Al Gore Panhandles Buddhists

[jackdavinci]

@BigT

I don’t see how it’s the same thing. Buddhism teaches that freedom from want is the secret to happiness. You’ve actually made me curious how Buddhism reconciles this with people having wealth.

Buddhism says to take the middle path, of neither greed nor asceticism. It is fine to have wealth as long as you are not psychologically attached to it. I can see a devout Buddhist gaining wealth simply due to the extra stability that comes from excellent mental health.

[elbows]

Where is the funny?

I mean if you remove your incorrect assumption that all Buddists live like mendicant monks, and the misnomer ‘ashram’ which would imply these aren’t Buddhists but Hindus. In California the monks aren’t begging for a single meal a day of plain rice, or travelling across country with only a bowl and a robe, after all. So, where is the funny?

It seems predicated on silly assumptions that anyone with actual exposure to Buddhists would be able to see easily through.

[puddleglum]

The accusation was that it was a way to launder foreign money to donate to the Clinton Gore campaign. Gore fundraiser in charge of the event was convicted of five felonies in conjunction with her fundraising efforts. Twelve employees of the temple took the fifth during the investigation and other nuns admitted destroying evidence. Gore was caught lying about whether he knew the event was a fundraiser.
Here is a wikipedia page about the controversy.

[Zeke_N.Destroi]

@Siam_Sam

Nitpick: If Gore was passing the hat at an ashram, then he’d be panhandling Hindus, not Buddhists.

Nitpick accepted and appreciated. I’m sure that I’ve read reports of Leonard Cohen going to a Buddhist “Ashram” in California. I’m happy to chalk it up to sloppy journalism or poor memory.

Thank-you very much for the nitpick clarification!

[Zeke_N.Destroi]

@Dewey_Finn

This article from the New York Times of February 15, 1997 is about a Gore fund=raising event at a Buddhist temple in California. (I don’t know if this is the same event you’re referring to. Although if it is, isn’t it old news?) The article says, “Gore’s stop at the temple has been a continuing source of controversy because $140,000 in campaign money was raised in a religious institution and because of questions about the true source of some of the money.” It goes on to say, “The Democratic National Committee subsequently said that in hindsight it was a mistake to raise donations in a religious institution, which has tax-exempt status.” It also mentions that one concern was how the mainland Chinese government would respond to the event. (I believe the temple was run by Taiwanese Buddhists.)

BTW, I’m not sure this belongs in GQ.

Thank-you

I’m sure that the incident you mention is the one I’m asking about.

Yes, I suppose it is old news - but I hadn’t heard of it at all. I’m currently reading a book - written from the Bush side - that mentioned this and I’m curious about the details.

[Zeke_N.Destroi]

@Dewey_Finn

I don’t know why you assume that Buddhist monks were the only ones at the event or the only ones asked for contributions. If one were to hold an event at a Christian church, would friars, monks, priests and/or ministers be the only ones there? Or would the audience include the congregation?

Man, I made it - I thought - clear in the OP that exactly everything I knew about the situat6ion was included in the quote I gave.

Based on the information provided; yes I assumed it was nothing but Buddhist monks. That is implication of the quote.

I came here to ask about it because I’m reading a partisan book and I wanted to be able to gauge the degree of veracity this statement contains.

I could do a few weeks of research and likely figure it out, or I could ask the people that know and save myself the time - while at the same time allowing others here to show off their greater knowledge.

This may not be a GQ question because it opens the door to Dems V. Reps but that wasn’t my purpose.

I just wanted the factual background of the story. If GD is more suited I have no qualms.

[Zeke_N.Destroi]

@Lamar_Mundane

No, I was completely serious - I could not understand what was remotely funny about it. Your explanation gives me an idea of what you see humorous about it, although it is based on a misunderstanding that is required to make it funny.

First, it was at a Buddhist temple, not a monastery. Only the monks take the poverty vows. There were probably many successful businessmen in the audience. That’d be like assuming everyone in a Catholic church had taken a vow of celibacy. So, that’s why I didn’t see any humor. I am not criticising your sense of humor.

P.S. It definitely was not an Ashram - wrong religion.

Truly I thank you for your response. The info given in the book allowed the reader to paint a very different picture of it.

As for Ashram I have been duly chided - see my response to Siam Sam.

Description of Mt. Baldy

“He has come from an ashram on Mount Baldy, in California, where he has been living for some time.” From here

"“He has been living at an ashram at Mount Baldy Zen Center , in California” And Here

"About 1,070,000 results " for Leonard Cohen Ashram.

I’m more than cool with being corrected on Ashram being Hindu vs. Buddhist but honestly the only time I’ve seen the word “Ashram” is in context of Cohen spending his time at Mt. Baldy.

It is a mistake, thanks to y’all, that I won’t make again.

So is “temple” what Buddhists have? Like Synagogue for Jews, church for Christians, Ashram it would seem for Hindus. Is “temple” the proper way to refer to a Buddhist house of communion?

[Zeke_N.Destroi]

@elbows

Where is the funny?

I mean if you remove your incorrect assumption that all Buddists live like mendicant monks, and the misnomer ‘ashram’ which would imply these aren’t Buddhists but Hindus. In California the monks aren’t begging for a single meal a day of plain rice, or travelling across country with only a bowl and a robe, after all. So, where is the funny?

It seems predicated on silly assumptions that anyone with actual exposure to Buddhists would be able to see easily through.

Gee Elbows How utterly useful it is for you to dive in and thump me for misconceptions that I’ve said from the start I might be under. That’s very cool of you.

I think I see a kid with a lollipop - wanna take it?

Having explained the funny - to me - and accepted my “misconceptions” (I’m not sure if you noticed the repeated use of the word STEREOTYPE in the OP or not) about what a Buddhist temple - and Buddhists themselves - are; I’m not sure why you feel the need to act in a nature in keeping with a prick.

So, again, for the cheap seats - All I was asking for was the straightdope of the incident. I was not looking for either a political debate or a discussion of the nuances and demographics of its practitioners.

I have learned that Ashram means a Hindu and thus ignorance is fought

No thanks to you.

Zeke

[Dewey_Finn]

@Zeke_N.Destroi

So is “temple” what Buddhists have? Like Synagogue for Jews, church for Christians, Ashram it would seem for Hindus. Is “temple” the proper way to refer to a Buddhist house of communion?

An ashram is, basically, a religious retreat. A Hindu house of worship would be called a temple or a mandir or a mandiram.

[Dewey_Finn]

@Zeke_N.Destroi

I have learned that Ashram means a Hindu and thus ignorance is fought

And note that ashrams aren’t necessarily Hindu. There are Christian ashrams in India.

[Siam_Sam]

@Dewey_Finn

An ashram is, basically, a religious retreat. A Hindu house of worship would be called a temple or a mandir or a mandiram.

@Dewey_Finn

And note that ashrams aren’t necessarily Hindu. There are Christian ashrams in India.

I suppose that’s true, but as the Wikipedia entry shows, the word is from Sanskrit/Hindi and seems to be traditionally associated with Hindus. I can tell you I have never heard of an “ashram” in Thailand – or any other mainly Buddhist country – and the Buddhist houses of worship here are all called temples.

The wife’s two nieces are fairly proficient in English, but for a while one of them confused people into thinking she was a Christian by constant references about her “going to church” when she really meant “temple.”

[Acsenray]

1. Much of Buddhist terminology is also derived from Sanskrit. Gautama Buddha was an Indian living in a Hindu society. Remember that Buddhism began as a reformist movement among Hindus, and many Hindus see it as just another school of Hinduism.

2. As has been noted before, an ashram is not a temple. Both Hindus and Buddhists worship in temples, often in each other’s temples, to boot.