Krista Tippett, host of American Public Media's Speaking of Faith, on Buddhism, Christianity, and forgiveness in the context of Brit Hume's suggestion that Tiger Woods should convert to Christianity.
In response to: Trent Gilliss, online editor/producer for SOF from Saint Paul, Minnesota,
You directed me to your website for information on your shows funding sources, http://speakingoffaith.org, but I could not find any link to such information.
@4: re: "Can you imagine ANYONE on a news program daring to malign Christianity? All hell would break loose."
can you say i-r-o-n-y?
can you imagine a *Hollywood* movie in which a male Christian cleric isn't a child abuser?
compare and contrast with the huffing and puffing over "An Education", notwithstanding that its female subject recently told a BBC interviewer that her real-life seducer was far worse than he was portrayed in the movie.
I am always amazed that there is so much well-intended confusion about Buddhism:
Yes, it is a religion though not at all with the same assumptions as the Judeo-Christian-Islamic which is actually rather unique in its definition of god and experience of the cosmos compared to all that went before it. If you only define as religion those belief systems that are similar to the Judeo-Christian-Islamic, you end up excluding EVERYTHING ELSE! The word religion comes from "religare" (to bind together) and is about both creating social cohesion and providing answers to the incomprehensible and frightening.
Buddhism may sound extremely self-involved to some but the reality is the opposite as Buddhism centers around compassion for the other. Yes, the primary vehicle for self-transformation is the process of meditation and, to some, the process of meditation seems a self-involved one but, actually it is the opposite as it is a process of developing compassion for self with the understanding that this self contains nothing that is not true for all others; developing compassion for self leads us to compassion for all others and understanding of self leads to understanding of all others.
I was always taught in my own meditation practice (since 1986) that my practice was aimed first to remove obstacles between self and self and, then, to remove obstacles between self and other.
Those obstacles are rooted in attachment and it is attachment, not existence, which is the source of suffering. Attachment to what?? Could be attachment to using sexual affairs as an ego-boosting, stress-reducing, escapist drug ... Bill Clinton? Tiger Woods? It could be attachment to our own anger, opinion, etc. ...it could be attachment to anything that becomes instead of being fully in the moment and we are never fully available to others if we are not fully present. The antidote for attachment in Buddhism is letting go.
I am a Buddhist for almost 30 years. When I heard Brit Hume make those ignorant comments the first thing that came to my mind was "how could people who are paid millions of dollars on television be so ignorant". But then I realized it was Fox Five. Fomenting division and pandering to their far right conservative base is exactly what those commentators are paid to do. He is just doing his job.
This country is in serious trouble people! No outside force will save us. We need to look deep within and be honest with ourselves. This is our only hope.
Did the call by a cable news analyst for Tiger Woods to convert to Christianity go too far? NY Times Column : Let’s Talk About Faith (by Op-Ed Columnist Ross Douthat) http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/opinion/11douthat.html
Obviously I can't know Brit Hume's intentions but it may have been as simple as one individual sincerely trying to help another person in trouble. Why is this so terrible? I am beginning to wonder if people are not somewhat prejudiced against Christianity. Considering some of Christianity's public voices, I don't blame them. But Jesus has always been more attractive than his followers. Don't let them obscure the real good in his teachings.
I highly recommend a wonderfully funny and very wise little novel, by a very funny/wise author, Susan Trott. A Buddhist allegory, "The Holy Man" a sort of modern "Canterbury Tales", humorously takes on all personality types and Joe, the holy man posits, " If you look upon everyone you meet as a holy person, you will be happy." You will want more, and there is even a sequel!
I have long wished that SOF would delve more deeply into Buddhism. While monotheism has been given deep and broad coverage in the show, it seems to me that episodes regarding Buddhism tend towards very general and even shallow viewpoints. Buddhist sects differ much more extremely from one another than sects of Christianity or Judaism. My particular Buddhism - which is considered a religion - has nothing to do with Monks, the Dalai Lama, Zen, meditation, celibacy, the 8-fold path, vegetarianism, or denial of any kind. It would be nice to hear these differences addressed.
also, hume should see a shrink about his own feelings about his son, who committed suicide. i imagine someone in hume's position might be feeling a lot of guilt about not having saved a loved one.
Ms. Tippet gave some very esoteric replies but the bottom line is that Buddhism - be it considered religion or philosophy - does have a very strong concept of right and wrong behavior and a strong structure of confession, regret, redress and repentence for those who practice the faith. The key concept in Buddhism is the Law of Cause and Effect, known as karma. You do wrong and it comes back on you, but you can mitigate it with particular prayers, meditations and other practices, depending upon your Buddhist denomination. If you do not mitigate it you get the results full force, now or in the future. It's that simple.
here's a comment from hume's wikipedia page that makes it perfectly clear that hume WAS proselytizing.
[[Hume commented on part of the impact of his son's death: "I want to pursue my faith more ardently than I have done. I'm not claiming it's impossible to do when you work in this business. I was kind of a nominal Christian for the longest time. When my son died, I came to Christ in a way that was very meaningful to me. If a person is a Christian and tries to face up to the implications of what you say you believe, it's a pretty big thing. If you do it part time, you're not really living it."]]
so, in addition to sounding dull and pompous, hume has also lost his journalistic bearings. if he's going to impose his religious beliefs he should get a different kind of pulpit than the one he has.
Ultimately, in any religion, it is up to the individual to take stock of one's actions and to undergo personal "redemption" or correction of mistakes on one's own. No outside influence can do this for someone, entirely. Buddhism, like any religion, is a vehicle wherein an individual is provided with lifestyle guidelines and practice to help arrive at personal clarity and responsibility.
Ultimately, in any religion, it is up to the individual to take stock of one's actions and to undergo personal "redemption" or correction of mistakes on one's own. No outside influence can do this for someone, entirely. Buddhism, like any religion, is a vehicle wherein an individual is provided with lifestyle guidelines and practice to help arrive at personal clarity and responsibility.
There is no Buddhist "law"against open sexuality. This is a myth. There is no Buddhist "law" against open sexuality. This is Christian and Biblical morality grafted onto a Philosophy by those that just don't get it and refuse to see things from a different point of view. In Tantric Buddhism, open sexuality is part of the path to liberation... monk or not. The celibacy path is actually a hold over from patriarchal morality.
one thing to observe: a buddhist would never chide another religion and bait someone over to their "side" so to speak, promising something swpiritual to them. Inner resource. Inner. TV host?
Sadly, Hume seems quite ignorant of both Christianity and Buddhism.
About forgiveness:
Reconciliation is to understand both sides; to go to one side and describe the suffering being endured by the other side, and then go to the other side and describe the suffering being endured by the first side. - Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh
With all due respect to Krista Tippett & SOF (I'm a fan), I think the best analysis of the Brit Hume fiasco aired 1/4/10 on the Daily Show:
The Best F**king Theological Team helps Tiger Woods find forgiveness by recommending the best religion for redemption. http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-january-4-2010/the-best-f--king-news-team-ever---tiger-woods--faith
Surprisingly informative and as expected, hilarious!
Buddhism is a philosophy and not a religion. Ask any Tibetan and they will tell you that. Hume on the other hand is just pompous, ignorant and shameless.
Why does ANYONE need the framework of religion in order to be a moral person or to atone and to be forgiven?
Some of the most moral and responsible people I know are agnostics, non believers, etc. I've met more well adjusted and genuine people in my yoga class than I ever met in church.
are we even remotely surprised that drivel like that is aired on fox news? their ratings probably even went up after that statement, knowing the stupidity of their audience.
OK A: ignorant B: IF you know anything about Buddhism you don't have to convert to another religion. C: Many innocent African lives were destroyed in the name of Christianity!
Thank you for doing this segment and what a great resource (SOF)!
Brit Hume clearly went off his meds -- how can he not realize that what he said is deeply offensive and inappropriate? Can you imagine ANYONE on a news program daring to malign Christianity? All hell would break loose.
Maybe Hume thinks Tiger should join Mark Sanford or David Vitter's church? Spitzer's temple? Morality resides within the individual -- not in a building, or a book, or a doctrine.
Considering the continuous swirl of embarrassing behavior conducted specifically among the most judgmental, self righteous and vocal among the Christian religion, a less forgiving religion, if that's what this truly is, seems to me as a breath of fresh air.
WAYY too many get-out-of-h@ll-free-cards have already been passed out among American politicians and the assortment of bigheaded talking machines, in my humble opinion...I actually appreciate the accountability that Brit Hume apparently refuses to consider as legitimate, let alone holy.
Trent Gilliss, online editor/producer for SOF
from Saint Paul, Minnesota
@wants to know: Thank you for the compliment. We take a lot of pride in our online efforts and try to build on the quality conversations taking place on the radio with rich, relevant conversations online; striking imagery and multimedia features; complementary materials; behind-the-scenes production realities; original reporting; and more audience contributions. We often wish we could do more to serve our audiences.
We build and maintain our site within the SOF staff and have tried to make it an integrated effort. No outside vendors or contractors. It's an SOF staff team effort. With regard to your question, we list all our sponsors and funders on our home page at http://speakingoffaith.org. Cheers!
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more.
Learn more. Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm
your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the
right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the
Comment Guidelines before
posting.
By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's
Privacy Policy and
Terms Of Use.
Sponsored
About The Brian Lehrer Show
It's your neighborhood, your city, your country, your world, and now your website. Brian Lehrer delves into the issues and links them to real life.
Comments [40]
In response to: Trent Gilliss, online editor/producer for SOF from Saint Paul, Minnesota,
You directed me to your website for information on your shows funding sources, http://speakingoffaith.org, but I could not find any link to such information.
@4: re: "Can you imagine ANYONE on a news program daring to malign Christianity? All hell would break loose."
can you say i-r-o-n-y?
can you imagine a *Hollywood* movie in which a male Christian cleric isn't a child abuser?
compare and contrast with the huffing and puffing over "An Education", notwithstanding that its female subject recently told a BBC interviewer that her real-life seducer was far worse than he was portrayed in the movie.
I am always amazed that there is so much well-intended confusion about Buddhism:
Yes, it is a religion though not at all with the same assumptions as the Judeo-Christian-Islamic which is actually rather unique in its definition of god and experience of the cosmos compared to all that went before it. If you only define as religion those belief systems that are similar to the Judeo-Christian-Islamic, you end up excluding EVERYTHING ELSE! The word religion comes from "religare" (to bind together) and is about both creating social cohesion and providing answers to the incomprehensible and frightening.
Buddhism may sound extremely self-involved to some but the reality is the opposite as Buddhism centers around compassion for the other. Yes, the primary vehicle for self-transformation is the process of meditation and, to some, the process of meditation seems a self-involved one but, actually it is the opposite as it is a process of developing compassion for self with the understanding that this self contains nothing that is not true for all others; developing compassion for self leads us to compassion for all others and understanding of self leads to understanding of all others.
I was always taught in my own meditation practice (since 1986) that my practice was aimed first to remove obstacles between self and self and, then, to remove obstacles between self and other.
Those obstacles are rooted in attachment and it is attachment, not existence, which is the source of suffering. Attachment to what?? Could be attachment to using sexual affairs as an ego-boosting, stress-reducing, escapist drug ... Bill Clinton? Tiger Woods? It could be attachment to our own anger, opinion, etc. ...it could be attachment to anything that becomes instead of being fully in the moment and we are never fully available to others if we are not fully present. The antidote for attachment in Buddhism is letting go.
I am a Buddhist for almost 30 years. When I heard Brit Hume make those ignorant comments the first thing that came to my mind was "how could people who are paid millions of dollars on television be so ignorant". But then I realized it was Fox Five. Fomenting division and pandering to their far right conservative base is exactly what those commentators are paid to do. He is just doing his job.
This country is in serious trouble people! No outside force will save us. We need to look deep within and be honest with ourselves. This is our only hope.
Did the call by a cable news analyst for Tiger Woods to convert to Christianity go too far?
NY Times Column : Let’s Talk About Faith (by Op-Ed Columnist Ross Douthat)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/opinion/11douthat.html
Obviously I can't know Brit Hume's intentions but it may have been as simple as one individual sincerely trying to help another person in trouble. Why is this so terrible? I am beginning to wonder if people are not somewhat prejudiced against Christianity. Considering some of Christianity's public voices, I don't blame them. But Jesus has always been more attractive than his followers. Don't let them obscure the real good in his teachings.
Hume's comments were ludicrous and insulting. Even William Kristol looked pretty uncomfortable--wonder if Hume thinks he should convert too.
FOX NEWS NOT ON THIS STATION1
I highly recommend a wonderfully funny and very wise little novel, by a very funny/wise author, Susan Trott. A Buddhist allegory, "The Holy Man" a sort of modern "Canterbury Tales", humorously takes on all personality types and Joe, the holy man posits, " If you look upon everyone you meet as a holy person, you will be happy."
You will want more, and there is even a sequel!
I have long wished that SOF would delve more deeply into Buddhism. While monotheism has been given deep and broad coverage in the show, it seems to me that episodes regarding Buddhism tend towards very general and even shallow viewpoints. Buddhist sects differ much more extremely from one another than sects of Christianity or Judaism. My particular Buddhism - which is considered a religion - has nothing to do with Monks, the Dalai Lama, Zen, meditation, celibacy, the 8-fold path, vegetarianism, or denial of any kind. It would be nice to hear these differences addressed.
What I'd like to know is which branch of Buddhism are we talking about. Depending on which, the discussion can be very different.
Brit wHom??? Stop watching Fox New people.
also, hume should see a shrink about his own feelings about his son, who committed suicide. i imagine someone in hume's position might be feeling a lot of guilt about not having saved a loved one.
Ms. Tippet gave some very esoteric replies but the bottom line is that Buddhism - be it considered religion or philosophy - does have a very strong concept of right and wrong behavior and a strong structure of confession, regret, redress and repentence for those who practice the faith. The key concept in Buddhism is the Law of Cause and Effect, known as karma. You do wrong and it comes back on you, but you can mitigate it with particular prayers, meditations and other practices, depending upon your Buddhist denomination. If you do not mitigate it you get the results full force, now or in the future. It's that simple.
here's a comment from hume's wikipedia page that makes it perfectly clear that hume WAS proselytizing.
[[Hume commented on part of the impact of his son's death: "I want to pursue my faith more ardently than I have done. I'm not claiming it's impossible to do when you work in this business. I was kind of a nominal Christian for the longest time. When my son died, I came to Christ in a way that was very meaningful to me. If a person is a Christian and tries to face up to the implications of what you say you believe, it's a pretty big thing. If you do it part time, you're not really living it."]]
so, in addition to sounding dull and pompous, hume has also lost his journalistic bearings. if he's going to impose his religious beliefs he should get a different kind of pulpit than the one he has.
buddhism sounds extremely self involved... perhaps that's what lead to Tiger having to satisfy his 'needs'?
One thing my buddhist friends might remember is this statement from Lao Tzu: s/he who says does not know, and s/he who knows does not say...
This comment is just a result of ignorance.
Ultimately, in any religion, it is up to the individual to take stock of one's actions and to undergo personal "redemption" or correction of mistakes on one's own. No outside influence can do this for someone, entirely. Buddhism, like any religion, is a vehicle wherein an individual is provided with lifestyle guidelines and practice to help arrive at personal clarity and responsibility.
This comment is just a result of ignorance.
Ultimately, in any religion, it is up to the individual to take stock of one's actions and to undergo personal "redemption" or correction of mistakes on one's own. No outside influence can do this for someone, entirely. Buddhism, like any religion, is a vehicle wherein an individual is provided with lifestyle guidelines and practice to help arrive at personal clarity and responsibility.
There is no Buddhist "law"against open sexuality. This is a myth. There is no Buddhist "law" against open sexuality. This is Christian and Biblical morality grafted onto a Philosophy by those that just don't get it and refuse to see things from a different point of view. In Tantric Buddhism, open sexuality is part of the path to liberation... monk or not. The celibacy path is actually a hold over from patriarchal morality.
one thing to observe: a buddhist would never chide another religion and bait someone over to their "side" so to speak, promising something swpiritual to them. Inner resource. Inner. TV host?
I wish Ms. Tippett would speak to these questions rather than giving double-talk.
Samuel Johnson's most famous quotation is "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel."
Today, it is obviously "organized" religion.
Sadly, Hume seems quite ignorant of both Christianity and Buddhism.
About forgiveness:
Reconciliation is to understand both sides; to go to one side and describe the suffering being endured by the other side, and then go to the other side and describe the suffering being endured by the first side. - Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh
would brit hume say the same thing about judaism, and what would be the aftermath of that?
With all due respect to Krista Tippett & SOF (I'm a fan), I think the best analysis of the Brit Hume fiasco aired 1/4/10 on the Daily Show:
The Best F**king Theological Team helps Tiger Woods find forgiveness by recommending the best religion for redemption.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-january-4-2010/the-best-f--king-news-team-ever---tiger-woods--faith
Surprisingly informative and as expected, hilarious!
I'm an atheist and have come to really enjoy SOF and Krista Tippett. Nice job
Religion is NOT to be debated!
Buddhism is a philosophy and not a religion. Ask any Tibetan and they will tell you that. Hume on the other hand is just pompous, ignorant and shameless.
Why does ANYONE need the framework of religion in order to be a moral person or to atone and to be forgiven?
Some of the most moral and responsible people I know are agnostics, non believers, etc. I've met more well adjusted and genuine people in my yoga class than I ever met in church.
Ask her if Hume's comment shows any knowledge of Christianity. He may be an equal opportunity idiot.
buddhism is not a religion....
lm from long island... im in the same boat as you. or is it an ark?
are we even remotely surprised that drivel like that is aired on fox news? their ratings probably even went up after that statement, knowing the stupidity of their audience.
OK A: ignorant B: IF you know anything about Buddhism you don't have to convert to another religion.
C: Many innocent African lives were destroyed in the name of Christianity!
I just thank God I am an atheist :-)
Thank you for doing this segment and what a great resource (SOF)!
Brit Hume clearly went off his meds -- how can he not realize that what he said is deeply offensive and inappropriate? Can you imagine ANYONE on a news program daring to malign Christianity? All hell would break loose.
Maybe Hume thinks Tiger should join Mark Sanford or David Vitter's church? Spitzer's temple? Morality resides within the individual -- not in a building, or a book, or a doctrine.
Considering the continuous swirl of embarrassing behavior conducted specifically among the most judgmental, self righteous and vocal among the Christian religion, a less forgiving religion, if that's what this truly is, seems to me as a breath of fresh air.
WAYY too many get-out-of-h@ll-free-cards have already been passed out among American politicians and the assortment of bigheaded talking machines, in my humble opinion...I actually appreciate the accountability that Brit Hume apparently refuses to consider as legitimate, let alone holy.
@wants to know: Thank you for the compliment. We take a lot of pride in our online efforts and try to build on the quality conversations taking place on the radio with rich, relevant conversations online; striking imagery and multimedia features; complementary materials; behind-the-scenes production realities; original reporting; and more audience contributions. We often wish we could do more to serve our audiences.
We build and maintain our site within the SOF staff and have tried to make it an integrated effort. No outside vendors or contractors. It's an SOF staff team effort. With regard to your question, we list all our sponsors and funders on our home page at http://speakingoffaith.org. Cheers!
Where does Speaking of Faith get its funding?
It has an unusually highly polished website for a public radio show.
Leave a Comment
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.