by Anura Guruge
on August 21, 2022
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The above appeared on my ‘Facebook‘ timeline this morning because ‘relative’ had liked it. It cracked me up — I find it amusing & SAD, in equal parts, on so many different fronts & levels.
Leaving the whole sad issue of idolatry aside, there are two things here that just do not square up — & I will cut to the chase.
1/ Making any offering to the Buddha is beyond pointless! Unlike the Abrahamic God, the Roman/Greek gods or the Hindu gods, the Buddha does NOT exist in CURRENT TIMES. He is gone. Gone forever. No spirit, no sign, no life. NOTHING. GONE. Poof. That was his goal. The attainment of nirvana he cased to exist — utterly & completely. NOTHING. He is GONE. GONE. Poof. No Holy Spirit. No spirit in the sky. He is GONE. NOTHING. You can’t interact with the Buddha. He is gone. Yes, there are supposedly relics but the relics can’t do much IF there is NOTHING behind them (or above them).
So, making a food offering to someone (or something) that no longer exists seems ‘funny’. I could use stronger words BUT these folks are genuine in their … (SMILE). Hey, when I was a kid I subscribed to all of this.
[[Offering flowers to the Buddha is different! The flowers are NOT for the Buddha per se. The flowers are really for US. They are to show us — to remind us — of the impermanence of life. The fresh flowers offered, will in time wilt & die — just like all of us. That is what offerings of flowers is all about. Time to think about the impermanence of life.]]
So, there is that. This is also why it is so crazy to pray to the Buddha. He is NOT there. You are praying to NOTHINNESS. [[My mother, a QUEEN of Prayer, at least had this part right. She never prayed to the Buddha. She, though a Buddhist, prayed to the Christian God. She believed that he existed. But, her go to ‘guys’ were the Hindu gods. They are supposed to be around. So, she prayed to them shamelessly & incessantly. But, at least there was some logic to that. She was praying to gods who never said they were going BYE-BYE for good.]]
And then we come to my SECOND point.
2/ The ONE thing that I still like about — & believe in — when it comes to the Buddha’s teaching was his advocacy of MODERATION. Bar three (at MOST four) exceptions, red wine being one of them, I try to lead a life of moderation. I believe in moderation. So, what has moderation got to do with this?
Look at that picture. 4 muffins! 4 muffins, strawberries, some type of cake & an expensive looking cappuccino. Does that look like moderation to YOU? 4 muffins. No wonder most Sri Lankan’s always look extremely well nourished — food shortages or no food shortages. 4 muffins. All those carbs. I am sure the Buddha would not consider that moderation.
OK. I will leave it at that.
