Unmasking Buddhism

Bernard Faure is Kao Professor in Japanese Religion at Columbia University. He has published a number of books in French and English, including: The Rhetoric of Immediacy: A Cultural Critique of Chan/Zen Buddhism (1991); Chan Insights and Oversights: An Epistemological Critique of the Chan Tradition (1993); Visions of Power: Imagining Medieval Japanese Buddhism (1996); The Red Thread: Buddhist Approaches to Sexuality (1998); The Power of Denial: Buddhism, Purity, and Gender (2003); and Double Exposure (2004). He is presently working on a book on Japanese Gods and Demons.

Introduction 1

Part I Buddhism in History 5

“Buddhism is both one and many” 7

“The Buddha is only a man who achieved Awakening” 11

“Buddhism is an Indian religion” 18

“Buddhism is the cult of nothingness” 23

“Buddhism is a philosophy, not a religion” 27

“All Buddhists are seeking to achieve Awakening” 34

“Buddhism teaches the impermanence of all things” 39

“The belief in karma leads to fatalism” 44

“Buddhism denies the existence of a self” 49

“Buddhism teaches reincarnation” 52

Part II Buddhism and Local Cultures 57

“Buddhism is an atheistic religion” 59

“Buddhism is above all a spirituality” 66

 “The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Buddhism” 71

“To be Buddhist is to be Zen” 76

Part III Buddhism and Society 83

“Buddhism is a tolerant religion” 85

“Buddhism teaches compassion” 89

“Buddhism is a peaceful religion” 93

“Buddhism affirms that we are all equal” 99

“Buddhism is compatible with science” 104

“Buddhism is a kind of therapy” 112

“Buddhism advocates a strict vegetarianism” 118

“Buddhism is a universalist teaching” 122

“Buddhism is a religion of monks” 129

Conclusion: Buddhism or Neo-Buddhism? 139

Glossary 143

A Short Bibliography 151

Index 153