*** From My Diary ***
*Buddhism and Islam [0116-26]
When I went to Tokyo, I find an interesting book to deal with the problem why Buddhism disappeared in India. It pointed out Islam take the role of Buddhism, because the people who suffered from caste system elected Islam instead of Buddhism. Both Buddhism and Islam deny the discrimination of caste, and after the epoch of Islamic ruler, Buddhism lost its role. I agree with this view in some degree, but it is necessary to express why Indian Buddhists could convert Islam so frequently. If Christianity ruler entered this land, was it so easy that Christianity spread among Buddhism people? In the case of Japan, Buddhists will not convert Christian. Although Korean Buddhist converted it, I heard that Korean Christian found their own way to integrate their tradition with Christianity. In the case of Korea, the pride of Korean tradition may enable to accept new western religion.
Out of India, many Indonesian and Central Asian Buddhists converted Islam. After modern epoch, Christianity spreads in Indonesia, but its influence is limited. Christian missionary has succeed in mission in Latin America, but it does not so in the areas where Buddhism or Islam has already become rooted. Buddhism and Islam, as well as Christianity, are world religion, but the examples of conversion among them are not frequent, except when Islam spread oriental Christian world such as Turkey. Including the case of India, the expansion of Islam had accompanied with the development of Islamic rule. However, Indonesian accepted Islam without others forces. Then, I think there is resemblance between Buddhism and Islam.
There is much difference between Buddhism and monotheism like Islam. The latter depends on the idea of God who created the world, but the latter does not assume something beyond the world. It proposes us only the divine province and the possibility of salvation provided by it. In the monotheism, the God plays the role of subject (in linguistic sense), but in Buddhism all events in our world occur by themselves according to strict order. However, it is possible to translate both position each other. Monotheism represents the world depending on the grammatical structure of transitive verb [S-V-O], and Buddhism on structure of intransitive verb [S-V]. The latter can be translated into the former like [S-V-**self]. Buddhism insists that our world is not substantial but only phenomenon, and so there are some Christians who regard this idea as too negative. However, monotheism insists that the world is something only created by absolute God. Both Buddhism and monotheism regard our world not as absolute, but as something relative. Any way, there is no absolute being in our actual world.
The most important difference between both religions is the relation between One and Many. Monotheism emphasis upon the role of One primary, and afterward shows the importance of Many. On the other hand, Buddhism does not insist on the importance of One immediately. It only suggests the principle which penetrates into all individual beings. As excellent religious people insight the value of Many as variety in Monotheism, some people in Buddhism can recognize the role of One to grantee Many as divergence. It is very difficult to reconcile between one and Many, but fortunately, I could find precious hint to bridge both in Baien’s philosophy.
He left many diagrams to illustrate his philosophy, which are called
GENGO-ZU (See under illatration. It is typical example of this diagram)
. One of these diagrams, Keii-boutai-zu, which is most important one, provides
the hint. This shows how the world develops itself by repeating divisions
and unifications: One becomes one-one, and one-one returns One. Mr. Kitabayashi
who is the authority of Baien’s main work ‘Gengo’ said that there is [One]
in the center, but it does not mean original One from which all beings
flow out. In his thought all one are relative, and so the central one in
it can be one of divided one of other One. On the other hand, second ones
and Xth ones, which are located around the central one, can be central
[One]. The series of [One is one-one, one-one is One] can continue forever
to both directions of one-one and One.
This limitless extent of ones shows an endless fractal structure, which we can say what suggests the maldistribution of God. Does follwoing illustration remind us arabesque in Islamic world? This pattern guarantees both the variety of beings and the unity of the world. ‘South East Asia: The Human Landscape of modernization and Development 1997’ express this Buddhism idea quoting the words of a monk.
The Buddhist principle of dependent origination highlights the interrelationships that exist between all things. Phra Prayudha Payutto summarizes this principle as follows (1995: 89):
all things have a relationship
dependent on common factors;
all things exist in an interrelated
fashion;
all things are impermanent,
existing only temporarily;
all things do not exist
unto themselves, that is, there is no real self;
all things do not have a
‘first cause’ that brought them into existence.
(p63-65)
Although Baien did not leave the influence form Buddhism in his writings, the principle [One is one-one, one-one is One] shows the essence of the Buddhism idea of interrelationships.
In Islam, this idea of unification that enables variety in Buddhism corresponds to the idea of Tauhid. It suggests us all individual beings have same source, in which the God should be located. In Islamic ideas, God is the unique creator of the world, and so there cannot be anything which does not come from Him. This strict idea of monotheism guarantees both the unity and variety of all beings. Everything develops from God and returns to Him. Buddhism suggests the uniqueness of our world from the point of maldistribution, and on the other hand, Islam intimates the maldistribution of God by its idea of radical Creation.
ABE Haruo who is a leader of Japanese Muslim/Muslima wrote in his book that the God is divine providence of the world, and stated Shinran and Dougen who are famous Japanese Buddhism monks are originally Muslim. Also, he proposed, using Buddhism word, the idea of Mahayana Islam which does not adhere to formal rules such as prohibition of eating pork. His thought of Islam shows Japanese way of acceptance of religion typically, but on the other hand, suggests us how Buddhism and Islam share same religious sense.
One of the reasons why many Buddhism areas were included Islamic world is this radical common religious sense. However, we need to consider the difference of the social system in both religions. Compared with Islam, Buddhism does not have stable system to determine society. In Islam integrates religion and social system, but Buddhism does not have clear rules to regulate societies. For the people who were suffering from discrimination in India, Islam might be more steady religion to stabilize their social positions than Buddhism, even though both religions emphasize on human equality against caste. Also, for Buddhists in Middle Asia and Indonesia, Islam could provide more stable standard to communicate with outer people. Social character of Islam enables it to extend in these areas.
However, this close relationship between religion and societies is now boundary of Islam. Modern period demand us the separation between religion and politics. Islamic social system does not depend on the unity of religion and politics in western sense, not on radical association between them. But Islamic people cannot find yet the concrete way of relations between them even now. They need to be more flexible, but actually some of them become too stubborn to be called ‘fundamentalists’. How to include Many in their system is most significant problem in modern period.
Monotheism has its own myth that conflict scientific knowledge. Also, it has religious rules, some of which are not acceptable for modern people. However, Buddhism does not have such myth and custom to conflict modern society. The only Buddhism rule is the wisdom to lead our life. It will provide effective standpoint to monotheism how to arrange their social tradition. Also, the tradition of Buddhism helps modern monotheism recover the sense of maldistribution of God. Now, the God in monotheism falls to only the something above us. If honest Muslim and Christian people research Buddhism wisdom, they will find their own deep intellectual tradition which they can adapt to modern world. In old days Buddhists accept Islam because of its excellent social system, but now monotheism should learn Buddhism for its own restoration.