Sikh-Buddhism?

[StarryNightshade]

I've heard people say that many Sikhs have reverence for the teachings of Buddha. There are also (allegedly) instances where Tibetan Buddhists will visit and pray at the Golden Temple in Punjab.

Are the philosophies of Buddhism and Sikhism similar to one another; with the exception that Sikhism is monotheistic and Buddhism generally is either atheistic or doesn't put much emphasis on the notion of god? Are they compatible with one another?

 

[Shuddhasattva]

I know little of Sikhism - Odion is most likely to have some light to shed on this, but I've never heard of Tibetan Buddhists praying at Sikh gurudwars.

Some elements of the philosophy are definitely similar enough though. Tibetan Buddhism, since you mentioned it and feature a Vajrayana avatar, is fairly intensely (if unconventionally) theistic, in both polytheistic and monotheistic senses in an overall monism/nonduality.

 

[Breathe]

Sikhism believes that there have been many Buddhas, and regards Buddha as an enlightened teacher.

ਆਖਹਿ ਗੋਪੀ ਤੈ ਗੋਵਿੰਦ ॥ The Gopis and Krishna speak.
ਆਖਹਿ ਈਸਰ ਆਖਹਿ ਸਿਧ ॥ Shiva speaks, the Siddhas speak.
ਆਖਹਿ ਕੇਤੇ ਕੀਤੇ ਬੁਧ ॥ The many created Buddhas speak.
ਆਖਹਿ ਦਾਨਵ ਆਖਹਿ ਦੇਵ ॥ The demons speak, the demi-gods speak.
ਆਖਹਿ ਸੁਰਿ ਨਰ ਮੁਨਿ ਜਨ ਸੇਵ ॥ The spiritual warriors, the heavenly beings, the silent sages, the humble and serviceful speak.
ਕੇਤੇ ਆਖਹਿ ਆਖਣਿ ਪਾਹਿ ॥ Many speak and try to describe Him.
ਕੇਤੇ ਕਹਿ ਕਹਿ ਉਠਿ ਉਠਿ ਜਾਹਿ ॥ Many have spoken of Him over and over again, and have then arisen and departed. -SGGS, page 6

Guru Nanak also went to Tibet. He travelled a lot. There are a few miracles and events attributed to him there. Sikhism, though, generally does not care for miracles and sees them as a distraction and liable to fraudsters, so I have no idea how well accepted these miracles are. I have seen some images of Tibetan lamas at the Golden Temple, though I cannot find them now, unfortunately. They aren't the easiest images to find, though, since Sikhism is not exactly a well-known religion and it suffers from misunderstandings.


The answer to your second question -- "are they more or less the same?" is, yes, they are very similar in some regards. Sikhism, however, is better described as panentheistic, as opposed to monotheistic; God within Sikhism is present in everything and is non-different from us, as opposed to the conception of the God who is different from everything of, say, Sunni Islam, who is not present in creation.

Like Buddhism, Sikhism includes a concept of "illusion" (maya) that is the world. Like Buddhism, Sikhism speaks of "śūnyatā", known as "Void", or "Empty" -- but unlike Buddhism, "sunn" (Gurmukhī: ਸੁੰ&#2600 can also refer to God, as well as a state of pure samadhi and absorption into the Lord. Sikhism also speaks of Nirvana.


ਮਾਇਆ ਫਾਸ ਬੰਧ ਨਹੀ ਫਾਰੈ ਅਰੁ ਮਨ ਸੁੰਨਿ ਨ ਲੂਕੇ ॥ The mortal does not break free from the bonds of the noose of Maya, and he does not seek the shelter of the profound, absolute Lord.
ਆਪਾ ਪਦੁ ਨਿਰਬਾਣੁ ਨ ਚੀਨ੍ਹ੍ਹਿਆ ਇਨ ਬਿਧਿ ਅਭਿਉ ਨ ਚੂਕੇ ॥੨॥ He does not realize the dignity of the self, and Nirvaanaa; because of this, his doubt does not depart. ||2|| - SGGS, page 475


ਘਟਿ ਘਟਿ ਸੁੰਨ ਕਾ ਜਾਣੈ ਭੇਉ ॥ One who knows the mystery of God the Absolute, who pervades each and every heart,
ਆਦਿ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰੰਜਨ ਦੇਉ ॥ knows the Primal Being, the Immaculate Divine Lord. - SGGS, page 943


I think that's all the questions... did I miss anything?

 

[GURSIKH]

Thanks Kaal ,nicely answered ,your command on Gurmukhi seems amazing .

 

[GURSIKH]

Guru Nanak also went to Tibet. He travelled a lot. I have seen some images of Tibetan lamas at the Golden Temple, though I cannot find them now, unfortunately.

i am also unable to find the link now , but there is Gurudwara "Guru Nanak Math" at Kathmandu Nepal .

Guru Nanak Math, on the banks of the Vishnu Mati river, is a part of the 200-acres of land donated by the King of Nepal, Jaya Prakash Malla, to Guru Nanak Dev, founder of Sikhism, during his month-long stay in Kathmandu in 1516 .
....

Accompanied by Indian Ambassador to Nepal Jayant Prasad, Oberoi told Dr Baburam Bhattarai, about the historic Guru Nanak Math. He carried with him the relevant documents, including the original land transfer and registration deed with signatures of crown prince Jaya Jagat Malla as witness.





The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Punjab

The Tribune – Nepal PM promises to help restore historic gurdwara « Maninblue1947′s Weblog

 

[ratikala]

dear agnostic seeker ,

I've heard people say that many Sikhs have reverence for the teachings of Buddha. There are also (allegedly) instances where Tibetan Buddhists will visit and pray at the Golden Temple in Punjab.

excerts from a book writen by Parmjit Singh , .. sorry I dont know how to provide link


Homage to the Buddha
Passet’s last two photographs are perhaps the most unique, and therefore my favourites.

‘Group of Tibetans at the “Golden Temple” of the Sikhs’, 15 January 1914. Image courtesy of Musée Albert-Kahn. Somewhere along the precinct, underneath the balcony of one of the bungas, he took two photographs (he had to retake the first due to motion blur) of a group of Tibetan Buddhists, possibly a family.
Their presence in Amritsar pays homage to two of Asia’s greatest spiritual personalities: the Buddha, who was said to have meditated at the original site of the Golden Temple over two millennia ago, and Guru Nanak, who visited Tibet on one of his great odysseys in the sixteenth century and is still honoured by the honorific ‘Lama’ in the region.
The photographs serve to remind us of a time when the Golden Temple was wonderfully cosmopolitan in nature, truly reflecting the universal teachings of the Sikh Gurus and the Hindu and Muslim mystics whose divine poetry is included within the Adi Guru Granth Sahib........


from photograps taken in the early 1900s by a Stéphane Passet a french phorographer visiting the golden temple .

Are the philosophies of Buddhism and Sikhism similar to one another; with the exception that Sikhism is monotheistic and Buddhism generally is either atheistic or doesn't put much emphasis on the notion of god? Are they compatible with one another?

from what little I know of the sikh faith , I see more than simmilarity between buddhism many forms of hinduism and sikhi ,
as the picture and comentary above illustrate there have been close ties between both faiths in the past .
it is a sad thing of this age that we are over keen to compartmentalise and divide which has led to a loss of what was once a valuable common ground of mutual respect and reverence .
I would just like to say that although some adepts are keen to assert that buddism is atheistic, I would like to stress that buddhism focuses on the path rather than on the eventual atainment , therefore personaly I find the term atheistic to be particularly disstatefull , dissrespectfull , if not incorect .

"Are they compatible with one another?" ...... sikhi and buddhism ? ...why on earth not ....:namaste

 

[GURSIKH]

dear agnostic seeker ,



excerts from a book writen by Parmjit Singh , .. sorry I dont know how to provide link


Homage to the Buddha
Passet’s last two photographs are perhaps the most unique, and therefore my favourites.

‘Group of Tibetans at the “Golden Temple” of the Sikhs’, 15 January 1914. Image courtesy of Musée Albert-Kahn. Somewhere along the precinct, underneath the balcony of one of the bungas, he took two photographs (he had to retake the first due to motion blur) of a group of Tibetan Buddhists, possibly a family.
Their presence in Amritsar pays homage to two of Asia’s greatest spiritual personalities: the Buddha, who was said to have meditated at the original site of the Golden Temple over two millennia ago, and Guru Nanak, who visited Tibet on one of his great odysseys in the sixteenth century and is still honoured by the honorific ‘Lama’ in the region.
The photographs serve to remind us of a time when the Golden Temple was wonderfully cosmopolitan in nature, truly reflecting the universal teachings of the Sikh Gurus and the Hindu and Muslim mystics whose divine poetry is included within the Adi Guru Granth Sahib........


from photograps taken in the early 1900s by a Stéphane Passet a french phorographer visiting the golden temple .


from what little I know of the sikh faith , I see more than simmilarity between buddhism many forms of hinduism and sikhi ,
as the picture and comentary above illustrate there have been close ties between both faiths in the past .
it is a sad thing of this age that we are over keen to compartmentalise and divide which has led to a loss of what was once a valuable common ground of mutual respect and reverence .
I would just like to say that although some adepts are keen to assert that buddism is atheistic, I would like to stress that buddhism focuses on the path rather than on the eventual atainment , therefore personaly I find the term atheistic to be particularly disstatefull , dissrespectfull , if not incorect .

"Are they compatible with one another?" ...... sikhi and buddhism ? ...why on earth not ....:namaste

:bow: thanks for lovely post :hug: so sweet . i love Buddha

 

[ratikala]

dear gursikh ,

Dalai Lama prays at Golden Temple

November 28, 2007

The Dalai Lama said on Tuesday that his successor would be chosen outside of Tibet if he dies in exile. "If my death comes when we are still in a refugee status, then logically my reincarnation will come outside Tibet," the he said on the sidelines of an inter-faith meeting in the Sikh holy city.
The Dalai Lama said he welcomed the promotion of good relations between India and China. He said he was always ready to negotiate between Tibetans and Chinese government and would always give priority to talks.
"My mission is to spread the message of peace, prosperity and love and this reason brought me here to the holy city of the Golden Temple," added the Dalai Lama.
The Tibetan spiritual leader visited the Golden Temple and paid obeisance in the sanctum sanctorum where he was honoured by the Sikh priest with a scarf. The Dalai Lama also paid obeisance at Akal Takht, the highest Sikh temporal seat, at the Golden Temple.
The Dalai Lama was honoured by the Shriomnai Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Avtar Singh Makkar and jathedar of the Akal Takht, Gyani Joginder Singh Vedanti, with woollen shawls, a set of Sikh religious books and a replica of the Golden Temple.
The Dalai Lama is in Amritsar to participate in the third meeting of the Elijah board of world religious leaders, a group founded in 1996 to promote inter-faith dialogue, that brings together prominent Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Christians and Buddhists.





sat sri akaal :namaste

 

[GURSIKH]

Dalai lama presented Sword at Gurudwara

 

[Aisling]

I do not know much about the Sikh religion, but I do have a few friends that practice this religion... and when I go to their house, they have statues of 1000 Arm Chenrezig, Shakyamuni and Maitreya... more Buddha statues than some of my 'Buddhist' friends!

So from here, I believe that they dont find anything foreign about the Buddha, but they do not view the Buddha as a Guru that brings us out from Enlightenment, nor do they do any form of Buddhist practices.

Infact, I once heard from a friend that there was a reincarnated Tulku which one of His past life was a Sikh Guru... don't ask me who, I can't remember which Lama this is.

But the difference is that, my friends although they go to the Guduara like on a weekly basis... most of the time they have no idea what the prayer is about. And I've asked them before if they receive teachings, they said all they have is the priest will read out from the holy book. That's as far as their religious education goes. However, they do have certain prayers to counter certain situations in life ie protection prayer etc.

Philosophy wise, I think they believe roughly similar... but by the way Buddhism is polytheistic. It's just that we do not view 'God' as an all mighty creator, but we view 'God' aka Buddha to Buddhists, as a Guru that leads us out of samsara. No amount of praying can lead us out of samsara because 'Gods' cannot wipe out our negative karma... if he could, being all compassionate, he would have done it already.

 

[Treks]

However, they do have certain prayers to counter certain situations in life ie protection prayer etc.

Hi Aisling. Welcome to the forum. I'm pretty new here myself. Seems like a pretty nice place so far.

I'm not really aware of certain Sikh prayers to counteract certain situations in life, i.e. a protection prayer. Generally Sikhs sing and meditate more than pray as such. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and only just realised, even the daily Sikh 'prayers' shouldn't be called 'prayers' because it's not really prayer in the traditional sense of sitting down praying for something. Sikh daily 'prayers' are hymns of praise and rememberance. The most they ask for is blessings of Naam (awareness of Akaal Purakh) and Grace.

There is one formal Sikh prayer called 'ardaas' which is a litany of rememberance and there is a section where the individual can put in their own petition. But for me, personally, from what I've learned so far (which isn't a lot, I'm a slow learner), Sikhi isn't about asking for things. It's about doing your very best and leaving the rest up to Hukam (natural law). All we should beg for is Naam and Grace, this is all that our Guru Sahibs generally ask for in Guru Granth Sahib Ji (the 'holy book' as you said).

As for Sikhi-Buddhism, I think the differences outway the similarities, but that's just me. I do prefer to go with the 'no reincarnation, no samsara, no afterlife, no karma' version of Sikhi though. Many disagree.

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

This has been a very interesting topic so far, and I've been intrigued by the discussion. I know very little about the Sikh religion, and I do have a question regarding an apparent similarity between Sikhism and Buddhism: I've seen this mentioned once here already, but how common are the ideas of mara and shunyata in Sikhism? The primary difference between Buddhism and most world religions is the idea in Buddhism of shunyata, that this reality has no inherent selfness, and is empty of any such thing. So is the idea prevalent in Sikhism that this reality is basically just an empty illusion, for lack of a better phrase?

 

[Treks]

Hi there

I'm totally unfamilar with the two terms "mara" and "shunyata", but I'm thinking you might be talking about something similar to the Sikh concept of "maya" based on your last couple of sentences.

Sikh perspective is that the Sat (Truth) is the only reality. The world is real in so much as it's been created, but it's transient, temporary, and it will all fade away eventually. In this way it is false. On top of this transient world is our layer of human experience. Maya is the trap we fall into becoming enchanted with the world, and getting tangled up in all our human perceptions and feelings and thoughts and cleverness - this too is transient and false.

The only reality is the Sat/Naam/God/Guru because it sits behind this world and the veil of Maya we create by virtue of our condition as beings in this created world.

I've been toying with the idea that we are like hand-puppets. The hand-puppet (the individual you and me and such) is false. The power animating it is Divine - it is real. Just as the hand-puppet is lifeless and means nothing when the hand is removed, likewise we are when we die, and all of creation in the absense of the Sat. The problem is when the hand-puppet thinks it is a being in-and-of itself. But this is a half-baked idea in my brain, it might not make and sense.

I'll post some Gurbani in a little while referencing the world as a dream, a show, a theatre play and nothing more.

I'm not sure how that all relates to 'this reality has no inherent selfness' though. I don't quite understand, sorry!

 

[Treks]

I have a question for Buddhists - what is the Buddhist understanding of what happens to you after death? Do you believe in an after-life, reincarnation, or is it that when you're dead, your dead, end of story?

 

[Treks]

A relevant Gurbani shabad as promised:

Guru Granth Sahib Page 219

ਸਾਧੋ ਰਚਨਾ ਰਾਮ ਬਨਾਈ ॥
Sāḏẖo racẖnā rām banā▫ī.
Holy Saadhus: the Lord fashioned the creation.

ਇਕਿ ਬਿਨਸੈ ਇਕ ਅਸਥਿਰੁ ਮਾਨੈ ਅਚਰਜੁ ਲਖਿਓ ਨ ਜਾਈ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Ik binsai ik asthir mānai acẖraj lakẖi▫o na jā▫ī. ||1|| rahā▫o.
One person passes away, and another thinks that he will live forever - this is a wonder beyond understanding! ||1||Pause||

ਕਾਮ ਕ੍ਰੋਧ ਮੋਹ ਬਸਿ ਪ੍ਰਾਨੀ ਹਰਿ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਬਿਸਰਾਈ ॥
Kām kroḏẖ moh bas parānī har mūraṯ bisrā▫ī.
The mortal beings are held in the power of sexual desire, anger and emotional attachment; they have forgotten the Lord, the Immortal Form.

ਝੂਠਾ ਤਨੁ ਸਾਚਾ ਕਰਿ ਮਾਨਿਓ ਜਿਉ ਸੁਪਨਾ ਰੈਨਾਈ ॥੧॥
Jẖūṯẖā ṯan sācẖā kar māni▫o ji▫o supnā rainā▫ī. ||1||
The body is false, but they believe it to be true; it is like a dream in the night. ||1||

ਜੋ ਦੀਸੈ ਸੋ ਸਗਲ ਬਿਨਾਸੈ ਜਿਉ ਬਾਦਰ ਕੀ ਛਾਈ ॥
Jo ḏīsai so sagal bināsai ji▫o bāḏar kī cẖẖā▫ī.
Whatever is seen, shall all pass away, like the shadow of a cloud.

ਜਨ ਨਾਨਕ ਜਗੁ ਜਾਨਿਓ ਮਿਥਿਆ ਰਹਿਓ ਰਾਮ ਸਰਨਾਈ ॥੨॥੨॥
Jan Nānak jag jāni▫o mithi▫ā rahi▫o rām sarnā▫ī. ||2||2||
O servant Nanak, one who knows the world to be unreal, dwells in the Sanctuary of the Lord. ||2||2||

 

[Aisling]

Hi Aisling. Welcome to the forum. I'm pretty new here myself. Seems like a pretty nice place so far.

I'm not really aware of certain Sikh prayers to counteract certain situations in life, i.e. a protection prayer. Generally Sikhs sing and meditate more than pray as such. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and only just realised, even the daily Sikh 'prayers' shouldn't be called 'prayers' because it's not really prayer in the traditional sense of sitting down praying for something. Sikh daily 'prayers' are hymns of praise and rememberance. The most they ask for is blessings of Naam (awareness of Akaal Purakh) and Grace.

There is one formal Sikh prayer called 'ardaas' which is a litany of rememberance and there is a section where the individual can put in their own petition. But for me, personally, from what I've learned so far (which isn't a lot, I'm a slow learner), Sikhi isn't about asking for things. It's about doing your very best and leaving the rest up to Hukam (natural law). All we should beg for is Naam and Grace, this is all that our Guru Sahibs generally ask for in Guru Granth Sahib Ji (the 'holy book' as you said).

As for Sikhi-Buddhism, I think the differences outway the similarities, but that's just me. I do prefer to go with the 'no reincarnation, no samsara, no afterlife, no karma' version of Sikhi though. Many disagree.

Hi Treks, I'm new here too hehe... and yes I feel this forum is really conducive to learn more about my own religion and others to =))

As for the Sikh prayer to give protection, I do not know what it's called. But I used to live with a close friend of mine during uni years, she is of Sikh religion. So what happened was our apartment at that time had some paranormal disturbances and she would always do prayers in her room before she sleep, she would also play a cd with prayers which will help her be not afraid. I did ask her before what the prayer is about, and she told me its something like protection prayer. I didn't ask further than that lol.

I'm not familiar with the Sikh religion and all I know is from observation of my friend hehe. But I did remember the prayer book she had, the front page was something like the laws of living a good life to go to heaven (I think). And if I'm not mistaken, one of it was to get married and be a good wife, or something a long that line lol!!! Can't really say I agree with that, but it seems to work for quite a large number of people, so perhaps there's truth in it.

But one thing I admire most about the Sikh religion is that they emphasize a lot of filial piety. More than any other religion I know so far. Buddhism emphasize on that too, but in a much different way and dynamics.


To answer your question about the Buddhist perspective on death:

Buddhist strongly and absolutely believe in reincarnation. Depending on the tradition of Buddhism one enters, what happens before our next life differ. In my case, I'm from the Gelugpa sect in Tibetan Buddhism, that means I believe in the 49 days bardo period before we take a new rebirth after death.

The concept is quite complex yet simple. Basically, when one dies, all of our 5 senses starts to fade, one by one. It is exactly the same as when we do death meditation. All of our wind channels and our consciousness will collect to the center region of the body, and then we leave the body.

How we leave the body is extremely crucial at the point of death. If you have the 3rd eye, you will know where this person go. So if the person leave his body from the head, at the top of the body, he/she will be born in the 3 upper realms of samsara. If leave from the lower part of the body then the 3 lower realms.

It is in the bardo that we will 'choose' our future parents. If one is highly attained he can see/choose his future parents. If one is a good practitioner, you will see monks/someone familiar guiding you through the bardo to take a good human rebirth. For all regular people that do not practice much... being in the kaliyuga age, all they will see during the bardo is genitalia and it is because we are in this age that makes us attracted to this, that causes us to be reborn. Unfortunately, when one only see the genitalia... it could be an animal's, thus take an animal rebirth.

So that's the short version of taking a new rebirth... haha.

Hope that answers your question =)

 

[GURSIKH]

This has been a very interesting topic so far, and I've been intrigued by the discussion. I know very little about the Sikh religion, and I do have a question regarding an apparent similarity between Sikhism and Buddhism: I've seen this mentioned once here already, but how common are the ideas of mara and shunyata in Sikhism?

Namaste dyana

Shunyata or Shunya means Zero or 0 , but very first Word of Sikh Scripture/Present Guru of Sikhs "Guru Granth Sahib " is Ek Or 1 ie ONE residing within All .


so for unification of Buddha and Nanak we have to equate 0 to 1 .

 

[Treks]

Thanks for explaining all that to me Aisling.

I don't want to bog the thread with pedantics so I'll be brief:

As for the Sikh prayer to give protection, I do not know what it's called. But I used to live with a close friend of mine during uni years, she is of Sikh religion. So what happened was our apartment at that time had some paranormal disturbances and she would always do prayers in her room before she sleep, she would also play a cd with prayers which will help her be not afraid. I did ask her before what the prayer is about, and she told me its something like protection prayer. I didn't ask further than that lol.

The Sikh bedtime hymn is called 'Kirtan Sohila'. It's also the prayer recited at funerals. She should have been playing that, or perhaps 'Benti Chaupai' from the Dasam Granth.

I'm not familiar with the Sikh religion and all I know is from observation of my friend hehe. But I did remember the prayer book she had, the front page was something like the laws of living a good life to go to heaven (I think). And if I'm not mistaken, one of it was to get married and be a good wife, or something a long that line lol!!! Can't really say I agree with that, but it seems to work for quite a large number of people, so perhaps there's truth in it.

I'm not sure about that! hehe.

But one thing I admire most about the Sikh religion is that they emphasize a lot of filial piety. More than any other religion I know so far. Buddhism emphasize on that too, but in a much different way and dynamics.

I had to look 'filial' up in the dictionary, LOL! I think it might actually be Punjabi culture that brings filial piety to the mix for you. I haven't seen it emphasised in what I've learned. In fact, Gurbani suggests it's better not to get too attached to people as they're all transient. We're to love people and respect our duty towards them, but we should rely on Naam only, because people will die, you will die, and all that will be there in the very end is Naam (from Sikh perspective).

being in the kaliyuga age, all they will see during the bardo is genitalia and it is because we are in this age that makes us attracted to this, that causes us to be reborn. Unfortunately, when one only see the genitalia... it could be an animal's, thus take an animal rebirth.

Oh! Sikhi talks about Kalyug too. There's another similarity.

 

[Breathe]

I've seen this mentioned once here already, but how common are the ideas of mara and shunyata in Sikhism?

Māra, as in the personification of temptation, either psychologically or as an actual entity, or temptation itself? I can't recall of any passages of either off-hand; a word which looks similar but seems to come from a different root is about, but I did a quick search and couldn't find anything -- but I'd have to trawl through dozens of pages and Gurmukhī, the language of Sikh scriptures, is definitely not my strongest point.

Śūnyatā, or "sunn" in Gurmukhi, occurs occasionally but it does not have the focus on this word in the same way as Buddhism does.

The primary difference between Buddhism and most world religions is the idea in Buddhism of shunyata, that this reality has no inherent selfness, and is empty of any such thing. So is the idea prevalent in Sikhism that this reality is basically just an empty illusion, for lack of a better phrase?

Sort of, but slightly different from Buddhism: there is God; nothing else exists. God is our soul and our soul is God. So in that sense, you could say there is no such self.

 

[Jainarayan]

Dalai lama presented Sword at Gurudwara

I wonder how the Dalai Lama views the sword. Perhaps as the sword Manjushri carries to cut through ignorance, instead of as a weapon. Perhaps Sikhs view the sword in the same way. I know little of Sikhism. So much symbolism in religion.