By Fr. Flynn
A Catholic Missionary and a Buddhist monk find Friendship and much to admire in each other’s religion
I have a friend who is a Buddhist monk: Nyechan Rimpoche Thuptenchodak Gyatso. That is his name. Gyatso is his family name; Nyechan is the name of the temple he entered at the aged of eight years, and Rimpoche would mean something like “Father”. But the whole name is important because only by the whole name would you know that he is a Lama (A Tibetan priest) of outstanding scholarships.
He is a refugee Buddhist monk from Tibet. Two years ago in a very simple way he came into my life. A non-Christian doctor told me of this lonely Buddhist monk from Tibet living at the Mount Koya Buddhist University. He could not communicate in Japanese and there was no one with whom he could freely communicate in English.
I invited him to visit our church. He accepted and arrived with his shaven head, dark maroon robes, and sandals, with a small cloth bag suspended from one shoulder. “Did you come by taxi?’ I asked ‘I made enquiries at the station’ he replied ‘but a taxi would cost almost L1 and I don’t have that sort of money.’ So he had walk, often in a wrong direction, for an hour and a half before he reaches the church!
He had never heard of Christianity until he was thirty years of aged, and he had never seen a Christian service. I invited him to our Christmas Mass and he sat in the sanctuary, a ‘wise man’ giving edification to all.
During his frequent visit since then he has gradually unfolded his life story. When he was born, calendar were consulted and he was given the title ‘Rimoche’ since it was presumed that he was the re-incarnation of a celebrated Lama who had died at the exact date sometime before.
Living in the Tibet on the isolated roof of the world north of the Himalayas Mountains in a country that had not changed for centuries, Ripoche was reared in a religion-centered society. Religion was the main occupation of the country. Every family aspired to have at least one son monk and a daughter a nun. There were over 10,000 monks in the some of the University centers, and some convents had over 1,000 nuns. It is estimated that among the six million people of Tibet there were over 100,000 monks. The Dalai Lama the presumed reincarnation of the Buddhist deity of enlightenment –was the ruling high priest. Ripoche was eight years of age when he entered the monastery.
He was 32 years of age when, in 1969, china over run Tibet. Rimpoche and an estimated 70,000 Tibetans fled with the Dalai Lama and took refugee in India. After eight years as senior professor at the Sanskrit University in Varansai he came on loan to the famous Buddhist University on Mount Koya in Japan to teach the professors Sanskrit and Tibetans Scriptures.
To my questions he always give candid replies: your parents? My mother remained in Tibet. I have no words of her. My father, 78, is in India.’ Mother Teresa in India? ‘I have never heard of her.’ What do you think of Christianity? I did know there was such a thing until I was 30. I find it a living religion. In India, and here in Japan, it is active in social welfare and education. It involves may ordinary people in its activities. Buddhism leaves everything to the priest. The priest carry on the temple works and conduct services. Few ordinary people are involves.’ Christian worships? I have only seen it in your church. Bright song s, simple words easy to sing and easy to remember; I like that. You Christians use organs and guitars. Japanese Buddhist use only gongs and drums. In Tibet we use 23 different kinds of drums, brassy horns big and small, load cymbals and small handbells.’ At and Ecumenical Christmas concert, he commended ‘I am amazed. I have great hope for the peace of the world when I see so many Christians from different countries and different traditions being so friendly. This is my first experience. I shall never forget it.’
What of Japanese Buddhism? ‘There are no big communities of celibate monks as in Tibet. Most Japanese monks are married whereas in Tibet the celibate life was greatly revered. Japanese priest spend less time in prayer and religious observances. Prayers recited are different but since there are over 1,000 volumes of Sutra (sets of precepts) to select from, that is not so surprising.’ How do you pray? Does Buddha live in you like Christ lives in me and prays with me? No. I must do all by myself alone. It is only my prayer that counts. There is no one can help me. I have something like a big wishing well. I hope for may things, some of them come true.’
Ripoche provided another first hand experience in the Ecumenical Endeavor. The Buddhist priest who arranged this coming to Japan seemed to be busy administering the temple properties that he forgot Rimpoche needed money enough to buy food, etc. when I heard the facts I arranged the interview with the head of the University and took along A Japanese Methodist minister to back up me. The chief Buddhist priest at the University was a very fine, warm hearted gentleman- started off with a big smile, ‘This is strange but beautiful. An Australian Catholic priest, a Japanese Methodist minister, is meeting me a Japanese Buddhist priest about our mutual friend a Tibetan Buddhist monk. It should be easy to arranged something.’
Rimpoche was delighted and smiled his thanks: ‘I had begun to feel like an animal but now I feel that I am human being again.’
Rimpoche is received on equal terms and made welcome by all the Columbans here. We feel that he has taught us a lot and his example of a decided Buddhist celibate monk is there before our eyes. I hope that we in turn have been able to inspite him also in his vocation.
The Author, Fr. Flynn, a Columban missionary
By Robert Ellsberg
Gandhi believe that exploitation was made possible because by the active and passive cooperation of the exploited themselves. How else to explain that a single trading company, eventually reinforced by the thousand soldier, held hundreds of millions in captivity in their own lands? India’s moral weakness and visions of religion, caste, class, and language, were Britain's strength. Also, the nation’s educated were enthralled by Western culture and manner. A country that had been self- sufficient for food and clothing for a thousands of years and that of one principal of textile for centuries had been impoverished in the space of a hundred years. Land was taken up for the cultivation of cash crops like indigo; food was hoarded by the profiteers and famine for the first time swept over the countryside while wheat was exported to England. Peasants were forced to sell all their crops to pay massive taxes, only to re purchase their own food at increase prices. Government – supported moneylenders gave credit to farmers at staggering interest rates. The cottage textile industry was ruined with the importation of cheap English cloth made from Indian cotton. The village industries, which had supplies the peasant with 20- 60% of their basic needs, were destroyed. With nothing to replace these, industries the villages, once the cradle of Indian civilization, fell into ruin and stagnation. The cities, strongholds of British power and money, began to swell, draining the countryside of its population and wealth, as the country grew deeper into dependence on Britain.
How to respond to this? Resistance, certainly, but what kind? The essence of slavery is in the slave’s acceptance of that self-image. We must refuse to cooperate with the oppressors, not allowing his perception of us to determine our own self- image. To gain self respect and dignity is an assertion of independence. At the same time we must respect the individuality of the oppressors, refusing to indulge him in his own self –image. In the Indian context noncooperation not merely to boycott foreign goods and institution but to refuse to adopt the foreign ways and values of the oppressors and to develop a respect for our own. We must refuse to let our means to be determined by the means of oppressor. In the other word we ourselves refuse to exploits others. Gandhi pleaded that the liberation of the “untouchables” was thee key to; waraj (self rule). India could not subjugate these millions while pleading for the deliverance of the in-humanity of others.
Non cooperation meant, in essence, the refusal to acknowledge through participation slave- master relationships, or tutor- pupil, as Britain preferred to consider it. Gandhi foresaw that the end of British rule would date from the moment they were compelled to negotiate with the Indians as equal. This denial of opponent’s definition and categories was the most vital resistance. It was not necessary to push immediate total concession from Britain. The mere “consciousness of independence” would bring little solace to the poor and oppressed without independence in fact and the mere speech making would not change the actual economic dependence into the India have sunk. The nonviolent economic revolution was aimed ultimately not ending at British oppression (if so, any means would have been justified), but at bringing an end to oppression. This meant not promoting new master in placing of the old; the people must become a master of their own. This process is would be simultaneous with the decentralization of the economic and political base of the country-distribution among common people of the means of satisfying basic needs and determining political issues. Until then, who ruled from Delhi would make no actual difference in the act of dependence. A starving man would trade his liberty for a piece of bread, Gandhi observed. A way had to be found of responding to the immediate needs of the poor while simultaneously building the future.
Gandhi believed that the source of the strength and continuity of Indian tradition had been the village. The greatest accomplishment of the British imperialism had been the ruined of the village economy, prerequisite for the establishment of the mercantile relationship. The economic basis of freedom struggle as well as foundation for the future nonviolent society must be the revival of the village autonomy and self-sufficienty. Swaraj meant refusing to the exploiter. It meant economic equality- leveling down the few rich and the labeling up of the masses of helpless poor and independence for the villages for the crushing weight of the cities. The split between the town and country was the chief source of in equality in society. Centralization of production has meant the destitution of the masses and the decay of India. To reverse this process would weaken the foundation of imperialism and bring immediate relief to the poor millions.
To the astonishment of England, Gandhi proclaim that it would forced to relent to the weapon of peace, the charka, or spinning whee. If all have no choice but to leave without a fight. Nehru called khadi (hand spun cloth) the "livery of freedom".While manufacture of khadi was of course a practicalaspect of the boycott of foreign cloth, it was also something more. Gangdhi encouraged the boycott of cloth manufactured in Indian mills as well. Such capital intensive means of production in a land of idle millions was prompted, not by economic considerations, but by the greed , and was thus an instrument of exploitation. Khadi was the beginning of a silent economic revolution whose effects would extend beyond any short range political goals.
(From the last Issue)…Ten Carmelite nuns, kidnapped by the eagle commandos, are now on a boat on Lake Lanao going they know not where.
About two and half hours later, reached out destination 9on the other side of the lake: A Maranao house just by the shore, which would be our home for the next three days. It was a typical Maranao house one big whole with no partitions. In one corner was a big bed (the bedroom), which was given for our use. In the other side was a table bench, and that was all the furniture in the house. We were welcomed as guests, given the best they could offer –the best blankets, the best pillows, their best plates. Though we were packed like sardines on that one big bed, we found comfort of being so close to one another in such a strange place and amidst the strange people.
(On the succeeding days, three sisters moved to the floor beside the bed to give more place for everyone.) Before we ‘retired’ for the night, ( it must been around two o’clock in the morning) the real leader and mastermind of the group, Commander Rommel, spoke to us and told us the reason for kidnapping us. He explained that their group, called “commando” was a splinter group of the MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front). He said that he wanted to get the attention of Cory (Pres. Aquino) for their cause. They wanted to Tripoli Agreement to be respected and the Muslims to be given their autonomy. He said that Cory is anti-Muslim because she was under the influence of Cardinal Sin. He asked us to write to Cardinal Sin as he did not like the military or the local politicians to be involved in the negotiations for our release. Sr. Madeleine explained to him that our Superior was Bishops Tudtud of Marawi and not Cardinal Sin, and this took him by surprise. He did not know anything about bishops, or there was one in Marawi. In hearing of all, Commander Rommel then assured us that nothing would happen to us, that they would provide for all our needs so we could asked for anything we needed, and that if we had any complaints about his men, this should be brought to his attention immediately. This time he spoke in English and Tagalog, and it was clear that he had more schooling than the rest of the group.
That was a sleepless night to all of us, and at the first break of dawn, we got up to greet the new day with morning praise. Throughout the days of our captivity, we faithfully prayed. As we had no Breviary with us (until the last day when the package arrived from home), we just tried to remember the psalms and canticles as we could. We shared Scripture passages that we know by heart and we sung songs to the accompaniment of our guitar. It was a living liturgy we celebrated from early dawn till night fall, seated in a circle on our one big bed. For Midmorning, Midday and Mid afternoon prayer we would recite the rosary and end with some bible sharing and a responsorial song. We were aware all the time that we were observing Novena of our Lady of Mt. Carmel, and we celebrated her presence and motherly love and care, and united our selves with all our brothers and sisters of the order whom we knew were all praying for us.
So for three days we carried on our ‘regular community life in that Maranao house. The owner of the house with his wife and two little children made up the typical Maranao family. The wife’s mother was an elderly Muslim who said her prayers five times a day. She would put on a special prayer dress, a special light colored Malong that covered her from head to foot. Then she would spread out her prayer mat and go through the ‘sala’. What an experience it was to be praying our divine office in one corner of the house at the same time that this Muslim woman would also be offering her praises to God-Christian and Muslim hearts raised together in prayer to the one God and father of all.
Also part of the households was this Muslim woman’s son and his wife, a nurse from Cagayan de Oro City, who became our companion, councilor and friend. She had been brought up as Christian and could sympathized with the plight of the ‘Madres’. She and her husband cooked the meal for everybody. Our meal consisted of rice, fish and vegetables (cooked in coconut milk as is common among Maranaos), the usual Carmelite diet, so it was ‘regular’ life indeed for us. As guests, we would always eat ahead of the others and they would not approach the table until we had not finished eating. Three hot meals a day was a “luxury” for us because back home, we would cook only for lunch and eat left- overs (usually cold) for supper and breakfast the next day. Another ‘luxury ‘ was the spring nearby the where we could bath and wash our cloth everyday. The daily visit to the spring was the only time we could go out to the house, and the abundance of the water gushing out of the rock was not only cleansing and refreshing for our bodies but also washed our hearts with its purity and life.
Our kidnappers became part of the households during our stay there. They occupied the other end of the room. They took turn keeping the guards at night, so that while some would by patrolling out side, a few would be resting or cleaning their gun in the room. We noticed that they were endlessly handling their weapons, dismantling and assembling them and cleaning them over and over again. Besides the kidnappers who had come with us on the motorboat, there were other armed men going up and down of the house by day and by night so that it was hard to keep track of just how many were involved in the kidnap plot.
Occasionally, especially a day or two, when they had noticed what a happy, laughing, singing praying group these nuns were some our captors would come and shares their stories with us. Together we would the night of our kidnapping and have a good laugh because at the fright both they and we had. They said “were you nervous, sister? We were also nervous!” as we listen to their stories, we felt that our kidnapping was not really an act of violence in their part. You may think that we were the victims, but they were the real victims. They resorted to use the of the guns because they were caught in a system where there own leaders took advantages of them and used them for their own personal interests and ambitions. How heart went out to them as they shared their personal lives, theirs dreams, their pains, their struggles… As each day passed, we found ourselves entering into a “dialogue of life” with our Muslim captors whose hearts were opening as brothers and friends…
(To be continued)
Sr. Leonora Miñoza, MM
Among my various involvement in Pare Pare, Indonesia, the most rewarding pastoral care for the catholic patients in a leprosarium about five kilometer from the city. I visit this patients regularly, Either in their home or in gatherings in small houses that serve as chapel. We informally shares life experiences or we pray and sing hymns as the ocassion demands. Through this I gather information and intimate stories from each of them-each one has a story all his own!
Take Joseph, for example. Joseph was a teacher in Elementary school way up in Malino, a hilly resort in South sulawesi (Celebes). One day he discovered white spot that grew increasingly in size and in number, scattered all over his body. He felt numb and could not feel any pain in those areas. A cold shiver ran through his spine. He realized that he was a leper!
Life meant much no longer for Joseph. He sought of the hill to die. He had previously known a friend who had similar; died with in a year. He could not bear the prospect of becoming slowly dismembered and this figured by the dreaded disease. What is more he is ashamed for himself and for his family and he did not want to be burden to them.
A year pass and nobody knew where he was or why he was gone. In the meantime Joseph transferred from one hideout to another to avoid being spotted by his friends. He eats leaves, roots and whatever fruits and trees could give him.
Finally, word came to the Medical Mission Sisters that there was such a man hiding I the woods. A couple of them dared the hills to look for him. After a long search they found him, all covered with sores-“a worm and no man!” to make the long story short, they succeeded in treating him, giving him cloths and reviving him with food and what is more, they were able to convince him to come down to Djongaya Leprosarium where he could be given proper care. Later, a Belgian priest urged him to transfer to pare Pare where he could be the leader of a small Catholic group in Lauling.
Joseph has been the sole organizer of the small group of the Catholics, for years. It is through him that reach out to the handful member scattered among the one hundred Moslem families in the compound.
What strikes me is the joyful attitude, which does all these things. One day he said: “Sister, I had so many vices before I got sick that I wonder know how could I found my way to God were it not for this malady. It is though that’s makes me grateful to him in spite of it all…”
Now and then I bring friends to our prayer services in the Leprosarium. One day I invited a 17 year old to one of this meeting. She listened intently to the sharing based on the Gospel reading of the day. On our way home, the girl wept bitterly as if her heart would break! “I can’t accept the idea that those patients who have almost nothing can glorify the Lord so much more than we who are endowed with everything!”
The Leper have thought me too that it is living out our lives in close union with CHRIST THE CENTER,that we can enjoy that the inner happiness and peace which no money can buy.
Sr. Leonora Miñoza a Medical Mission Sister, has been a missionary in Indonesia for the past sixteen years.
With Fr. Dom Helder Camara
Herod was furious on realizing he had been fooled by the wise men, and in Bethlehem and its surrounding district he had all thee male children killed who were two years old and less, reckoning by the date he had been careful to asked the wise men (Mt.2:16)
The massacre of the Innocents, Dom Helder: Don’t you get the feeling that it is still going on?
Yes, I do. And this is the form, as I see it; the massacre of the Innocents takes today.
It’s not for me to judge. I don’t really know who are directly responsible. But my own feeling is that, rather have the guts to face up to the radical changes which the politics, for instance, of the international trade now require, some wealthy countries find it easier to hand out pills all over the world and in particular to the poor. At the same time they promote the idea that if there is no development in underdevelopment countries, this is because the poor don’t understand the need of the birth control.
Instead of radical rethinking of the relation between industrialized countries and poor countries that produce the raw materials, it is much more convenient to spread the idea that the poor should limit the children they have.
But that’s all wrong! The cause of under-development isn’t population explosion; it’s the explosion of self-centeredness. The day we manage to control self-centeredness, to revise in depth. The structure of injustices, we shall see that God was not mistaken in creation.
There’s enough land for everyone, there’s enough food for everyone. But as long as we put profit to humanity, we shall always end up with this same idiotic situation: over production here, under nourishment there. It’s incredible, in the age of computer and space travel: the human race, as far as brain- power is concerned, shows that it truly shares in God’s creative power, yet it comes to will-power, we’re still no better than monkeys. We’re unable to overcome our own selfishness.
That’s why the Massacre of the Innocents still goes on.