Islam isn't the only religion that goes nuts over images of their main religious figure...

[MohRokTah]

I thank The Goddess every day for allowing me to be born into a country where I can draw a cartoon of Her poking fun at my own religion and not face legal prosecution or worse (not to mention my multiple tattoos of Her and Him):

Advice to tourists: Don’t sport your Buddha tattoo in a Buddhist country

The skyline of Bagan, Burma (also known as Myanmar), is dotted with more than 2,200 Buddhist temples. Built largely in the 13th and 14th centuries, they’re beautiful — a dusty red sandstone or a glinting gold — with massive Buddha statues inside. People flock from Thailand, China, Japan, the United States and Europe to see the ancient city and often to practice Buddhism.

But Westerners approach Buddhism differently than locals. That was made obvious when Burmese officials were poised to deport a Spanish tourist with the Buddha tattooed on the back of his leg, as AFP reported.

The Spaniard, identified by AOL Travel News as Cesar Hernandez, was with his wife when monks in Bagan started noticing the tattoo. Photos show that it covers nearly all of the back of his calf.

...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/07/19/he-ventured-to-buddhist-paradise-then-got-thrown-out-for-having-a-buddha-tattoo/?wpisrc=nl_mix&wpmm=1

[snooper2]

1. Well, they didn't cut his head off so I guess there is that...

[MohRokTah]

2. They deported others over it, so there is that.

What I find most remarkable is these are practicing Buddhists they are deporting!

Goddess Bless the USA!

[Igel]

4. Might be Theravada vs Mahayana differences.

One's more ascetic than the other, one values "right speech" (which includes not disrespecting others). There was some Buddhist monk riot a year or two ago in which the whole "pacifist" bit was discussed. Non-violence is a tenet in each, but differently ranked with other values. There isn't a single monolithic Buddhism; it is diverse, as all such religions will have to be when lacking a single, decisive, authoritative and potentially authoritarian leader.

Theravada supposedly has image-centered worship in some subvarieties, and having somebody sport a picture of your deity as a fashion symbol or body art might be pushing it for "respect." Where you draw the line varies, I'm sure.

I mean, most Xians are okay with pictures of Jesus, and many Hindus have no problems with pictures of Ganesh. But I suspect if I had a tattoo of either of them on my penis most of one group or another would be more than a little offended.


Let's add in that most of the violence happens where Buddhism meets other, typically more recent faiths that have come in. So nationalistic Buddhism is a thing, and has both worked within a society to effect change (not always good change) but also to wage struggles with other factions inside a state.

[Bluenorthwest]

3. Myanmar is not exactly a glowing example of religious sanity, is it?

UK advise to tourists going there:
Under Burmese law, insulting religion is a prosecutable offence. Insulting religion is a broad term, and can include any disrespectful depiction or image (including tattoos) of Buddha or other religious representation, or wearing any tattoo of Buddha anywhere below the waist.

And of course:

Homosexuality is technically illegal in Burma, although these laws are rarely enforced in practice. In June 2007, a European national was sentenced to 7 years in prison for committing homosexual acts.
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/burma/local-laws-and-customs
(Rarely enforced was probably cold comfort to the man who got 7 years in prison)

[maxsolomon]

5. Exactly. Buddhism is EXACTLY AS BAD as Islam

The Whataboutism on DU is out of control.