Other religions accepted while Christianity scoffed at

• Published July 23, 2008

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School is out for the summer, but I still want to learn.

I went on a field trip with my daughter in June. While we were waiting outside the Seattle Museum of Flight, security informed me that the gentlemen in the burgundy robes were from a very high order of Buddhist monks. Some kids were excited to see the "Dalai Lama" with real body guards and snapped photos with cameras and cell phones. During lunch I was asked, "What is a Dalai Lama?"

After time to think, I compared the Dalai Lama for Buddhists to the pope for Catholics.

My feeble explanation led me back to my thoughts about the students in Olympia who attended the Seeds of Compassion tour. I read the letters in The Olympian. Two I remembered.

One emphasized the school district did not pay for the transportation, but that it was a gift. Would the district accept money if the Archdiocese offered to pay for busses for children to see Pope Benedict XVI? With the phrase "separation of church and state" so fearfully implanted in decision makers' minds, I doubt it.

The second letter I remember shared that Buddhism is a philosophy, so the words of the Dalai Lama were inspirational and should be used like the great speeches of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. As I have always thought of Buddhism as a religion, I had to research this idea for myself.

According to the Zen Center of Sunneyvale, "Buddhism is a teaching to help us see reality, understand life and attain inner peace. Because it deals with 'truth' and 'life' and 'spirituality,' it is a religion."

I continued pondering how some religions are accepted when my Christian beliefs are often scoffed at.

One of the last assignments my son had in literature was analyzing a poem. I like to know what he's studying, so I went online to read the poem. In an effort to understand what I was reading, I Googled the author's name to learn about her. The author was influenced by Zen Buddhism, so I did some research on that as well. I found a classroom lesson from a school in New Jersey with these interesting words: "The end product will be a multimedia presentation showcasing these materials and displaying the students' knowledge of Zen principles."

Wow! I remember when my son wrote a poem in first grade about his friend, Jesus, and was admonished by his teacher.

While taking a class recently, I read a very intriguing line in the training manual regarding a well-designed treatment plan for mental health. It stated, " ...healers and practices from a cultural tradition (e.g. the use of prayer or meditation) can be included ..."

I believe that prayer can bring healing and I try to meditate on the word of God daily. As my parents and grandparents have all attended Christian churches, I think Christianity is my cultural tradition. Again I wonder why my culture isn't accepted as others. I just want to be treated equally.

If only my faith was reclassified as a philosophy or cultural tradition my views might become accepted, too. A cross on the Capitol Campus would be no different than a totem pole.

Jamie Kenny, a member of The Olympian's Board of Contributors, lives in Tenino with her husband and two teenage children. She can be reached at kpraise2him@scattercreek.com.