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Vihara => Open Vihara - [Offenes Vihara] => Topic started by: Dhammañāṇa on December 22, 2017, 08:26:30 PM

Title: [Q&A] Celebrate Christmas?
Post by: Dhammañāṇa on December 22, 2017, 08:26:30 PM
Celebrate Christmas

Quote from: Nyom Sherly on BSE (https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/13248/celebrate-christmas)
Celebrate Christmas

Is it wrong when Buddhist celebrate Christmas? I definitely shocked when I saw a monk facebook's status then he wrote that we do the wrong thing when we celebrate Christmas. Is that true?


Venerable members of the Sangha,
walking in front Fellows in leading the holly life.

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In Respect of the Triple Gems, Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, in Respect of the Elders of the community  _/\_ , my person tries to answer this question. Please, may all knowledgeable Venerables and Dhammika, out of compassion, correct my person, if something is not correct and fill also graps, if something is missing.

Valued Upasaka, Upasika, Aramika(inis),
dear Readers and Visitors,

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(This is a maybe modified and expanded answer of the "original" that can be found here (https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/13378) .)

- Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammā-sambuddhassa (http://zugangzureinsicht.org/html/homage_en.html) -



Ms. Sherly, "we do the wrong thing when we celebrate Christmas", such a general statement would be not the message of the Buddha and should be rebuked.

Maybe you like to prove if he really told in such way or if it was just your assuming.

There is generally nothing wrong in celebrating, especially if it goes into the direction of gratitude or even remembering the goodness or merits of others. Even to recollect a god or similar, the merits having done to have reached this state is one of the beneficial recollections.

Atma guesses that most actions and livelihood of Jesus for example, is full of meritorious deeds and remembering such a person would be for sure not wrong.

Furthermore, Christmas has also native origins and is often not a 100% Christian celebration but also used to remember once ancestors which is also not wrong.

The generally intentions around of Christmas are nearly all in the frame of meritorious deeds like Dana, Serving, renunciation... and sitting under the Christmastree and sharing metta to the whole world, there is nothing wrong.

Personally Atma does not celebrate it any more since a long time, but even still in this spheres where it was usual, Atma always enjoyed the common practice and recollecting on good deeds even never have been a real believer in any God as creator and leader.

As a practicing Buddhist, one should normally find plenty of good reasons to join such, if ones such is usual in ones society and even to take of certain services in ones hometown church, thinking that there are not so many monasteries, could be of great benefit.

Even in Buddhist countries old traditions are not rejected. Such was never the strategy of the Buddha. If he came across a certain tradition, he gave it first a deeper reason and second leaded people beyond the possibilities of what they have with there means.

Quote from: comments
   
Thank you for detail explanation @Samana Johann . I found it on my facebook's timeline who written by one of the young monk from russia. I was very confused also sad that's why I need explanation here. Once again thank you for the wise answer. – sherly Dec 30 '15 at 10:21
         
Sadly young monks are often trained to opposite other religions in a very silly manner and its also usual that they are trained by very attached lay teacher and are seldom only a little informed about other religions and less educated. So such would be merely normal and is also a normal counteraction of Christian missionary in many Buddhist Countries. So when ever Ms @sherly comes across Asian monks, please asume that they have really not much knowledge about other religions and seldom even about their own, especially if they are young and on Facebook and such... – Samana Johann Dec 30 '15 at 10:48
         
Alright, I understood , thanks again @samana johann – sherly Dec 30 '15 at 11:31
         
@sherly In answer to another question, Samana Johann posted this publication of Ajahn Chah (http://forum.sangham.net/index.php/topic,427.msg9225.html#msg9225). In the Q&A section towards the end, it has a section about Christmas (which includes, "Similarly, if Christmas is an occasion where people make a particular effort to do what is good and kind and helpful to others in some way, that's important and wonderful, no matter what system you use to describe it."). – Chris  W♦ Jan 1 '16 at 2:04

Quote from: A Still Forest Pool - Ein stiller Waldteich, by Ajahn Chah (http://forum.sangham.net/index.php/topic,427.msg9225.html#msg9225)
Then is Buddhism much different from other religions?

A: It is the business of genuine religions, including Buddhism, to bring people to the happiness that comes from clearly and honestly seeing how things are. Whenever any religion or system or practice accomplishes this, you can call that Buddhism, if you like.

In the Christian religion, for example, one of the most important holidays is Christmas. A group of the Western monks decided last year to make a special day of Christmas, with a ceremony of gift-giving and merit-making. Various other disciples of mine questioned this, saying, "If they're ordained as Buddhists, how can they celebrate Christmas? Isn't this a Christian holiday?"

In my Dharma talk, I explained how all people in the world are fundamentally the same. Calling them Europeans, Americans, or Thais just indicates where they were born or the color of their hair, but they all have basically the same kind of minds and bodies; all belong to the same family of people being born, growing old, and dying. When you understand this, differences become unimportant. Similarly, if Christmas is an occasion where people make a particular effort to do what is good and kind and helpful to others in some way, that's important and wonderful, no matter what system you use to describe it.

So I told the villagers, 'Today we'll call this Chrisbuddhamas. As long as people are practicing properly, they're practicing Christ-Buddhism, and things are

I teach this way to enable people to let go of their attachments to various concepts and to see what is happening in a straightforward and natural way. Anything that inspires us to see what is true and do what is good is proper practice. You may call it anything you like.

See also how to use the power of Christmas like ALL wise ever do and encourage to: Weihnacht und dessen Kraft der Reinigung - Mitfreude ist Freude mit sich selbst (http://forum.sangham.net/index.php/topic,8312.msg13552.html#msg13552). Anumodana!