By Michael Breen
For several weeks now, there has been a simmering complaint from the Buddhist establishment in Korea that the government of President Lee Myung-bak is discriminating against them.
This is one of those matters that is hard to grasp. Is it real or imagined? Or is it, like the September financial crisis, becoming real because it is imagined? Like a bar of soap in the bath, one second you've almost got it, then it jumps out of your hand and back into the murky water.
When this happens, you tend to lose interest and find yourself thinking about something else, like, ``Why am I wallowing here in the filth that I have just washed off my body?" But this time, in the interests of providing devotees of this newspaper with the best insight, I decided to do the Christian thing and interview God.
But before we get to that, here's the context.
In putting the Buddhist claim of discrimination into perspective, it is important to recognize that Korea is a normally very harmonious nation when it comes to religion. Shamanism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism exist side by side here. There are also numerous sects, and even a small number of Korean Muslims.
Yes, there is some bigotry and bullying. Protestants are by far the worst offenders. For example, Rev. Jang Kyung-dong, one of the country's most influential ministers, recently said that Buddhists should ``stop wasting time and believe in Jesus.'' Offensive as his words may sound, this is an honest expression of the dilemma faced by anyone who feels that theirs ― and not the broader liberal acceptance of all religions ― is not just the only way up the mountain, but the only way that doesn't lead to the bosom of Satan. (This, children, is the kind of devilish trap that adults can fall into when they take the first step in believing untenable things).
The reason such offensiveness does not lead to conflict is that it is isolated, and also that Buddhists and Confucianists value harmony and don't usually fight back. (Buddhists are in fact so nice that they have for a long time protected shamanism, allowing shamans to operate on their premises).
Occasionally, there are more serious problems but these tend to be within religions than between them, such as once a few years back when grey-robed monks from the main Jogye Order robes attacked riot police with iron bars in connection with a dispute over temple finances. The explanation for this very un-Buddhist violence is that, in its expansiveness, Buddhism accepts anyone as a monk. I don't wish to labor this point, but Christian readers should think twice before going up to a monk and saying, ``Hey, baldy.''
As I say, the side-by-sideness of religions here cannot be over-emphasized. It is very common to find family members with different religions. In fact, in some regards, individuals seem to have internalized elements of all the faiths. What is striking for the outsider is how similar Koreans are regardless of their formal religious affiliation.
Part of that common ``Korean-ness" is fervor. If you climb up mountains, I mean real ones, in the wee hours, you may well find groups of people praying intensely on the summit. There's a belief that the spirit of God is more accessible when all the drunks and heathens that weigh him ― or her ― down are asleep. (As you may suspect, your columnist is among the snoring classes and has not actually witnessed this phenomenon himself, but Choe Sang-hun of The New York Times, a newspaper that is at least as accurate as the Bible, has).
President Lee is one such fervent Christian. As an elder of the Somang Church, one of the big Presbyterian congregations, he will almost certainly believe things that would create mass panic if listed on the front page of a newspaper. But who among us can cast the first stone? When we were young, my brothers and I knelt in front of the fireplace on Christmas Eve and shouted up the chimney telling Father Christmas what presents we wanted. That's why I could never be a presidential candidate in America. The newspapers would be all over it.
As the leader of all Koreans, Lee must embrace all. So what has he done or not done to the Buddhists? One of the Buddhist complaints this year is that the Blue House did not send the usual congratulatory message on Buddha's birthday. Others are that the head of the Jogye Order had his car searched, that temples have been taken off some maps, and that the police chief is a provocative Christian.
My conclusion is that this in no way amounts to a campaign, but that the Buddhists are right to complain now because, if they don't, some Christians in high places will see it as one and keep doing the Lord's work.
Anyway, about the interview. Actually, as journalists can tell you, interviewing God can be tough because he usually doesn't answer. But he did respond to one question this time.
When I asked if my conclusion was correct, he said, ``Om."
Michael Breen is chairman of Insight Communications Consultants in Seoul. He can be reached at mike.breen@insightcomms.com.