China, an officially atheist country, promotes Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia is now 14 years old
Our Encyclopedia recently received a wonderful opportunity for a major renewal on its 14th birthday . After many years of growing our Encyclopedia had become bit slow and sometimes even decided not to answer when people knocked on the door.
A very big thank you and blessings to Dmytro Rudiy (rudiy.nl) for his great work in upgrading the server, website and all of the infrastructure and helping make TBE fast and reliable again for everyone!
We kindly ask our readers to help us cover the cost of this important upgrade and also help with the ongoing costs of keeping the Encyclopedia alive and freely available.
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OM AH HUM VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUM 🙏🙏🙏
May blessings shower down on all of yous 🙏🙏🙏
by Maureen Fiedler
As crazy as that headline may sound, it's true. Really. I too was amazed at this news when we investigated this story on "Interfaith Voices" for our "God and Government" series, which explores the relationships between religion and state in countries around the world.
Now, we need to be clear. The People's Republic of China remains suspicious of religion, especially religions with foreign ties like Catholicism, Protestantism and Islam. And it has certainly done a great deal to intimidate practitioners of these faiths. In the not-too-distant past, in the days of the Cultural Revolution, it destroyed temples and churches of all kinds. It's also important to realize that Tibetan Buddhism is not favorably regarded by the Chinese government because officials regard its leader, the Dalai Lama, as some kind of threat.
The Buddhism that China has begun favoring -- and even funding at times -- is Chinese Buddhism.
The big question is: Why? Why would an officially atheist government promote any religion, even a religion with long and traditional roots in Chinese society?
Well, according to our in-country reporter, Ruth Morris, Chinese officials are very concerned about the morals and ethics of their people in the wake of unprecedented economic growth, the rise of a middle class interested in material wealth, and a focus on all things material. At the same time, there has been a resurgence of Chinese interest in traditional, ancestral religions. So the government sees a potentially positive role for Chinese Buddhism in curbing excessive materialism and being "in sync" with contemporary trends.
Buddhism is not, of course, a dogmatic religion. It has the advantage of enabling people to focus on values and meditative practices without insisting on a set of beliefs or teachings that might challenge the Chinese government. Thus: a Buddhist renaissance in China.