Is it ok to give a statue of Buddha to a Buddhist as a gift ?
I just don't know if it is acceptable to a Buddhist. Obviously Buddhist don't believe that Jesus is our Lord but, would it be ok to give this gift at Christmas time or is their a special date to Buddhist better fit as a time for me to give this gift, if acceptable? A link explaining my question with the best answer will get 5 stars. One last thing. The answer to this last question isn't necessary but appreciated. Would it be a "sin" (as a Christian) for me to give this as a gift?
2012-08-13T19:54:41Z
Help me out here. So far you are only answering the question I am least concerned about. Sin or not it can be forgiven. I need to know if my friend can accept this gift from a non Buddhist. I also do not want to offend them or make them uncomfortable. Also the best time to give this gift would make it more special.
2012-08-13T21:05:25Z
Thanks Hacker that did help. Now I know the first week of Christmas would be a good time to give it. We all seem to agree it is a sin. Now I just need to know if it is appropriate for a non Buddhist to give a Buddha idol to a Buddhist.
2012-08-14T15:24:11Z
I can see this is going nowhere .
Anonymous2012-08-13T20:51:03Z
Favorite Answer
This is a paragraph from an article by Jess Row.
For the last 11 years, I've been a student of Korean Zen, and as an American Buddhist I'm not quite sure how to feel about Christmas. It's not that I feel disloyal celebrating the holiday. Mahayana Buddhism, the larger tradition to which Zen belongs, encourages coexistence among religious traditions. When I asked one of my teachers recently how he feels about Christmas, he said, "When I'm at the temple, we celebrate Buddha's Enlightenment Day [the first week of December]; when I'm with people celebrating Hanukkah, I celebrate that; when I'm with people celebrating Christmas, I celebrate Christmas."
This part of the article seems to answer your question. I'll add the link to the entire article in the sources.
It is a sin of Christianity but, you are correct that in Christianity this sin can be forgiven if you ask for it and repent.
I only know the answer to the question that you didn't require an answer for.
Yes it would be a sin for you to give someone a symbol of a false God knowing that the gift receiver believes it is a symbol of what they perceive as the true God. As a Christian you are supposed to spread the word of the Lord not strengthen others belief in a false God.
Fortunately it is a sin that can be forgiven. Jesus would frown for passing a false God but I bet he would give a little smile just for the love and respect exchanged with the gift.
I do realize that I'm posting to a thread that's half a decade old, but very important information hasn't been added to this and most of you don't appear to understand what you're talking about. In Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism the statues represent different stages of the Buddha's life. There are over 100 different poses and each pose represents a different phase of the path the Buddha took to attaining enlightenment. They are not worshiped! In classical times they were used to communicate to the community the purpose of a specific shrine or monastery; a specific pose would indicate medicine, another protection, another meditation, and do on. The "fat Buddha" is actually not Buddha, it is a depiction of a Chinese Buddhist monk named Ho-tai, he was famous for spreading Buddhism into China. The Ho-tai statue has come to represent the Buddhist symbol for prosperity, and you will see this statue mostly in places of business. The Tipitaka school of Buddhism views these statues as "spiritual mediums", and advises to abstain from owning them or any other "trinkets" that may be viewed as "charmed". Tipitaka is a more superstitious form of Buddhism that believes that "spiritual mediums" block energies and distress spirits that protect us; they believe these items should be dispelled or destroyed. In Japanese Zen Buddhism these statues are used to draw personal energies out in a Zen practice known as Feng Shui; the statues will be placed in specific parts of the house facing specific directions to focus energies and in the house and in anyone that views them. They burn incense and place offering around them to promote good luck, or to help clear the mind for meditation. Buddhism is a religion that doesn't condone or condemn adding or removing anything from the core belief system; consequently this means that many different cultures have adapted their own practices, rituals, and superstitions to the religion. This means that there are numerous different types of Buddhist groups each with it's own set of practices. The core teachings of the Buddha state that nothing has any meaning at all unless you give it meaning. It also states that by giving these things meaning you are not doing anything wrong, but you are also not really do anything right. Whatever steps it takes you to reach the goal of enlightenment are yours to take and choose from...