In a recent commentary on disgraced sports figure Tiger Woods, retired Fox News commentator Brit Hume had the following to say: "The extent to which he can recover as a person depends on his faith. He's said to be a Buddhist. I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world."
Hume, who once described himself as a nominal Christian, says he "came to Christ" after his son committed suicide a decade ago. Unfortunately, Hume displays the rampant ignorance about world religions typical of the news media in general and religious fundamentalists in particular. I'm not sure what Hume thought he meant to say, but the central tenets of Buddhism revolve around compassion for all beings, including oneself. As Buddhist journalist Barbara Hoetsu O'Brien put it, "Mr. Hume is right, in a sense, that Buddhism doesn't offer redemption and forgiveness in the same way Christianity does. Buddhism has no concept of sin; therefore, redemption and forgiveness in the Christian sense is meaningless in Buddhism. Forgiveness is important, but it is approached differently in Buddhism."
However, as any good Buddhist would quickly and compassionately inform Hume, the Buddhist practice of metta, or loving kindness, is extended to all beings, including those who have wronged us. In the basic meditation or prayer of metta, which is embraced by the Vipassana or Mindfulness tradition as espoused by the great Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh and many others, we beegin by offering loving kindness to ourselves, and then extend this compassionate intention in ever widening circles to those near and dear to us, to casual friends and associates, those we don't know personally, and even our enelmies.
For more detailed instruction on metta, please consult the ever-reliable buddhanet.com, run by people who actually know something about Buddhism. In the meantime, you might send Brit Hume an email suggesting that he read up on the Dalai Lama's practice of compassion. Every morning before sunrise, the Dalai Lama rises to practice four hours or so of meditation. For years, people have asked him exactly what he is meditating on. And he has given them a one-word answer that is a primary tenet of Buddhism: compassion.
Hume, who once described himself as a nominal Christian, says he "came to Christ" after his son committed suicide a decade ago. Unfortunately, Hume displays the rampant ignorance about world religions typical of the news media in general and religious fundamentalists in particular. I'm not sure what Hume thought he meant to say, but the central tenets of Buddhism revolve around compassion for all beings, including oneself. As Buddhist journalist Barbara Hoetsu O'Brien put it, "Mr. Hume is right, in a sense, that Buddhism doesn't offer redemption and forgiveness in the same way Christianity does. Buddhism has no concept of sin; therefore, redemption and forgiveness in the Christian sense is meaningless in Buddhism. Forgiveness is important, but it is approached differently in Buddhism."
However, as any good Buddhist would quickly and compassionately inform Hume, the Buddhist practice of metta, or loving kindness, is extended to all beings, including those who have wronged us. In the basic meditation or prayer of metta, which is embraced by the Vipassana or Mindfulness tradition as espoused by the great Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh and many others, we beegin by offering loving kindness to ourselves, and then extend this compassionate intention in ever widening circles to those near and dear to us, to casual friends and associates, those we don't know personally, and even our enelmies.
For more detailed instruction on metta, please consult the ever-reliable buddhanet.com, run by people who actually know something about Buddhism. In the meantime, you might send Brit Hume an email suggesting that he read up on the Dalai Lama's practice of compassion. Every morning before sunrise, the Dalai Lama rises to practice four hours or so of meditation. For years, people have asked him exactly what he is meditating on. And he has given them a one-word answer that is a primary tenet of Buddhism: compassion.
