Spiritual Package in a Lecture

By Dan Kelly
Reading Eagle


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When it comes to keeping the peace, Buddhists might not be the best persons to call on.

Despite their calm, meditative reputation, Buddhists don't believe there's a difference between good and evil, said Dr. Victor J. Forte, assistant professor of religious studies at Albright College, and a practicing Buddhist.

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Dr. Victor J. Forte, an assistant professor of religious studies at Albright College and a Buddhist, on Wednesday during a World Affairs Council of Greater Reading breakfast meeting.
Instead, Buddhists believe that good and evil must coexist rather than do battle.

"Problems like violence come out of making those types of distinctions," Forte said.

Once people start concluding that one religion, or nation or people are good and another religion, nation or people are evil then there isn't anywhere to go diplomatically, he said.

"It leads to some dangerous conclusions," Forte told about 50 members of the World Affairs Council of Greater Reading at the organization's fifth World Religions Breakfast Series at the Wyomissing Family Restaurant, 1245 Penn Ave.

Forte said that books have been written about how Japanese Buddhist monks helped spread Japanese imperialism prior to World War II.

Obviously, Buddhism isn't something you can do for an hour on Sunday and achieve spiritual enlightenment, Forte added.

"You're going to need some time," he joked.

The biggest difference between Buddhism and Christianity, Judaism, Islam and other world religions is that Buddhists don't worship a god.

All of their religious pursuits are focused on spiritual enlightenment. And that requires a lot of inward reflection, Forte said.

Buddhists believe in an exterior and interior existence. The exterior is the world and its impact on people and the interior is our consciousness, thoughts and inward reaction to the exterior.

One of Buddhism's features is karma, Forte said.

"There is no god meting out justice, but a natural law of the universe," he said. "There is no turning back from your actions."

There there is good karma and bad karma.

Building good karma is a way for people who don't have a lot of time to meditate to work their way toward enlightenment, Forte said.

If you wait to help an old woman across the street and later find a $20 bill in your laundry, that's good karma. Ignoring the woman and rushing ahead of her only to get hit by a bus, would be an example of bad karma.

Nirvana, or total enlightenment, is achieved by getting the three poisons - greed, anger and violence - out of your consciousness.

"They are the roots of violence," Forte said.

Nirvana can be reached only by achieving compassion, energy and wisdom.

"Nirvana is recognizing the suffering of others and having the energy to respond to that suffering with wisdom and compassion," he said.

Contact Dan Kelly: 610-371-5040 or dkelly@readingeagle.com