Expert: Justin Choo - 4/19/2005

Question
How does the communities' commitment and practice of your religion differ in America than it would back home? What are some of the challenges that you face and how do you go about meeting those challenges? How is your religious life in America different than it would be in the country of origin?

How does Theravada Vietnamese Buddhism view the topic of mental health disorders? With a growing number of diagnostics related to diseases such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHA) it seems that there would be some concerns about the issues related to Buddhism and meditation.

How do Theravada Vietnamese Buddhist contend with questions about the relationship of Buddhist faith and belief to science and technology on a range of issues from evolution, birth control, artificial insemination, and transplants to ecology, nuclear energy, and chemical warfare?


Answer
Hi Derek,

Thank you for asking.


First of all I must say you have asked some difficult questions.  Nevertheless, I shall try my best to comment on them.

Comments on your 1st paragraph:
Actually, I am not in America.  I am in Malaysia.  So I'm saved from answering your first question!  But, just the same, I shall make some comments.  The main challenge will be to understand the mindset of people from a totally different culture and system of beliefs which is mainly based on Christianity.  The Buddhist teachings have a lot of ideas and concepts that are alien to these people.  It has to take time for these Buddhist ideas to gel in their understanding of a totally different way of viewing things around us.  In this respect, one has to be patient and bide one's time.  If one is a good Buddhist, one can live in any place without any difficulty.  This is because a good Buddhist does not expect others to be like him.  He is taught to live in harmony with others and not be a nuisance to society.  His values are universal which transcend time and place.  His values are not to be harmful to others, live in goodwill, and be always mindful to be a noble and dignified human being.

Comments on your 2nd paragraph:
I don't know why you use the term "Vietnamese"?  Maybe you think that I'm a Vietnamese!  By the way I'm a Chinese, born and bred in Malaysia! If you understand the teachings of the Buddha, then you would not be too surprised to witness a lot of "disoders".  The nature of this world is that of "disoders".  That is why the Buddha told us that this world is very unsatisfactory.  It is the very nature of this world.  It cannot be any other way.  Not realizing this truth, we suffer seeking permanent happiness and eternal life.  Buddhist meditation is one technique that can help us to maintain peace of mind.  But this needs a certain degree of understanding the Buddha's teachings before one embarks into it.

Comments on your 3rd question:   
Scientists may be very clever.  They can invent machinery and equipment and fantastic gadgets to probe the tiniest particle and explore the vastness of space.  But there is one thing they cannot do.  They cannot increase the power (or lack of it) of their physical organs.  The range of their eyesight, their hearing ability, and even their mental intelligence, are limited.  That is why they have to rely on hugh telescope to explore the universe, and powerful microscope to probe the invisible organisms.  As the saying goes, the more we see the universe, the less we know because we now realize that there are so much that we do not know.  The Buddha used the power of his mind to "see and know" the true nature of this world and life.  Buddhism has no problem with science.  This is because a lot of things that science had discovered were already known and revealed by the Buddha 2500 years ago!  So long as science can help in the progress of humans without harming others, Buddhism accepts.  The danger lies in the evil tendency, wickedness, and utter foolishness, of very intelligent people!  To be very clever does not equate to be very wise.  Cleverness and wisdom are two different traits.  This is the danger of this world.

Hope you are satisfied with my comments.  Please come back if you need further clarification.

Smile from justinchoo :-)