Transcripts For WHYY Religion Ethics Newsweekly 20140615

Major funding for religion and ethics newsweekly is provided by the lilly endowment, a private Family Foundation, dedicated to the founders interest in religion, Community Development and education. Additional funding also provided by mutual of america, designing customized, individual and Group Retirement products. Thats why were your retirement company. And by these funders. Welcome. Im bob abernethy. Its good to have you with us. There was a surge in militant violence this week threatening the Iraqi Government and state. Christians were among the estimated 500,000 people who fled the countrys secondlargest city, mosul, after it was seized by Sunni Islamist militants. The u. N. Condemned the attacks and said the humanitarian situation in mosul was worsening by the moment. Here at home, the National Debate over gun control rages on after an Oregon High School shooting that left two dead earlier this week. It is one of several recent highprofile shootings. Last week a gunman opened fire at Seattle Pacific university, a christian school, killing a student and wounding several others. The activist group everytown for gun safety says 74 shootings have taken place on School Grounds since the 2012 sandy hook massacre, an average of nearly one a week. President obama called on the nation to examine its conscience in the wake of the violence. The country has to do some soul searching about this. This is becoming the norm and we take it for granted in ways, that as a parent, are terrifying to me. Faith leaders are urging president obama and the Sudanese Government to act now to free meriam ibrahim, a sudanese christian woman who faces a death sentence for refusing to renounce her faith. This week the Family Research council and other groups held a save meriam rally outside of the white house. Ibrahim is married to a christian man and recently gave birth in prison to their daughter. Her appeals hearing began in sudan this week. The Southern Baptist Convention Held its annual meeting in baltimore this week to discuss a range of issues facing the countrys largest protestant denomination, such as declining membership and changing sexual mores. Southern baptists approved a resolution opposing efforts to validate Transgender Identity as morally praiseworthy. They also elected a new president , the reverend ronnie floyd, pastor of a northwest arkansas megachurch. The United Methodist church has decided to divest from a Security Company involved in what it says is israels unjust treatment of palestinians. The United Methodist church is the largest mainline protestant denomination in the u. S. And has an investment portfolio of over 20 billion. Next week the Presbyterian Church usa is expected to debate removing its investments in three u. S. Companies that do business in israel. At the famous Riverside Church in new york, the reverend amy butler became the first woman to be chosen senior minister. Riverside is associated with both the United Church of christ and the american baptists. Butler has been the senior minister at the Calvary Baptist church in washington. Amid the many problems of the veterans administration, there is a littleknown v. A. Program that seems to be working well. Its a partnership, launched last year, between the v. A. And faithbased groups to help veterans cope with persistent problems such as the moral wounds of war. Kim lawton reports. Reporter aliyah hunter knows firsthand the challenges facing americas roughly 20 million veterans. She served in iraq with the Army National guard in 2004 and 2005 and says transitioning back was tough. I think that subconsciously we think that things stop and freeze and then we leave and then we come back and you know, to pick up exactly where we left off, when the reality is, life keeps going. It doesnt stop. Reporter according to the bureau of labor statistics, more than threequarters of veterans say theyve been unable to effectively translate their military skills to civilian terms. About 10 of those who served in iraq and afghanistan are unemployed, and about 13 of all homeless adults are vets. Many have chronic medical and emotional problems. Amid all the challenges, more and more congregations are reaching out to help. Many say its a moral obligation. For me its not a point of whether you agree with a particular war or disagree with a particular war, these are our people, theyre our sons and daughters, theyre our parents, theyre our children. We owe it to them to help them return fully to civilian society and thrive. Reporter in late 2013, the department of Veterans Affairs launched a new initiative to partner with religious groups. The v. A. Has been sponsoring events across the country to train faith leaders about the needs of veterans and the resources that are available. Stephen dillard is Deputy Director of the v. A. s center for faithbased and neighborhood partnerships. Nine times out of ten, our veterans theyre, theyre a member of somebodys denomination, so we want to use them as partners to disseminate this information. Reporter he says the v. A. Understands that local congregations can be good points of contact for veterans, especially those who initially may be reluctant to seek assistance from the government. Theyll see a familiar face, a face they feel comfortable with, someone they hear on a regular basis, someone they understand the ideology. So we think that would be a very good nexus for them to say okay, as a result of at, you know, let me step to my clergy, male or female, to say okay could you help me with this . Id actually been home for almost two years before i even reached out to the v. A. And so once i did, i was completely blown away by the resources that they had available. Reporter ressurection graves attended a v. A. Training session in northern virginia. She leads a Christian Ministry called glory soldiers global and speaks to churches about how they can reach out to the homeless, including homeless vets. There are all of these different kind of things that veterans go through that we have no idea about, if youve never been in the military. So we should learn more about what it is to be a veteran and what experiences they have when they try to receive services, and when we do that then we can come from a place of knowledge. Reporter graves herself was once homeless, and met her husband deven, who is a veteran, at a shelter. They were able to overcome homelessness in part through taking advantage of devens veteran benefits. Now, the ministry they founded conducts seminars in churches like awakening Community Church in fredericksburg, virginia. Graves says congregations need to give vets both practical and spiritual support. Its not enough to help someone to get housed, if they are still challenged with pains of the past, if theyre still going through different turmoils. And then its not enough to work on them spiritually and feed them and then go back to your church and say high five, we did a great job, when theyre sleeping outside. Reporter many say spiritual support from faith groups can be especially important to help vets deal with emotional needs. You cant change the things that have happened, the things that youve seen, the things that you witnessed, the things that youve been through, and so while youre carrying all that with you, youve got to try to make things work in a society that may not understand. You know . And so thats a challenge. Reporter while there has been Significant Research about posttraumatic stress disorder, or ptsd, a growing area of focus is on the moral injuries sustained in combat. Moral injury is the impact of serving in war when you face morally difficult or ambiguous conditions, or wind up witnessing or committing atrocities that violate your core moral values. Reporter Rita Nakashima Brock is codirector of the Soul Repair Center at Brite Divinity School in fort worth, texas. She says moral injury is different than ptsd, which has clearer symptoms like flashbacks, nightmares and panic attacks. You may have them both at the same time, which often happens in extreme terrorizing conditions, but the moral injury piece is more reflective, and it requires you to be able to tell a story and think about it. And its not simple. Reporter she says moral injury can be different for each veteran and can result from a broad range of experiences such as secondguessing actions taken in battle, killing civilians or failing to prevent it, handling human remains, or witnessing the death of a friend and feeling survivors guilt. Many vets are reluctant to share their stories, even years later. Its just emotionally sometimes its difficult. To open up is difficult, to talk is difficult, to relate, and those are the big things that a lot of times, you know, hold us back, even from seeking services. Ive had plenty of clergy friends say theyve had world war ii vets who had to confess something as they were dying that theyd never told anybody that theyd felt terrible about for years. So people can carry it a long time. And they can compartmentalize and not think about it for a long time. Reporter the Soul Repair Center opened almost two years ago with a mission to do Public Education and research about moral injury. If youre a moral human being, theres a way to relate to this because i dont know anybody who hasnt done something they feel pretty terrible about still, and if you magnify that about a hundred fold, you get a little clue as to what its like to carry a load called moral injury. Reporter the center also trains clergy and local religious leaders on how to help vets and others try to recover from moral injury. Former Army Chaplain and current presbyterian pastor greg brown attended a training event in raleigh, north carolina. This is something that we really havent addressed quite adequately before because weve been addressing ptsd. And theres a vast difference between ptsd and the moral issues of war. Reporter brock says congregations and faith groups are especially qualified for moral injury work. Sometimes a little counseling will help, but to rebuild a moral identity takes a community of support. Takes friends and it takes a long time. There are no other institutions in our society that i know of except religious institutions that support people over their entire life course. Reporter hunter says the spiritual dimension has definitely helped her move forward. I believe in prayer and so that was, was my peace and it, and it was a tool to go along with everything that the v. A. Offers to help me see this through, and to say that, you know, things can be better. Reporter im kim lawton reporting. We have a lucky severson story today on the enormous dhammakaya buddhist temple in thailand, and the growing Dhammakaya Movement it represents. Its leaders teach spiritual power through mass meditation and worldly success through donations to the movement. Critics say that teaching is an unbuddhist prosperity gospel, but the movement is represented now in 30 countries. Reporter this is a buddhist temple unlike any other. It is the heart and soul of the Fastest Growing Buddhist Movement in thailand and probably the world. Its called dhammakaya. Both the temple and the movement are controversial. Critics question the intentions of the temple. They think that the primary intention is to raise money to be big, to be global. Reporter everything about dhammakaya is big. The pagoda behind me is filled with 700,000 goldplated buddhas. The dome itself is covered with 300,000 goldplated buddhas. This stadium will hold one million meditators. They want the Dhammakaya Temple to be like mecca is in islam, a global center. They want to bring buddhists from all over the world. Reporter Rachelle Scott is a scholar on the movement and assistant head of religious studies at the university of tennessee. She says an unusually High Percentage of dhammakaya monks are College Educated and speak more than one language, which makes it easier for them to proselytize temple visitors. This is the assistant abbot, phra tanna. So basically once they look at the building and they see the shape, they say wow and they started to want to know more about the building, why it has that shape. Reporter one thing that draws them in is the flyingsaucer shape of the building, and if they like what they see, the monks and their assistants will do what they can to bring them into the movement. Thats the part that doesnt sit right with sulak sivaraksa, an esteemed buddhist scholar in bangkok. The buddha never wanted the people to become buddhist. The buddha would like people to become enlightened. The buddha would like people to understand the danger of greed, hate, and delusion. Reporter the converts they provided seem quite pleased with what theyve found here. Ive reached happiness. I found the truth in myself. And once ive been here i think i learn much more than my academy education, masters degree or ph. D. I learned the truth in life, learned how to be with myself and happiness within. Reporter another thing that sets the movement apart is the dhammakaya method of meditation. In traditional buddhism, its the monks who are usually doing the meditating. Here its everyone. They employ a visualization technique whereby which one envisions a crystal ball outside of ones body, and then one watches that crystal ball enter through the nose into the head, down to the navel and then rests two finger widths above the navel. As one develops the ability to concentrate in that way can facilitate states of happiness, bliss. Reporter and they believe the more people who meditate together, the greater the power. When you take a look at number of people, thousands of people sitting together quietly and meditate, how do you feel . You feel something very wonderful. So once we gather together, the more the better. We can bring the good thing to the world. Reporter there is a legend here that mass meditation prevented bangkok from being bombed by the japanese during world war ii. They see meditation as a powerful tool for society and for the individual. There are stories of individuals being able to travel to the various realms of existence, to the heavens, to the hell realms while in a state of meditation. I have heard stories of individuals who are able to undergo operations while awake, and they feel no pain, individuals who are able to see things that are happening in different locations while they are in a state of meditation. Reporter the movement we know today began in the 1970s, although its roots stretch back to the beginning of the century and, some would argue, back to buddha himself. But where other Buddhist Movements have seen a decline in the number of young men willing to get their heads shaved to become monks, dhammakaya continues to attract. Some of them seem very young. Yeah, yeah. You can actually become a novice from 7 years old, but usually in our temple theyre about 10 or Something Like that. Reporter buddhist scholars say one reason dhammakaya has been so successful is that it fits the times. Thailand has developed into a modern country at a breakneck speed. Traditionally most young men would become monks for a few months at least. Now the temptation is to get a job and make money. In fact, its the growing middle class in particular that dhammakaya appeals to. Its not shy about saying if you come to the temple and you offer money, youll get this worldly benefit. Reporter professor scott wrote a book about dhammakaya called nirvana for sale . In temple publications its very clear that this worldly success, this worldly prosperity is one of the many rewards one gets as a result of giving money to the temple. Reporter phra sandr is from the netherlands and has a masters degree in organizational psychology. People often think that dhammakaya only cares about donations, or cares about getting people to the temple, but that is just an impression based on outer appearances. But that is not what dhammakaya really is about. When people come here for a while they notice that there is also a very important inner core, where people are learning to practice character. It takes an enormous amount of money to build the structures that theyre building, to foster all of the International Networks that they have, the International Centers that they have. Reporter most of the money comes from donations, also known as merit making. It works like this. Do a good deed or give money and youll be rewarded in this life and the next. Rachelle scott maintains this is a longstanding buddhist tradition and one dhammakaya has refined to a fine art. If anyone would have this merit they will be safe in their transportation, for example. If a whole airplane that crashed, one people that could survive, thats because he or she has the merit. This is what the buddha taught, and we believe the same thing. One of the programs was this idea of giving money on a regular basis would ensure wealth in this life and in future lives as well. So not just a millionaire today, but a millionaire in the future as well. What the dhammakaya try to do, i feel, is a distortion of the message of the buddha, because they want to be successful, and to be successful in this day and age you have to go along with capitalism and consumerism. Wealth is not a bad thing. Its very useful if you know how to use it. It must be useful for yourself, for your family, for the society, and for the whole world. Reporter as dhammakaya continues to grow, the criticism grows more muted. The movement now has centers in 30 countries with more planned and, we were told, almost 5 million followers on facebook. For religion and ethics newsweekly, im lucky severson in thailand. Now, belief and practice this week, the coming of age ceremony for hindu boys. Some call it a hindu bar mitzvah. We visited an upanayanam celebration for 9yearold rushil ramakrishnan at the hindu temple of metropolitan washington. Our host was one of the leaders of the washington hindu community, dr. Siva subramanian, a pediatrician at the Georgetown University hospital. This is a rite of passage in the young mans life. The boy and the parents go and get the blessings of the elders. They are invoked to come and bless the parents and the student who is taking this major step in his life. And for this, nine priests were brought. In when due his hinduism theres almost nothing that is done without fire as the witness. The fire god also is a representation of the supreme and so any oblations given to the fire is taken to the appropriate god and goddess. Hinduism believes in not just one god, it believes in only god. Then, they blessed the waters, you know, that were in the pot. All the auspicious waters from the world are brought in and invoked, and each river is considered as a goddess, and so they actually invoke the goddesses into that water by the chanting, and with that water they do the purification and cleansing. The sacred ash, this is to remind that individual that you are made up of these five elements earth, air, space, water, and fire, and you are going to go back to these elemen. One of the two major components of this festival upanayanam is giving that boy the sacred thread. The hope is that the good qualities will get better and he will be in a lifelong pursuit into thinking about god and focusing on what is called the moksha or the liberation. With, in this situation, with four other bramacharis, students, who already had their sacred thread ceremony done, they all eat the same food, and so it is a component of learning the humility and sharing. After that, the student is asked to stand on a stone. It is to make sure that the mother and the father reminds him to stand, not wither with any ups and downs that comes in life. After that they go and get the special mantra that is given. The silk cloth is put in around the parents, the student, and the priest, and the father says this gayatri mantra in the right ear of the student and makes sure he repeats it, and then from that day on he is supposed to chant this at least three times every day. This is a wonderful sacrament in his spiritual advancement. That ceremony takes two days. Thats our program for now. Im bob abernethy. You can follow us on twitter and facebook and watch anytime on the pbs app for iphones and ipads. And visit our website, where there is always much more, including a longer version of our hindu coming of age story and more of our interview with Rita Nakashima Brock about moral injury and religious outreach to veterans. You can also listen to or watch every program. Join us at pbs. Org. As we leave you, more from the hindu coming of age ceremony. Major funding for religion and ethics newsweekly is provided by the lilly endowment, an indianapolis based private Family Foundation dedicated to its founders interest in religion, Community Development and education. Additional funding also provided by mutual of america. Designing customized, individual and Group Retirement products. Thats why were your retirement company. And by these funders. Erer welcome to the program. Im charlie rose. The program is charlie rose the week. Just ahead, iraq descends into chaos. The leadership shakeup in the republican party. And sobraino Jessye Norman looks at a life in opera. To be choreographed to walk around the obelisk, i still remember thinking, okay, you have studied these texts. You know these worlds as well as you know your own name so just get on with it, just do it. Rose we have those stories and more on what happened and what might happen. 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