I consider myself a Buddhist and I’m not worried a bit. I’d rather not have my persuasion associated with anything relative (e.g., Obama, nationality, ethnic group, region, political party, a piece of land, etc.)
If anything, politicians – no matter how well intentioned – usually end up tarnishing spiritual approaches (Just think what Bush has done for the Evangelical brand). By nature, in our wonderful pluralistic society, politics is about compromise. Spiritual practices and beliefs aren’t typically about compromise.
Our beliefs and practices are under our own control as we go out and work and play with diverse people. I’d prefer it that way.
If Buddhists aren’t part of the collective American psyche, then I don’t have to answer for things like George W. Bush’s presidency, nor that of Mr. Obama. I’ll still participate in our mutual endeavors, while being more influenced by my own persuasion.

I’m a Catholic Buddhist. I was born and raised Catholic and love the church and tradition, especially the Mass. I’m kind of lapsed though, so I go to Mass, but do not take the sacraments. Since Buddha taught there are no gods or goddesses, I look at buddhism more as a life philosophy and psychological practice that is essentially non religious. I meditate and chant and study the teachings. I do not worship the buddha. I appreciate and revere him for his teaching. So it it no big deal that buddhists weren’t represented. There is no one single spokesperson for buddhists. Even the Dalai Lama is just a leader of Tibetan buddhism. A lovely person nontheless. I don’t know who could have been chosen to represent buddhism at a national prayer service?

Buddhists don’t do prayer in a way that would work in that kind of setting so it isn’t that surprising. And besides, he’s probably heard about it by now and thinking, “Great, my first day in office and I’ve got the Buddhists mad at me!”

Lessee … numbers of adherents are the biggest con game in the religious world, but there are also significant numbers of Baha’is in the US that were ignored. And the Zoroastrians should have been included just for their grand-daddy-of-them-all status. And why no Jains? Sikhs? Wiccans? Play this game long enough and they will have to build a few extra cathedrals to house all the representatives.
A genuine effort was made to be inclusive. let’s just accept that and not nitpick the details.

I essentially agree with clasqm, but I’d point out that the issue is probably more a matter of perception than raw numbers as such. Buddhism has a relatively high profile in this country. Many well-known celebrities are Buddhists or quasi-Buddhists (e.g. Richard Gere, Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, Orlando Bloom, Uma Thurman, George Lucas, etc.); the Dalai Lama is well-known and highly respected among all religious groups; and there is a certain general cultural awareness of several Buddhist concepts, e.g. karma, reincarnation, meditation, etc. Even a person who knows nothing of Mahayana Buddhism has probably seen a statue of Hotei (the so-called “laughing Buddha”) in Chinese restaurants, and Buddhist themes appear with fair frequency in pop-culture, e.g. the Matrix series, the Star Wars franchise, much anime and manga, and so on. None of this could be said for Zoroastrianism, Jainism, and Sikhism (of which I’d say there is almost no general awareness).
Thus, the issue probably isn’t the number of Buddhists in this country per se, but the prominence of Buddhism, vis-a-vis other minority religions, that makes the “exclusion” a bit eyebrow raising.
Having said that, I doubt any snub was intended, and as clasqm pointed out, it’s silly to make it a numbers game. Also, Charles is right in pointing out that most schools of Buddhism don’t really have anything corresponding to prayers for public occasions. The closest thing to this is chanting of sutras by some Mahayana schools, or the complex rituals that Tibetan Buddhists practice. None of these would probably fit comfortably in the format of an Inaugural prayer service.
One other thing: Obama’s half-sister describes herself as Buddhist. Also, given Obama’s well-known period of religious questing, his intelligence, his places of residence in his younger years and school days (Hawaii and later New York and Massachusetts, all of which have prominent Buddhist communities), and his generation (all of us born in the sixties who were religious questors had our Buddhist phase), I find it almost impossible to think that he hasn’t done his share of studying Buddhism and perhaps meditating here and there. Thus, I’m sure there was absolutely no lack of awareness on his part or intent to snub.

The “Your Name” is me! Sorry!

It’s probably a simple issue of math and geography.
Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism are the three largest religions and they represent identifiable cultures in three parts of the globe. Judaism was certainly added for both political and religious reasons. It would simply look out of place if Judaism wasn’t included given its status in the Mideast conflict.
Once you get passed those religions, then you start selectively choosing and groups will always get left out after that.

We hear at beliefnet are…
we, here at beliefnet are…

I am Buddhist.
But I don’t consider myself to have been excluded. Mr. Obama’s speech was inclusive enough, and the fact that he also included non-believers as well as adherents of a multitude of faiths tells me that his attitude was sincere, and in the right place. As pointed out above, so what if he didn’t specifically give a shout-out to every known belief system with significant numbers of adherents in the United States?
I wasn’t offended at all.

Great Post — I think its because somehow Buddhists are seen as push overs. Someone said Buddhism is not a major world religion like Islam or Christianity — when oh when will this ridiculous myth end? There are more people who see Buddha as the ultimate than Christ and Allah combined! Yes combined. In India there are 1 billion Hindus who see Buddha as Lord Buddha an avatar of Vishnu. In China there are 1 billion Buddhists – yes 1 billion and any Chinese expert will confirm the number. There are 500 m Buddhists across the world. There are more Hollywood celebs who are Buddhist than Kaballah and Scientology combined. Japan is the 2nd most powerful economy where the majority is Buddhist. Obama was completely out of line by not mentioning Buddhists and he did it because he knows that Buddhists won’t make the kind of fuss than Hindus and Muslims would have. This has got to stop. Buddhists have to stop being such push overs and someone should really send a message to Obama and make him apologize. Also, many Buddhists do believe in prayer and chanting and he could easily have got such a monk to deliver a prayer. Many Buddhists also do believe in God — the only difference is they allow Buddhists to define God for themselves instead of blindly following man made scriptures. The biggest problem facing Buddhism today is the fact that Western Buddhists believe they are not even supposed to call themselves Buddhist and are supposed to be total push overs. This must stop. I have lost all respect for Obama and I am equally annoyed by those Buddhists who don’t stand up for the Dharma.

jon: The Hindu view of the Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu is at best a back-handed compliment. Vishnu is said to have incarnated as Gautama Buddha to spread false doctrine in order to confound demons. Not quite veneration. The majority of Chinese, to the extent that they aren’t more or less secularized, practice a patchwork of folk belief, Daoism, and Confucianism with Buddhist concepts mixed in. The Chinese traditionally have referred to Confucius, Laozi, and the Buddha as the Three Teachers, whom they view as essentially compatible, with differences of emphasis. E.g. Confucius’ teaching deals with social relationships, Laozi’s with harmony with nature, and the Buddha’s with morality and the afterlife.
In any case, it would be a stretch to describe a billion Chinese (over three-fourths of the entire population) as belonging to any organized religion. As to Japan, it is one of the most highly secularized nations on earth, its inhabitants practicing (to the extent that they practice anything at all) a mixture of Shinto, Confucianism, and Buddhism, with some Daoist and Christian elements in the mix.
Finally, when you say that there are one billion Buddhists in China and 500 million worldwide–are you checking your addition here?! Or do you mean 500 million more in addition to those in China? Check out the well-respected website Adherents.com. The figures given there: Chinese traditional religions, 394 million; and Buddhists, 376 million.
I’m not trying to be negative or to argue. I think Obama meant no offense, although anyone is free to interpret this as he or she wishes. I just think we should try to get data correct when we quote numbers of believers. Although, as I’ve said before, I don’t think it should be about numbers.

Take it easy, guys! This not an occasion to “stand up for Dharma”. Barack Hussein Obama was delivering a speech for and about the United States of America. As long as I remember, this phrase started with “We are the Nation of…” So, as on a Dollar note motto goes, “In God We Trust”, right? Do we worship or praise “da Lorrrdha” everyday? Do we trust that “eye on the top of Pyramid”, “the Beginning” and such? I hope you’re NOT. So we ARE non-believers, indeed. The three religions that came from the Middle East are of the same nature, i.e. the (One) God Almighty. Hindu are very different, but amazingly inclusive, which is pretty convenient for all (and for them), isn’t it? Mr. Obama did not mention the Scientology (ahem…) either… So what?

Oh, and BTW, who do you think should be most famous representative of Buddhist Faith at the National Prayer Service?! The Dalai Lama (the Americans barely know anybody else)?! LOL!! That would be first huge leap into the bog of Controversy (and among Buddhists too)!

When Obama says “We are a nation of…” he clearly talks about America and not of world in general. Accordingly, he names the most prominent ones but what he forgets is that Buddhism is 3rd most prominent religion of America. This fact can be checked in wikipedia too. So if one is 3rd in the order of line but the ones who are 4th and 5th gets a shout and the one in 3rd is overlooked then it a justified reason to raise one’s eyebrows.
It can be equally replied in the same tit for tat manner if one says there are no one to represent Buddhist community in America but I wont. There are plenty of venerable Buddhist monks and nuns in America if such need be anytime. There will be none if one wants to be blind about it.
As a Buddhists I feel President Obama does need to be informed of this negative impression he gave. It is good for him also to be made englightened of this matter. Buddhists are more tolerant in general but that does not mean factual ground realities are to be ignored and their sentiments undermined.
It seems to some Obama cannot make a mistake and so when anyone points it out where he made a mistake he is quickly pounced upon and hasty judgement is passed upon that person. To be attracted to some one is fine but to loose one’s sense of judgement and rightness in sway of that heavy emotion will set a bad precedent. I feel it is important to point here that I also respect Obama and my relatives have voted for him.
If one is to suggest that he put the Buddhists in the class of Non-Believers I feel that non-believers is a derogatory term, negative in outlook, insufficient in defination, and divisive (between those who believe in god the creator and those who dont subscribe to it). Its is like looking down on them. I think Buddhists and other Atheists should not be subjected to such unaesthetic term. They deserve equal dignity and respect.
This is not about being anti or pro Obama. Its about giving proper credit to the factual matter of fact. We all want the truth and justice to prevail wherever due whoever it may concern.

I think your conclusion is sound. No biggie.

Hi,
Im a Buddhist myself but I should tell you, we dont think about small issues like this because this definitely not something to bother. Obama might have not been able to mention about Buddhism and Im sure he might be having his own reason for not mentioning Buddhism but we as Buddhist Individuals, we should not think about a very minor issues like this… We should forgive and forget.. Not create issues for small mistakes other people does… Come on… Get a life and dont insult our religion by trying to create a issue out of a very minor incident…

Tumarion,
You said: “The Hindu view of the Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu is at best a back-handed compliment. Vishnu is said to have incarnated as Gautama Buddha to spread false doctrine in order to confound demons.”
Hindus don’t have a concept of false doctrine. There are multiple paths to the truth. The Vaishnavas included Buddha as one among their 10 avatars, because he is genuinely believed to be a great soul. The Buddha’s teachings are in perfect harmony with most Hindu traditions.
You are right that Obama’s sister consider’s herself Buddhist and so Obama is very aware of Buddhist practices to know that calling the Buddha’s teachings a religion is a misnomer. For that matter, calling the Hindu traditions a religion is also a misnomer, but perhaps he included it as a gesture towards some of his Hindu fund-raisers!

We Buddhists,for aren’t known for causing trouble and war in the world so he possibly doesn’t feel the need to placate us,to calm us down,unlike extreme followers of other faiths, as religious extremism has taken a very strong hold on our world , whether it be Christian,Jedaism or Islam, and it is causing a lot of misery, which Buddhism, for the most part, isn’t.

You spelled ‘here’ wrong. I also think you are digging for a story.

First do no harm, speak no evil it is no point to question if he does mention or not mention he did not we still remain. As for other faiths again it is no point to speak evil or to stir be mindful buddhist.

hindus do not equate to indians. india is home to hindus, muslims (2nd largest muslim population), buddhist, christians, catholics, jews, parsis, jains, sikhs, and much much more.

Sowmya, while I appreciate your acknowledgment of the colorful diversity of India’s religious tapestry, I think the point is that Hindu tradition is commonly associated with its country of origin. Effectively, while many Indians follow other faiths, not many Hindu followers are non-Indian. I think what you meant was that Indians do not equate to Hindus. However, the converse of this, your actual statement that “hindus do not equate to indians”, seems to be untrue. In essence, it is common to meet Indians who are not Hindu, but not to meet Hindus who are not Indian. I don’t believe the comment was intended to paint India as lacking depth in that respect.
Moving on, perhaps the exclusion was based upon ignorance (not necessarily ignorance of Buddhism), perhaps upon politics. Perhaps it’s the lack of hierarchy in Buddhism that is present in so many of the faiths listed, though this may be grasping for straws.
Whatever the reason, I feel this is a touch nit-picky. Rastafarians weren’t included, nor members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I’m sorry if you feel under-represented, but does not having one your spiritual leaders present at the National Day of Prayer actually mean anything to you or affect you in any way? If anything, I feel this article is a misdirection from the actual issue, which is the progressive elimination of the separation of church and state. Why do we, as a secular nation, have a National Day of Prayer?
That’s my two cents. Maybe 3…

You think this is bad? The current president of south korea is a conservative christian and called for the destruction of all buddhist temples in 2008.
If you’re a buddhist do you want a christian do be a buddhist?
If you’re a christian, do you want a buddhist to be a christian?
Ask that question, carefully. The mark of a tolerant religion is that there’s little to no negativity associated with those of other religions. In other words, if they believe differently, it doesn’t bother you in a way that would be negative or sad or sorrowful.
And yes christianity is a religion. Christianity, Islam and Judaism are all based on biblical text. They all mix and match what they want to favor their people and their values. They all have prophecy about armageddon in the middle east. They all have extreme elements that push for open warfare. They will eternally war with eachother.

Buddhists accept everything with equanimity. Therefore, they will not be upset that they weren’t represented at the interfaith group. The Buddha said not to be attached to any belief or expectation, nor push away anything, or anybody, which disagrees with what we believe “should” be happening.