Where is Buddhist Representation in Washington?

In 1996, I seen a lot of religious groups disregarding Separation of Church and State, and pushing biblical view on the diverse population regardless of others own religious belief and respect for others.  I was disturbed that I didn’t see any Buddhist speaking out against these policies.  I contacted one Buddhist temple, and asked the priest why I wasn’t seeing any Buddhist leaders speaking out against the in equality’s taking place, and he said because their not suppose to.

We have laws, common laws and basic understandings of Separation of Church and State, not to mention IRS tax codes to follow and respect, so why wouldn’t the Buddhist temples comply, they should.  However, were living in a country where it appears that other faiths are no longer honoring our laws, and now we have no voice against the those who wish to oppress us.  Buddhist temples are being target with hate in America, and I’ve heard several Christian preachers call Buddhist devil worshipers, even when the “devil” is a Christian god, not a Buddhist god.  Buddhism has concepts of hell realms, but they are only concepts like bad day’s, or periods of time when your going through hard times as a result of your own actions.

Buddhists have been in America for more than one hundred fifty years.  Their are Buddhist temple, schools, charity’s and universities all over America.  So, surely Buddhist should also have representation in Washington, as other faith based initiative groups are in attendance.

No Buddhists in Washington?

“Religious Literacy Dictionary” in Stephen Prothero’s 2007 bestseller, Religious Literacy, devotes less than two pages to “Buddhism,” but spends seven lines making the point that “Buddhists have not been particularly active in American politics.” This notion, accurate or not, is probably the perception of most Americans, many of whom have little real awareness of the 2,500-year-old tradition to begin with. It may also explain why President Obama’s 25-member Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships (which just launched its official Web site) currently lacks a Buddhist representative, despite the presence of at least one appointee from the other four major world religions. [read full article]