Jayapataka Swami: I understand. You know, I am part of the World Hindu Federation and some delegates from Japan came on behalf of the Sintu religion and said they were part of the Vedic tradition. I think it helps to know the tradition, to know the Vedas, and then one can present the things. I know a little about Buddhism, because I used to practice Buddhism before I became a devotee. So then, in Buddhism, they practice vipasana. Vipasana means meditation. I was talking to the [Sankarat] in Thailand the top Buddhist. He said, that chanting Hare Krsna was alright for the Buddhists. They don’t particularly think that one mantra is better than another, but one should meditate on some mantra. But actually if a Buddhist chants Hare Krsna, they can experience a higher bliss. There is nothing against Buddhism to chant Hare Krsna. So if you know a little bit about the religion then you can also preach to them. I was once at the border of [Arangapatit] and all the refugees came from Cambodia. They had been persecuted by the Pol Pot regime. So I went there to the camp and they had a Buddhist camp, so they were very nice. They greeted me and said, you are the Buddha to me, that was how they would greet fellow monks! And I told them about the vipasana, the meditation of chanting the holy names. And they asked, could I demonstrate? I said alright. Then I was chanting and they were all watching. I said, this is not a spectators’ sport! Everyone needs to chant with me. I had 3 to 500 Buddhists all chanting Hare Krsna with me. At that time there were two leaders who wanted to speak about distributing prasadam [inaudible] Rupanuga and they were surprised to see 500 Buddhists, all chanting Hare Krsna! Just that people have a tradition, if you know about their tradition, I don’t know much about Shintoism, but Buddhism, no problem! You know what Buddhism is, you know what Krsna consciousness is, you can bridge the gap.
28-June-2020 SRI DHAM MAYAPUR, INDIA