Buddhists and Catholics call for government reform

" South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and his administration remain under attack for failing to help the poor, protect the environment and for violating human rights.

Since the start of the month 124 intellectuals and university professors have complained that South Korea’s democracy, press freedom and media independence have been weakened. Two days ago Buddhist and Catholic religious leaders have joined the fight.

On Monday thousands of Buddhist monks and hundreds of Catholic priest issued separate statements calling on President Lee to change his style of government. "

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Buddhist Life in South Korea

The LA Times gives "A taste of Buddhist life in South Korea"

"South Korea may well be the land of TV soaps and reality shows, but it is also where Seon Buddhism, Korea's answer to Japan's Zen, has remained the purest, or so the Koreans say.

I was sampling it at the Hwagyesa temple at the foot of the pine-tree covered Mount Samgaksan, where Koreans go hiking on weekends. Also called the Seoul International Zen Center, this is one of several temples where tourists can get a taste of Korean Buddhism for a day or more — and take a restoring break from the tumult of the economic meltdown."

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Documentary "The Road to Nibbana"

The Korea Broadcasting System (KBS) will be going to Myanmar to shoot a documentary on Myanmar's Theravada Buddhism called "The Road to Nibbana"

"Directed by Byan Choonho, the video will be shot in the country's famous Inlay Water Village located in northern Shan State.

The documentary will not only feature the life of Buddhist followers in the Inlay region but also the daily life of local inhabitants most of whom are fishermen, the report said."

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First Buddhist Symphony

The Chinese Harmonious Music is the first Buddhist symphony in China's Buddhist history. It is composed of a chorus, soloists, and an orchestra. The orchestra uses Buddhist, Western, and Chinese traditional instruments to create a unique mix of music and religion.

"Composed in 2006 for the World Buddhist Forum held in China, the symphony started under the slogan "the world of harmony starts from the heart'' and decided to visit Korea as part of a cultural exchange project between the Taego Order of Korean Buddhism and its Chinese counterpart."

South Korean Buddhists accept apology

The South Korean Buddhists finally accept the SK administration's apology over religious discrimination. Hopefully, this will mean fewer conflicts in the future between the two dominant religious groups.

"The chairman of a Buddhist committee on the government's religious bias said Friday that the panel decided to the accept the president's apology and promise in consideration of the economic difficulties and social conflict over the issue. The committee's decision will be reported to high-level Buddhist meeting on Tuesday."

Religious Problems in SK

Here's the latest update of the Buddhist protests against the South Korean government as result of what the Buddhist community feel is religious bias. The Buddhist leaders have put great pressure on the South Korean administration to issue a public apology and the President Lee Myung-bak said on Tuesday, "It is deeply regrettable that some officials caused misunderstanding among Buddhists and thus hurt their feelings.'' However, the Buddhists don't buy it. Now they are demanding another public apology and the dismissal of the police chief. If the President does not comply, Buddhist leaders threaten to hold massive rallies nationwide.

Now how did this situation get so messy? Was it the result of the administration mishandling the apology and policy reforms? Or are the Buddhist leaders just being too stubborn? Certainly, even in America, where the Constitution separates the Church from state in the same way the South Korean Constitution does, Christianity has more obvious role in government and politics (just look at the presidential campaigns) than that of South Korean. So why don't non-Christian groups in America protest in the name of religious discrimination? Why is the SK administration having trouble handling the situation and why are the Budddhists still dissatisfied?

Well, as many might suspect, religion in SK society is very different than religion in American society. Firstly, the government is most likely not used to confronting religious issues. In a country where protests at the capital are quite common, massive religious rallies are considered rare. Furthermore the percentage of the population that identify with a religion is very different from that of America. To begin with, 2005 statistics found on Wikipedia state about 46.5% of South Koreans express no religious preference, 29.3% are Christians, 22.8% are Buddhist, and the rest adhere to several different new religious movements created under the increasing influence of Christianity and Western culture. In America, 2007 statistics from the CIA World Factbook state 51.3% Protestants, 23.9% Roman Catholics, 1.7% Mormon, 1.6% other Christian, 1.7% Jewish, 0.7% Buddhist, 0.6% Muslim, 2.5% other or unspecified, 12.1% unaffiliated, 4%none. What is apparent is that not only does SK have less religious diversity, but also there is a large portion of people who are not religious at all. The administration probably isn't used to addressing political issues using religion in the same way the US administration addresses issues such as abortion, homosexuality and marriage, and cvolution vs creation using Christianity.

The Buddhist community is also having a hard time handling this situation probably because the presence of Christianity in SK is still relatively new, as it has played key roles in democratic movements and national modernization since the 1980s. In America, though we have great religous diversity, the majority of followers are still Christian while in Korea, there is a close percentage between Christian and Buddhist followers. With such close numbers, there's bound to be competition and conflicts between the once deeply-rooted traditional religions of Buddhism, Shamanism, and Confucianism and the relatively new and expanding religion of Christianity. In America, we have yet to see any religion challenge the spotlight of Christianity.

Hopefully, compromise will be reached between the SK administration and Buddhist leaders. They better find a way to coexist peacefully; after all, neither the Christians nor the Buddhists look like they're going anywhere.

"Terrible situation" to come for South Korean government

"Buddhists repeated their demand Monday for President Lee Myung-bak to apologize for alleged discrimination against their beliefs. They announced that they are preparing for a drawn out protest against the administration.

'If the government continues to neglect our demands, it will have to take full responsibility for the terrible situation that may follow,' Ven. Seungwon, the spokesperson of the Jogye Order said at a press conference held at Jogye Temple Monday."

"Terrible situation"? That doesn't sound good. Let's just hope the South Korean monks will still adhere to non-violent measures of protest. So far, there doesn't seem to have been any violence, except for a monk named Ven. Sambo, who tried to commit suicide by stabbing himself in the stomach. Luckily, he was sent to the hospital right away and survived. Buddhist leaders advised their followers to voice their concern over the government's religious bias in a peaceful way.

With all this protesting, I've wondered and asked before, should Buddhists be participating in political action. On one hand, it's great that the Buddhist community has a political voice and can have their interests considered by the government. In the United States, Buddhists, like many other minority groups, seem invisible, at least politically. On the other hand, should religious leaders be involved with politics? Once they're involved with politics, what makes them any different than a politician? Maybe being a religious politician or a political monastic isn't so bad; after all, politicians often have much influence over important local and national decisions and what better way to decrease suffering than to influence those decisions with Buddhist ideas.