his life and the lives of those he hurt.

Comment by Ian of WA

If he prepared these comments in advance, then [Brit Hume] said what he meant to say. The real problem, as Mary Kate Cary indicates, is that he dissed another faith en route to suggesting turning to God. In the first place, it’s difficult to discern where news and opinion divide on Fox, and this doesn’t help. At Fox, the separation between religion and politics just got more blurred. I’m not comfortable with a political animal who believes in the superiority of his particular religion.

Comment by Richard of AZ

I’m not sure it’s correct to say he “dissed” another faith. He was just stating his understanding—which I believe is correct—that Buddhism doesn’t offer absolute forgiveness and redemption. There is no balancing of good works versus bad acts for those who are Bible-believing Christians. If you believe and accept God’s forgiveness through Christ’s sacrifice, you are saved. A lot of people don’t like hearing about the Christian faith because it talks about man’s sinful nature and how everyone needs forgiveness and redemption. But Tiger is a prime example of human fallibility. Brit was just expressing his view of how Tiger—and all of us—should deal with that fact.

Comment by Anna Reiter of CA

Brit says, “He needs the kind of forgiveness and redemption that only faith in God offers.” It seems to me that the only way that Tiger Woods could be forgiven by Brit Hume is by turning to God. I doubt that Tiger’s wife and children share that feeling. Brit Hume and other believers reduce everything to their Christian faith. It’s up to the people he hurt to decide whether he will be forgiven. This has nothing to do with God.

Comment by Ron M. of NY

I believe the author here, though well intentioned, has missed the entire point of the comment Hume made. The claims of Buddhism and Christianity about the nature of forgiveness, truth, life, value, and otherwise are not equivocal. Hume is noting that the ideological framework of Woods’s current stated worldview does not provide him with the ideological resources to acquire what, by his own words, he seems to be seeking. The mistake everyone seems to make in this debate is to assume that all religions are the same. The adherents of Buddhism and Christianity would readily note differences between the two systems and would likely be offended by the suggestion that they are indistinguishable from one another. In reality, the belief that all religions are the same is, in itself, a religious belief, and one that shouldn’t be imported to people who claim a different belief.

Comment by Nick of WI

Reader Comments Read all comments (78)

Add Your Thoughts
Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.

Kepada semua saudara dan saudari yang dihormati.

Kami kumpulan Myanmar di Malaysia; kita hidup di Malaysia sejak sedekad dan sentiasa pergi ke kuil ( PERSATUAN PENGANUT BUDDHA SAMNAK SAMBODHI) No: 19-21 Jalan 38 Taman Desa Jaya, Kepong, 52100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia dan kami sangat sedih dan menyesali dengan Ahli Jawatankuasa Kuil kerana mereka menggunakan Sami kami dalam tanggapan yang salah Buddha mengajar atau kaedah-kaedah Buddha. Kami datang ke Kuil ini untuk membantu Sami-Sami dan dihormati agama kita.

Bahawa Kuil adalah Pengerusi yang bernama Datuk Yip Kum Fook (Pengerusi MCA Bahagian Gombak), Sami kami berkata dan dia dijemput Sami kami dari Myanmar untuk menjaga Kuil itu tetapi tanpa membuat apa-apa bayaran kepada Sami-Sami kami, tambah beliau dan tidak menghormati beliau daripada kami Sami-Sami dan ada kalanya dia memerintahkan kaumnya ke barang-barang yang dikumpul seperti kertas, dan sebagainya. Pengerusi mengambil air mineral tanpa memaklumkan apa-apa perkataan untuk sami-sami kami. Dalam agama kita percaya kita tidak boleh mengambil apa-apa Tempat suci(Kuil), jika kita dilakukan kita adalah dosa besar.

Dalam sebelumnya, Sami kami berkata Ahli Jawatankuasa sentiasa meminta wang daripada beliau, apabila Sami kami memberikan RM20, 000.00 secara tunai pada tahun 2001 kepada Pengerusi(Yip kum Fook), maka Jawatankuasa berdiam diri, Jawatankuasa kemudian membuat masalah dengan seorang Sami kami yang bernama Ven. U Nandiya sekali lagi dan dibatalkan membenarkan (permit Visa) Sami kami untuk tinggal di Malaysia, maka Sami kita (Sadayaw U Nandiya) pergi ke Australia dan Sami kami tidak datang Kuil itu pada masa panjang. Datuk Yip Kum Fook (Pengerusi MCA bahagian Gombak) memberi komputer notebook kepada Sami kami untuk perlindungan jumlah tersebut wang, ini-lah sami kami memberitahu;

Ramai orang tempatan di sekitar Kuil berkata, Kini tiada lebih ramai orang datang ke Kuil ini kerana Ahli Jawatankuasa sentiasa membuat masalah atau sangat sombong dan kita mendengar daripada orang tempatan berkata: Yip Kum Fook (Pengerusi MCA bahagian Gombak) memerintahkan kaumnya untuk membakar Kuil Hindu di Taman Daya, Kepong kerana dia perlukan tempat itu untuk membuat perniagaan kedai perabot, ini berlaku beberapa tahun yang lalu. Semua orang mengetahui apa yang dilakukan untuk Kuil Hindu di Taman Daya, Kepong. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Kali terakhir juga dia menjemput polis untuk menangkap Sami-Sami di tempat suci (kuil) dan dikunci kuil tanpa takut Karma dan memalukan orang, kerana dia percaya Ahli Jawatankuasa yang kuasa lebih daripada Sami-Sami. Juga anak Datuk Yip Kum Fook selalu berkata, Kuil ini adalah kepunyaan bapanya. Yang betul, Kuil ini sumbangan daripada orang ramai, kita kerja keras untuk Kuil ini. (Anak Datuk Yip Kum Fook dipanggil Yip Jiun Han)

Kuil ini Ahli Jawatankuasa yang sentiasa berubah Sami-Sami, kini mereka menukar sami baru dalam menjaga kuil, Sami baru ini juga aduan perkara-perkara buruk jawatankuasa kerana jawatankuasa juga menunggu kotak derma wang sahaja, mereka tanpa apa-apa bantuan kepada Sami-Sami kami dan jawatankuasa yang dikawal dengan sami-sami kami tidak bercakap atau aduan lebih, Sami-Sami kami tinggal di sana sebagai omong kosong dan takut kepada Ahli Jawatankuasa.

Di bangunan baru di mana dicagarkan adalah marmar patung Buddha; kita mempunyai pengubahsuaian patung Buddha kerana itu patung Buddha diletakkan sangat rendah, kita mengangkat tertinggi Ahli Jawatankuasa tidak suka dan tidak berpuas hati. Di negara kita, sesiapa sahaja boleh datang ke Kuil untuk menyembah Buddha tetapi di Malaysia adalah Kuil yang berbeza mengawal oleh Ahli Jawatankuasa.

Kami berharap semua orang memelihara ajaran Buddha dan sila keselamatan sami kami, tidak melihat wang hanya kerana ini Kuil. Apabila kami bertanya kepada beberapa rakyat kita (Myanmar) dan penduduk tempatan, jawatankuasa adalah sangat rendah fikiran kerana fikiran mereka sangat sempit dan tanpa pendidikan agama. Dan Ahli Jawatankuasa tidak akan mengganggu dengan Sami-Sami kami, Sami-Sami seperti ayah anda kami untuk menjaga agama Buddha dan Kuil adalah seperti tempat kita menyelesaikan masalah kita.

Baru-baru ini, Sami (Sadayaw Ashin Indaka asal daripada Mandalay, Myanmar) telah tinggal di Kuil ini juga tidak berpuas hati kerana Ahli Jawatankuasa tidak membayar apa-apa kepadanya, dia bekerja di sukar untuk menasihatkan orang ramai dan kami juga kecewa dan sedih apabila mendengar berita buruk dari Sami-Sami kami. Kadang-kadang Ahli Jawatankuasa datang dan menjerit dalam Kuil tanpa mempunyai apa-apa sebab dan melakukan apa yang mereka perlu lakukan, Sami kami berkata, jawatankuasa kuil ini tidak mempunyai ajaran Buddha dalam fikiran mereka, mungkin masa depan Buddha boleh memusnahkan.

Daripada kumpulan Myanmar Buddha di Malaysia ..

Kita menterjemahkan Bahasa Inggeris ke Bahasa Malaysia

. of MS 5:22AM May 18, 2012

敬爱的佛教伩徒,

有关马來西亜，吉隆坡，甲洞帝沙再也 (暹寺) 三宝寺 Samnak Sambodhi Buddhist Association No.19-21 Jalan 38 Taman Desa Jaya, Kepong 52100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 所发生的纠纷, 经过阅读了，Venerable Phra Piya Thammo 和尚及叶金福律师 (Yip Kum Fook) 的双方书信之后, 再经实地旁听了觧，做为中间人，我要客观实事的说：

1.当一个和尚、初出道 (小学生)，在修行, 若有缺点, 那是难免.他马华公会鹅唛區会主地席叶金福律师(Yip Kum Fook)，却心眼看不顺，就电招警万到耒佛教之圣地要扣畄和尚耒耻唇出家人, 这是绝对不许可, 除非是殺人放火之大罪悪.

2.他身为马华公会鹅唛區会主席叶金福律师 (Yip Kum Fook)，却反其道而行, 在佛寺不依佛法而軽视佛教的精神, 以傲慢的手段，帶领一般黑社会的人耒挑衅和尚打架, 这也是不该有、更不是佛教修行者的行为.

3.佛教的圣地, 其主要的目地, 是让眾生修佛道, 不是政治争執的地方. 他马华公会鹅唛区会主席叶金福律师 (Yip Kum Fook), 却利用佛教之圣地当政治活动的场所。如此果敢冒犯佛陀的教誨，更是大大的罪悪。

囯有囯章，彿有佛法，家有家规. 如果出家人有何不对之处, 他叶金福律师 (Yip Kum Fook), 为何不向主持和尚投？让出家人自依和尚的條规处理、却强权一味要显示他是马华公会鹅唛区会及三宝寺理事会主席, 无法无天的应用霸道手段践踏佛教之圣地.为什么。。。。。为什么.

至今, 他叶金福律师 (Yip Kum Fook)，不当不歉愧，还要狡辩, 这又证明了他说一套, 做的又是另一套, 囗是心非, 所谓的两舌, 相当阴险. 身为律师, 受高深教育, 却应用如此悪毒, 横蛮无礼的作风污辱和尚, 相等于是耻辱佛教伩仰者。他叶金福律师(Yip Kum Fook)不向主持和尚投诉, 却自承英雄,电招外耒者.请问,身为將近20年的三宝寺主持和尚兼顾问,也是第一位 自筹建寺的大功臣,在大马南傳泒中，是闻名遐邇的高僧.其脸要放在那裡？同样的,要是台湾星雲大师的佛寺沙彌犯錯, 理事会没有礼貌自作主张,电招警方要扣畄其沙彌.我敢请问！星雲大师的自尊是怎样的感受？他叶金福律师(Yip Kum Fook)是后耒者,担任理会主席也不久, 竟敢应用如此,目无尊長的方式对待住持,间接的就是告大家,强迫住持和尚必远離,雀巢鸠要佔。这种用心不良, 有老千之谋, 的确令人不敢恭维。

縱观以上几项重点，我不是盲目的護持三宝, 而是要坦白的说；他叶金福律师 (Yip Kum Fook) 身受高深教育, 为律师者，本应通情达理才是，但遗憾的是, 却令人惊觉, 他厡耒就是彿书裡所讲的狡猾且残忍的此颣人。他叶金福律师 (Yip Kum Fook)，利用他的专业知識, 懂得包裝自己的道德守則，以宗教为幌子手，到处募款，商业经营, 政治活动为重, 并没依循佛教宗教守则行事, 也没对人道作出任何貢献, 只不过借宗教之名捞取权和私利而己。

在此, 我奉劝, 他马华公会鹅唛区会主席叶金福律师 (Yip Kum Fook), 好自为之, 免因果報应.

- of CT 10:30PM April 15, 2012

I find it rather surprisingly, that this monk has not managed to extinguish the burning emotions in him over an incident that occurred almost ten years back. The first time he wrote a similar letter to the one he posted recently was in the year 2006.

We must understand that, it is inevitable that sometimes conflicts and misunderstandings arise. That is the way things are. However, the wise one will learn to forgive and to let go. The wise one don’t keep grudges, ill-will, anger and hatred in their hearts. Such feelings will cause pain and suffering not only in this life but in lives to come. As the Buddha said;”Hatred never cease through hatred in this world, through love alone they cease”. However many holy words one reads, however many one speaks, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?.

There is always a reason to an action. Therefore, anyone who wishes to help him in the brotherhood of Buddhism should firstly; pose a few basic questions to him such as:

• Was he attached to the Singapore Anti-Narcotic Special Branch before he became a monk?

• Out of the hundreds of monks who have visited and stayed in the Temple, why was he the only one asked to leave the Temple premise by the Temple Committee.

• What was his true purpose of coming to the Temple then?

After consulting the Malaysia Buddhist Association and acting on the advice given then, the Temple Committee had no other options but to kindly persuade this monk to leave the Temple. Nonetheless, he refuses to leave. He then demanded some money which the Temple Committee relented and gave him a few hundred ringgits for his journey back to Penang. There are moments when things are not easily explained, these are moments when we let time speaks for itself that is; with time the truth will eventually prevail! No one is free from the karmic effects generated by one’s actions!

As practising Buddhist, we should let bygones be bygones. What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. When we continue to cling to the past and worry about the future, we will always live in grief and fear. When a person is wholly free from attachment there is no grief, much less fear. The Buddha taught us that; to be humble is to have wisdom. To regard yourself highly is to have attachment. The Buddha often warned his disciples not to be complacent after attaining wisdom. “One should behave like the rice plant; the riper and fuller the rice grains, the lower the rice plant bows down.

What really matters ultimately are the intangible things- love, kindness, gratitude, generosity, compassion and care we show towards others. The development of these qualities is our true wealth…..qualities that help us grow spiritually, qualities that lead us to true peace, happiness and freedom.

“To do good, avoid evil and to purify the mind”- this is the teachings of the Buddha.

May the Blessings of The Triple Gem be with you always!

Chairman(MCA man) of Chairman of Samnak Sambodhi Association

t of CO 2:06AM February 18, 2012

Letters and Comments

Welcome to the U.S. News Readers' Letters and Comments blog. Positive or negative, reader feedback provides added perspective to any story. New letters and comments will be posted here several times a week. Thank you for your submission.

advertisement

Cartoons

advertisement