Koran

MARCH 2002

# 1-THE TEACHINGS OF THE KORAN

# 2- The Dalai Lama and Buddhism

#

Some call Islam the most peace-loving religion in the world. Others call it the most violence-ridden one. Who is right? Go to the holy book of Islam, the Koran, and find out for yourself. You will be surprised what you will learn. The complete text of the Koran is available on a number of websites, including the following:

http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/HolKora.html

Here are some of the commands in this unusual book:

Have nothing to do with Christians or Jews, who are evil people-"O you who believe! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people.” Sura 5:51.

Have nothing to do with blacks-"On the day when [some] faces shall turn white and [some] faces shall turn black; then as to those whose faces turn black; Did you disbelieve after your believing? Taste therefore the chastisement because you disbelieved. And as to those whose faces turn white, they shall be in Allah's mercy; in it they shall abide."-Sura 3:106-107,

Kill the unbelievers-"So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush."-Sura 9:5,

If they resist-"The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His apostle and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned."-Sura 5:33.

Finish them off completely-"Strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites and be unyielding to them; and their abode is hell, and evil is the destination."-Sura 9:73.

Our god will reward you for your efforts- “And let not those who disbelieve think that they shall come in first; surely they will not escape. And prepare against them what force you can on horses tied at the frontier, to frighten thereby the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them, whom you do not know [but] Allah knows them; and whatever thing you will spend in Allah's way, it will be paid back to you fully and you shall not be dealt with unjustly. "-Sura 8:59-60.

# The Dalai Lama and Buddhism

After Pope John Paul II and Billy Graham, the Dalai Lama is probably the most recognized religious figure in the world. He is the voice of Buddhism to the nations and is often called the "god-king" of Tibet.

Chosen as the 14th Dalai Lama in 1935 at the age of 2, he was enthroned in 1940 in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. At that young age, he became Tibet's political leader-just at the time that Mao's armies began taking over the nation. In exile since 1959, the Dalai Lama has become the religious leader many confused people, searching for an exotic religion, are turning to.

Whether at home or abroad, wherever he goes, the Dalai Lama is greeted by his admirers with tears, shouts of joy, and an adulation bordering on worship.

People from all over the world flock to, what is called "little Lhasa," the home of the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, in northern India. The town is on the side of one of the mountains in the outer Himalayas. When he is not traveling to far places, he follows a regular routine of early-morning prayers, meditation, and midmorning administrative work; and, then, he gives his afternoons to interviews and public forums (in a nearby Buddhist temple).

The Dalai Lama believes he is a reincarnation of a previous Dalai Lama, but he is not sure of the details. He readily admits that he continuality struggles with his temper, which he loses frequently. He also says he struggles with lust.

He frequently says he has "excellent karma." But that is a meaningless phrase, since karma is only the Buddhist name for cause and effect

In his book. The Opening of the Wisdom-Eye, the Dalai Lama says that Tibetan Buddhist teachings and rituals "were taught by Lord Buddha in person." Tibetan Buddhist tantric ritual includes visualization of wrathful deities and conversing with demons.

No one knows what Gautama Buddha actually taught! The earliest Buddhist texts (in Pali and Sanskrit) were written nearly five centuries after the death of Buddha. In his book. A Short History of Buddhism, the devout Buddhist scholar. Edward Conze, says any "confident assertions" about what the Buddha really said are "mere guesswork." Conze wrote in his introduction to the Buddhist scriptures: "Buddhists possess nothing that corresponds to the New Testament."

The aspect of Tibetan spirituality which we see as especially significant is its emphasis on contact with spirit mediums. The Dalai Lama himself regularly consults with the Nechung Oracle, said to be a spirit deity who takes over the body of a chosen Tibetan Buddhist.

Many Tibetan Buddhists have a superstitious fear about the spirit world and a magical view of reality. They believe that the number of prostrations and countless turns of a prayer wheel is all it takes to affect the ever-pervasive karmic forces of the supernatural.

The concepts of karma and reincarnation are offered as explanations of many of life's events. The Dalai Lama wrote in one of his books that a person killed by a lightning bolt earned that fate as a reward for something bad he did in a previous life. Here are several basic Buddhist teachings:

* The current universe has evolved through natural law. (Evolution is a fact) * Truth has been given through countless ages, by various Buddhas or enlightened beings. Jesus was only one of them. (Lots of people have the truth.) * More than anyone else, Gautama Buddha, who lived 2,500 years age, is the primary teacher for our time in history. * All living things are subject to the law of karma (the principle of cause and effect), which controls the cycle of reincarnation. * There is no God or supreme Creator.

From all this, you can see that people who are searching for truth in Buddhism are not only headed for failure in their quest, they are moving into the realm of demons; and demon control is what they are going to get.

Apart from the Creator God, His inspired Writings, and Jesus Christ our only Saviour from sin, mankind has no hope in this life. And there will be no future incarnations on earth in which they can improve their situation.

Thank God for the wonderful light we have as Seventh-day Adventists!

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