"EUROPEAN BUDDHIST UNION" STØTTER BUDDHIST- FORBUNDETS KLAGE PÅ NRK PROGRAM MED USANNE PÅSTANDER OM BUDDHAS KVINNESYN

"European Buddhist Union" (EBU) hadde møte i Strasbourg for ledere av nasjonale buddhistiske unioner. Der deltok også Buddhistforbundets generalsekretær. En uttalelse om NRK-saken ble vedtatt på møtet og har resultert i denne uttalelsen som nå er sendt til Kringkastingsrådet. Uttalelsen er gjengitt her:

Kringkastingsrådet NRK

Postboks 2450 Torgarden

7005 Trondheim

Norway

Strasbourg 27 January 2019

It has been brought to our attention that the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), in a film published on its website (“På tro og Are”) for use in Religions Education in Norwegian primary and secondary schools, allege that the Buddha said that "women were mentally inferior to men and incapable of understanding and practicing his teachings" (in Norwegian: "Det var fordi kvinner var mentalt underlegne menn og ute av stand til å forstå og praktisere læren hans").

We are disappointed that a reputable institution such as the national broadcasting corporation of Norway expresses untrue and derogatory allegations against the founder of our religion. 

Incidentally we note that the Buddha is also depicted in a way that perpetuates the misunderstanding that the founder of Buddhism is the same person as the Chinese mythological character Budai (sometimes referred to as “fat buddha” or “laughing buddha”).

It is not acceptable that a film containing such serious misinformation is used to shape the understanding of Buddhism of pupils in Norwegian schools.

We therefore request the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation to remove this film from your educational website.

With the expression of my highest distinction,

Ron Eichhorn

President of the European Buddhist Union

Endorsed by:

* Austrian Buddhist Union – Martin Schaurhofer

* Belgian Buddhist Union – Carlo Luyckx

* Buddhist Union of Finland - Irma Rinne

* Union Bouddhiste France – Olivier Wang Genh

* German Buddhist Union – Nils Clausen

* Italian Buddhist Union – Stefano Bettera

* Boeddhistische Unie Netherlands – Michael Ritman

* Portuguese Buddhist Union – Diogo Lopes

* Spanish Budhdist Union?Federation of Buddhist Organisations of Spain - Enrique Caputo

* The Buddhist Cooperation Council of Sweden – Trudy Frederiksson

* Swiss Buddhist Union – Luc Feldmann

* Network of Buddhist Organizations UK – Juliet Hackney

* Sakyadhita France (Int. association of Buddhist Women) – Gabriela Frey

European Buddhist Union, 9 Rue Saulnier, 75009 Paris, France