So read the front cover of the October 13, 1997 issue of
Time magazine.
They chronicle the explosive love affair of the media with Buddhism and
its well-funded spokespeople from Tina Turner (singer), to Richard Gere
(the actor) to Phil Jackson, coach of the world champion Los Angeles
Lakers and Tiger Woods, (the golfer). The Wall Street Journal regularly
features ads for stress reduction seminars ran by Buddhist monks on the
East coast attended by stockbrokers looking for
relief from well-paid, but high pressure positions.
The latest wave of Buddhist movies such as "Little Buddha,"
"Seven Years in Tibet," "Kundun," have accelerated
the visits on the Free Tibet Homepage from 500 hits per week to 40,000.
Numerous other Buddhist movements have latched onto the fascination with
the Dalai Lama including the Buddhist reconciliation prayer walk on the
East coast calling America to repentance for its slave days.
According to Gene Brooks, on the Internet: Numerous well-meaning but
ill-informed evangelical,
charismatic, and Pentecostal Christians and their pastoral leaders
attended the Buddhist prayerwalk gathering at First Presbyterian
Church in Durham, NC. The lack of doctrinal and spiritual insight has
been quite disappointing. We are deeply concerned over the numbers
and identities of otherwise sound Christians who are embracing a
syncretistic pseudo-gospel of "reconciliation" under the guise
of tolerance and peace."
Richard Gere Productions began its sponsorship of a tour of Tibetan
monks who will build sand Mandalas in 100 US cities within the next
eighteen months. These will atrract hundreds of thousands of
unsuspecting seekers and observers who are blind to the reality this
represents as this temporary home to 722 Tibetan dieties, also known as
demons. According to our interview of Geshe Lobsang, the Director of
Tibetan activities in America, the purpose of the mandala "is to
invoke the presence of Avalokitsevara, (the Patron Deity of Tibet)"
and "invoking the deities" to "remove the obstacles"
and bring positive energy into the environment" utilizing the
"Black Hat dance."
In June and July of 2000 in Washington, D.C. the Smithsonian co-sponsored
the Folklife Festival on the National Mall which hosted "Tibetan
Culture Beyond the Land of Snows" for an estimated two
million summer visitors at the cost of $6 million, replete with burning
incense, giant prayer wheels, Buddhist prayer monuments, and a public
prayer meeting led by the Dalai Lama. All in all Buddhism is making
incredible inroads into America's religious, political and cultural
circles. It has unfortunately become the religion of choice in
Hollywood.
For more detail on Sonrise Center's LA-DC
Summer 2000 Report, click here.
