Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Buddhists enraged by toilet seat in French hotel

A French hotel that decorated a room in a "Little Buddha" style went a step too far when it used a toilet seat with an image of the Buddha's head, Thai Buddhists have said.

The Moulin de Broaille hotel in Bourgogne outraged a group of Thai residents in Europe when it used Buddhist symbols throughout the room, including the toilet seat.



National Office of Buddhism director Nopparat Benjawattananon said the organisation has now coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affair to deal with the problem. He said the French embassy in Bangkok have sent a letter of complaint to the manager of Moulin de Broaille.

"These situations are becoming more frequent. We have to understand that foreigners often think that Buddhism is only a philosophy. We have to help them understand that the Buddha's image is what Buddhists respect and it cannot be used inappropriately," said Mr Nopparat.

4 comments:

Ratz said...

Eddie Fung is a fairly successful restaurant owner in Belfast and wanted to open a new restaurant in Durham called "Fat Buddha" but wasn't allowed to because the council feared it would offend Buddhists. Regardless of the fact it's considered to be an icon of happiness and Mr. Fung's a Buddhist himself.

Anonymous said...

Buddhism IS only a philosophy -- according to the man who founded it. Of course, religious fanatics never let inconvenient facts about the creators of their religions get in the way of how they abuse it.

kdub_nyc said...

I doubt the hotel would put Jesus' face on the toilet.

Anonymous said...

probably best to keep religious iconography out of the bathroom