In the latest incident of heinous hate crime in the United States, a Buddhist monk – who had nothing to do with Islam – was assaulted in Oregon with the attacker apparently mistaking him for a Muslim.
66-year-old Kozen Sampson, who dresses in traditional brown robes and shaves his head in accordance with his faith, was getting out of his car to take his dogs to obedience training when a white male with brown hair suddenly came from nowhere, yelled at him before slamming his car door into him.
“I pulled over, someone ran up and yelled. I turned around, they kicked the door, hit me in the side of the face, and knocked my head into the frame of the car. I do remember [him yelling] an F bomb [about] Muslims, and that was it,” he recounted.
Sampson told the Daily News he suffered a small cut, some memory loss and was “stunned for a minute or two” after he was hit in the head. But Sampson was not angry.
“I know that that was an angry thought that this person had, but Muslims have to deal with this every day. Could you imagine living with such anger? Our hope is that we can find a way that people can release this anger and fear. It’s really not about me. It’s about loving kindness and taking care of all of our people.”
He was empathetic and forgiving.
“I am happy it happened to me and not to a Muslim. My biggest concern is for how anyone has to live with the fear and the distrust and the possibility of an assault. I don’t know the Islamic faith well, but I do know that Muslims are our brothers and sisters and I would encourage everyone to just take a hard look at how supportive are you of all God’s children. We have a country trying to find its tone.
“There are some politicians who have people riled up as they seek to build their power base. They are not seeing everyone as a part of the human family. We need to find a kinder way to approach our differences and look at the rest of life. I like to quote a sign I saw at an Episcopal church: ‘Either we are all God’s children or none of us God’s children.’ That would be my takeaway.
“You never think it will happen in your neighborhood and affect you personally. How many of us have let these things go by, even if just in our own mind, having these kind of thoughts rather than taking people as they come.”
And, he had a simple yet powerful message for his assailant.
“All I really have for him is just, ‘You’re completely forgiven. I hope you find peace and I hope you find a way to deal with this internal stuff so that we don’t have to hurt anymore’.”
Sampson’s Mt. Adams Zen Buddhist Temple at Trout Lake Abbey in nearby Trout Lake, Washington, several area churches and community members held a candlelight vigil in Hood River to promote peace and tolerance.
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