BUDDHISTS CRITICAL OF POPE'S COMMENTS / PONTIFF WRITES OF `ATHEISTIC' FAITH


   Don Lattin, Chronicle Religion Writer

   As Pope John Paul II begins an 11-day trip to Asia and the Pacific
   Rim, Buddhists from Berkeley to Sri Lanka are criticizing the pontiff
   for calling their religion ``atheistic,'' ``negative'' and
   ``indifferent to the world.''

   In predominantly Buddhist Sri Lanka, where the pope tours next week,
   the theological dispute has turned violent. Yesterday, a Buddhist
   temple was damaged by fire in apparent retaliation for an arson attack
   Tuesday on a Catholic church.

   Last month, a conference of Buddhist monks asked the pope to recant a
   seven-page chapter called ``Buddha?'' in his best-selling book,
   ``Crossing the Threshold of Hope.''

   ``The `enlightenment' experienced by Buddha comes down to the
   conviction that the world is bad,'' the pope writes. ``To save oneself
   means, above all, to free oneself from evil by becoming indifferent to
   the world.''

   John Paul said that the ``doctrines of salvation in Buddhism and
   Christianity are opposed'' and that Buddhist doctrines are
   ``fundamentally contrary to the development of both man himself and
   the world. ``Buddhism is in large measure an `atheistic' sys-
  TEM,'' HE WRITES.

   Some American Buddhists have taken offense that the pope characterized
   another globe-trotting spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama of Tibet, as
   ``stirring up'' interest in Buddhism outside Asia.

   ``Today, we are seeing a certain diffusion of Buddhism in the West,''
   the Pope writes.

   The pope ends his chapter on Buddhism by warning Catholics about ``the
   return of ancient gnostic ideas under the guise of the so-called New
   Age,'' which he calls a ``para-religion'' that is in ``conflict with
   all that is essentially Christian.''

   Yesterday, just hours before departing on his Asian pilgrimage, the
   pope sought to defuse the growing interfaith conflict. ``I voluntarily
   take the occasion to assure followers of the Buddhist religion of my
   deep respect and my sincere esteem,'' he said.

   Nevertheless, the Rev. Ken Tanaka, a professor at the Institute for
   Buddhist Studies in Berkeley, said it is clear that the pope ``hasn't
   done his homework'' and presents ``a very simplistic view of
   Buddhism.''

   ``Essentially, Buddhism is about becoming detached from greed, hatred
   and ignorance -- not from the world,'' Tanaka said. ``That's how one
   awakens to a higher level of awareness.''

   Tanaka conceded that there are major differences between Buddhist and
   Christian concepts of the divine, but was not sure he would
   characterize Buddhism as ``atheistic.''

   ``We don't accept a divine personal being,'' he said. ``It is more of
   a spiritual reality.''

   The Rev. Thomas Hand, a Catholic priest who leads Zen/Christian
   retreats at Mercy Retreat Center in Burlingame, also disagreed that
   Buddhism is ``atheistic.''

   ``Buddha shows us the way to God, and after that, silence,'' said
   Hand, who has studied with Zen masters in Japan. ``You can't interpret
   that silence in a negative way.''

   Hand said he wished the pope ``were able to speak about Buddhism from
   experience. You can't speak about anything as obviously profound as
   Buddhism without getting into it.''

   The Rev. Alan Senauke, a Zen priest and coordinator of the Buddhist
   Peace Fellowship, said the pope's comments on Buddhism were little
   more than ``setting up straw men, then knocking them down.''

   ``Whether through ignorance or intention, it is a serious
   misrepresentation of what Buddhism is all about,'' he said.

   Senauke, who teaches at the Berkeley Zen Center, sought to explain the
   reaction to the pope's comments in Sri Lanka. ``You have militant
   Buddhists there, which is kind of unusual.''

   Lama Ole Nydahl, a teacher affiliated with the Kamtsang Choling,
   U.S.A., part of a Tibetan Buddhist sect, was not surprised with the
   pope's comments.

   ``How could a man like he possibly agree with a religion like
   Buddhism, which takes people beyond dualism and produces a healthy
   relationship with their bodies and minds?'' he asked.

   ``He will not enjoy his afterlife,'' Nydahl added.



     _________________________________________________________________



   DAY: THURSDAY
   DATE: 1/12/95
   PAGE: A12
   )1/12/95 , San Francisco Chronicle, All Rights Reserved, All
   Unauthorized Duplication Prohibitted