Letters

(3 of 3)

Ancient Wisdom

Your drawing of Mullah Mohammed Omar, the one-eyed leader of the Taliban [NOTEBOOK, Oct. 15], calls to mind the old adage: In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
ROBERT ELLIS
Copenhagen

Not a Buddhist Cult

In the article "America's First Bioterrorism Attack" [AMERICA ON GUARD, Oct. 8], you mentioned the 1984 incident of spreading salmonella by the Rajneeshee and referred to the group as a "Buddhist cult." It is untrue and misleading to call the charlatan Rajneesh and his misguided followers Buddhist. Buddhism encourages practitioners toward gentle, life-affirming, virtuous behavior. Recklessly pasting the name Buddhist on behavior as outrageously lawless as that of Rajneesh and his followers strains credulity and is an insult to Buddhism. (THE REV.) HENG SURE, DIRECTOR
BERKELEY BUDDHIST MONASTERY
Berkeley, Calif.