Monday, October 1, 2007

Goose-Stepping To God

A recent commenter, named "Secret", said:
"Your strained attempts to somehow connect 'Eastern mysticism' with the Third Reich are of course beyond the pale and laughable."
From today's Wall Street Journal Opinion Page about this story:
"Before it was the symbol of National Socialism, the swastika was a Hindu emblem of good luck."
Seems to me "secret" is making strained attempts not to see a connection,....

"Tibetan Buddhism is not a values-free system oriented around smiles and a warm heart. It is a religion with tough ethical underpinnings that sometimes get lost in translation. For example, the Dalai Lama explicitly condemns homosexuality, as well as all oral and anal sex. His stand is close to that of Pope John Paul II, something his Western followers find embarrassing and prefer to ignore. His American publisher even asked him to remove the injunctions against homosexuality from his book, ''Ethics for the New Millennium,'' for fear they would offend American readers, and the Dalai Lama acquiesced."
- From Patrick French's essay Dali Lama Lite, Published: September 19, 2003 in the New York Times.

"This study begins with the question, “What is Tibetan music in the United States?” It then examines Tibetan music in the United States from a historical, political, spiritual and economic perspective to answer that question. As part of this investigation, historical sources, marketing sources, New Age religion, the New York Times, and over one hundred recordings are examined.

This work also applies marketing theory to demonstrate that “Tibet” has become a term in American culture that acts as a brand and is used to sell music and other products. It also uses semiotics to address the prevalence of certain sounds in music marketed as Tibetan in the United States, finally demonstrating that sounds referencing New Age representations of Tibet have become a symbol representing Tibet as a whole in America."
- From Darinda J. Congdon's “TIBET CHIC”: MYTH, MARKETING, SPIRITUALITY AND POLITICS IN MUSICAL REPRESENTATIONS OF TIBET IN THE UNITED STATES, 2007

(Photo of the Dalai Lama with Tokyo subway gas attack mastermind, Aum Shinrikyo - or ‘supreme truth’ - cult leader Shoko Asahara, above. Determined to bring about Armageddon so that he could rule everyone, Aum Shinrikyo became a mixture of Buddhism, occultism and fascism. His cult was rounded up by armed police following a series of major crimes, the most infamous being his Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo underground on 20 March 1995, killing twelve and injuring thousands. The Japanese authorities later discovered that his cult was based on his committing sexual and physical atrocities on his own members.)
"China, in its latest tirade against Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, on Tuesday accused the exiled Nobel peace prize laureate of supporting "evil cults" like Falun Gong and Japan's Aum Shinrikyo."
- From a recent Reuters News Agency article titled "China labels Dalai Lama a supporter of 'cults'".
"Although some Westerners imagine that the Dalai Lama is an absolute pacifist, the teachings of the present Dalai Lama and of his predecessor, as well as the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, all legitimize the use of deadly force against killers and would-be tyrants.

This may come as news to certain anti-American pacifists in the United States and Europe who are guilty of “Shangri-La-ism” — of what Jane Ardley (in her book
The Tibetan Independence Movement) describes as the “idealized, romantic vision of Tibet as a land of enlightened, non-violent, happy and exotic people.” She observes, “For those in the West who look to Tibetan Buddhism for all the answers to their insecurities, the image of ‘violent’ Buddhists is uncomfortable particularly where Buddhism itself can be offered as a justification for their actions,...Many Westerners are familiar with the non-violent teaching of the current Dalai Lama, such as “The basis of all moral teaching ought to be nonresponse to attacks.” But before Westerners take such sayings as categorical imperatives, it is essential to remember that, as the Dalai Lama emphasizes, Buddhism does not operate on the binary terms of Western thought,..."

How could Tibetan Buddhists engage in violence? Jampa Tenzin, a former guerilla and monk, explained, “Generally, of course, non-violence is good, and killing is bad…But each and every thing is judged according to the circumstances of the situation, and, particularly in Buddhism, according to the motivations….In order to save a hundred people, killing one person may be acceptable…Individual, or self, motivation is obviously not allowed….“…unless we did something sooner or later we couldn’t practice religion…
Dharma [had to] prevail and remain…even by violent means.”

Living in exile in India, the Dalai Lama professes his admiration of Mohandas Gandhi. Yet, like Gandhi, the Dalai Lama is not as inflexibly pacifist as some Westerners imagine. Indeed, the Lama defended what he calls India’s “right to nuclear weapons.”



According to the Dalai Lama, “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.” (Seattle Times, May 15, 2001). Elsewhere, the Dalai Lama said: if the situation was such that there was only one learned lama or genuine practitioner alive, a person whose death would cause the whole of Tibet to lose all hope of keeping its Buddhist way of life, then it is conceivable that in order to protect that one person it might be justified for one or 10 enemies to be eliminated—if there was no other way. I could justify violence only in this extreme case, to save the last living knowledge of Buddhism itself.

Sometimes the Dalai Lama states that non-violence is the most important thing. Sometimes he offers broad justifications for violence — such as national defense against Communist imperialism, or individual self-defense against deadly attack. Sometimes he allows only an extremely narrow justification for violence — namely, saving his own life. To puzzle over the contradictions is to miss the non-binary spirit of Tibetan Buddhism."
- From Dave Kopel's article, The Dali Lama's Army

"The New York Times review of [the movie "Seven Years in Tibet"] by Janet Maslin was headlined, "A challenge for Brad Pitt: Making a Nazi charming."

The movie is based on a book by Heinrich Harrer (above) about his time in Tibet in the 1940s when he and the Tibetan ruler - the Dalai Lama - became good friends. The book never really mentions Harrer's background, which was only recently exposed. Harrer always denied he was a Nazi until there was so much evidence that he had to admit it last spring.

Harrer was a member of the Nazis' elite SS who was sent to Tibet, probably by Hitler himself,...According to a lengthy investigative story in the October issue of a magazine called Men's Journal, the Nazi-Tibet connection is much deeper than anyone is talking about.

"Harrer's presence in Tibet may have been related to a terrible but little-known Nazi campaign" to join forces with "Aryan Tibetans" to rid the country of the British - and eventually wipe out non-Aryan Eastern races, especially Asian Jews, the Men's Journal reports.

The magazine also reports that Harrer had been preceded into the country years before by a Nazi reconnaissance team sent by SS chief Heinrich Himmler. (The "chicken farmer", above - CMC) Evidently the Dalai Lama was aware of Harrer's Nazi assignment and goals.

Most of the other information put into the Hollywood Tibet propaganda is just as reliable as Harrer's denials that he was a Nazi.
- From That's entertainment? It's propaganda (Tibet as it never was) Reprinted from the Oct. 23, 1997 issue of Workers World newspaper.
FASCIST OCCULTISM AND IT’S CLOSE RELATIONSHIP TO BUDDHIST TANTRISM
(Notorious con woman - and the so-called "Mother of New Age Thinking" - Madame Blavatsky, above)
"Visionary fascism was, and indeed still is, exceptionally deeply fascinated by the Buddhocratic form of state. In the late thirties (as the various fascist systems bloomed in Europe and the whole world) Spencer Chapman, a traveler in Tibet, wrote that even in the days of the dictators one can only be amazed at what uncontested power the Dalai Lama possesses” (Chapman, 1940, p. 192). The idea of kingship of the world, the uniting of spiritual and secular power in a single person, the ideology of war in the Shambhala myth, the uncompromisingly andocentric orientation, the tantric vision of the feminine, the whole occult ambience and much more besides were specifically adopted by several fascist ideologists and welded together into an aggressive myth. As we shall soon see, entire fascist systems are based upon the adoption of Tibetan/tantric doctrines."

The Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s National Socialist Friends

"As depressing as it may be for the Nobel peace prize winner’s followers, there has been continuous contact between the Dalai Lama and the far right wing and former national socialists (Nazis). His close friendship with his German mentor, Heinrich Harrer (above) has become the most well-known of these. It caused a small scandal in 1997-1998 when, after years of research, the Austrian journalist, Gerald Lehner, succeeded in making public Harrer’s “brown-shirt” (i.e., German fascist) past, which the latter had been able to keep secret for many years. Harrer is not just anybody. He is one of the best-known international authors and has sold over four million books in 57 languages (mostly about Tibet and the Fourteenth Dalai Lama)."
- From The Shadow of the Dalai Lama: © Victor & Victoria Trimondi.

10 comments:

  1. I understand all too well:

    First, I don't tell the newspapers what to write - nor do I consider myself a genius, just really good at what I do. Hitler, on the other hand, DID control the press and, though a lousy artist, thought of himself as brilliant.

    Second, bigotry is when you don't have a reason for your dislike of something: I've got many reasons for what I'm saying about new age/occult spirituality - including the "hidden" aspect of all they do. People are dying behind this - is that alright with you?

    And third, Hitler was surrounded by occultists who chose that symbol for a reason - occultists love symbolism - it's people who don't 'get' the metaphysical mindset that miss the symbolic and ideological connection. (Logic, when deciphering how occultists think, is useless as a tool to fight them. Do you really think new age beliefs have been spreading because smart people are so ahead of the metaphysical curve? Seriously: Tell me the difference between the Dali Lama's views and the Popes.) They WANT the rest of us to ignore the occult meaning behind what they do. And I refuse to do that anymore.

    And finally, as I said, I wish I was "ignorant":

    I didn't want to know any of this stuff.

    I'll do a post on the subject of "hidden symbolism" soon. Stay tuned.

    BTW - I'm glad you're here, secret.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Seriously: Tell me the difference between the Dali Lama's views and the Popes.

    ---------

    WHat you are doing is called "argumentum ad ignorantum" in latin - argument from ignorance, example: "I don' know the difference between paleontology and astronomy therefore they are both stupid."

    Anyway, this is a common error with blustering people, but no matter as my friend Jake says "Wikipedia is your friend"

    What Buddhists believe:

    ...the Buddha taught that in life there exists Dukkha, which is in essence sorrow/suffering, that is caused by desire...

    1. There is suffering
    2. There is a cause of suffering - craving (You seem to be a very good example of this actually)
    3. There is the cessation of suffering
    4. There is a way leading to the cessation of suffering - the Noble Eightfold Path

    The Noble Eightfold Path
    ---------

    1. Right Speech — One speaks in a non hurtful, not exaggerated, truthful way

    2. Right Actions — Wholesome action, avoiding action that would do harm

    3. Right Livelihood — One's way of livelihood does not harm in any way oneself or others; directly or indirectly

    4. Right Effort/Exercise — One makes an effort to improve

    5. Right Mindfulness/Awareness — Mental ability to see things for what they are with clear consciousness

    6. Right Concentration/Meditation — Being aware of the present reality within oneself, without any craving or aversion.

    7. Right Understanding — Understanding reality as it is, not just as it appears to be.

    8. Right Thoughts — Change in the pattern of thinking.


    Now let us look at catholicism/christianity. What are their core beliefs? These are summed up in the "Nicene Creed"

    "We believe in one God,
    the Father, the Almighty,
    maker of heaven and earth,
    of all that is, seen and unseen.

    We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
    the only Son of God,
    eternally begotten of the Father,
    God from God, light from light,
    true God from true God,
    begotten, not made,
    of one Being with the Father;
    through him all things were made.
    For us and for our salvation
    he came down from heaven,
    was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
    and became truly human.
    For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
    he suffered death and was buried.
    On the third day he rose again
    in accordance with the Scriptures;
    he ascended into heaven
    and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
    He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
    and his kingdom will have no end.

    We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
    who proceeds from the Father [and the Son],
    who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
    who has spoken through the prophets.
    We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
    We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
    We look for the resurrection of the dead,
    and the life of the world to come. Amen."


    I would say these are very different, wouldn't you?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'ma pass on your first question (because it would take me too long to print it all) but, as far as your second point, I didn't ask about beliefs, or prayers, but his actual "views". Here, let me help you:

    From Patrick French's essay Dali Lama Lite, Published: September 19, 2003 in the New York Times:

    "Tibetan Buddhism is not a values-free system oriented around smiles and a warm heart. It is a religion with tough ethical underpinnings that sometimes get lost in translation. For example, the Dalai Lama explicitly condemns homosexuality, as well as all oral and anal sex. His stand is close to that of Pope John Paul II, something his Western followers find embarrassing and prefer to ignore. His American publisher even asked him to remove the injunctions against homosexuality from his book, ''Ethics for the New Millennium,'' for fear they would offend American readers, and the Dalai Lama acquiesced."

    See? Keep dancing like that, secret, and you'll continually "find yourself" tripping over your own feet. Here, let me set the tempo once more - though it's, admittedly, a bit off-topic:

    From Darinda J. Congdon's “TIBET CHIC”: MYTH, MARKETING, SPIRITUALITY AND POLITICS IN MUSICAL REPRESENTATIONS OF TIBET IN THE UNITED STATES, 2007:

    This study begins with the question, “What is Tibetan music in the United States?” It then
    examines Tibetan music in the United States from a historical, political, spiritual and economic
    perspective to answer that question. As part of this investigation, historical sources, marketing
    sources, New Age religion, the New York Times, and over one hundred recordings are examined.

    This work also applies marketing theory to demonstrate that “Tibet” has become a term
    in American culture that acts as a brand and is used to sell music and other products. It also uses semiotics to address the prevalence of certain sounds in music marketed as Tibetan in the United States, finally demonstrating that sounds referencing New Age representations of Tibet have become a symbol representing Tibet as a whole in America.


    You look tired, secret, shouldn't we just make it stop, huh? No? Fine, let's go some more, turning the beat up so fast you'll want to pummel me as a way to get out of it - which is the Buddhist way:

    From Dave Kopel's article, The Dali Lama's Army:


    "Although some Westerners imagine that the Dalai Lama is an absolute pacifist, the teachings of the present Dalai Lama and of his predecessor, as well as the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, all legitimize the use of deadly force against killers and would-be tyrants.

    This may come as news to certain anti-American pacifists in the United States and Europe who are guilty of “Shangri-La-ism” — of what Jane Ardley (in her book
    The Tibetan Independence Movement) describes as the “idealized, romantic vision of Tibet as a land of enlightened, non-violent, happy and exotic people.” She observes, “For those in the West who look to Tibetan Buddhism for all the answers to their insecurities, the image of ‘violent’ Buddhists is uncomfortable particularly where Buddhism itself can be offered as a justification for their actions,...Many Westerners are familiar with the non-violent teaching of the current Dalai Lama, such as “The basis of all moral teaching ought to be nonresponse to attacks.” But before Westerners take such sayings as categorical imperatives, it is essential to remember that, as the Dalai Lama emphasizes, Buddhism does not operate on the binary terms of Western thought,..."

    How could Tibetan Buddhists engage in violence? Jampa Tenzin, a former guerilla and monk, explained,
    “Generally, of course, non-violence is good, and killing is bad…But each and every thing is judged according to the circumstances of the situation, and, particularly in Buddhism, according to the motivations….In order to save a hundred people, killing one person may be acceptable…Individual, or self, motivation is obviously not allowed….
    “…unless we did something sooner or later we couldn’t practice religion…
    Dharma [had to] prevail and remain…even by violent means.”

    Living in exile in India, the Dalai Lama professes his admiration of Mohandas Gandhi. Yet, like Gandhi, the Dalai Lama is not as inflexibly pacifist as some Westerners imagine. Indeed, the Lama defended what he calls India’s “right to nuclear weapons.” 

According to the Dalai Lama, “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.” (Seattle Times, May 15, 2001). Elsewhere, the Dalai Lama said:
    if the situation was such that there was only one learned lama or genuine practitioner alive, a person whose death would cause the whole of Tibet to lose all hope of keeping its Buddhist way of life, then it is conceivable that in order to protect that one person it might be justified for one or 10 enemies to be eliminated—if there was no other way. I could justify violence only in this extreme case, to save the last living knowledge of Buddhism itself.

    Sometimes the Dalai Lama states that non-violence is the most important thing. Sometimes he offers broad justifications for violence — such as national defense against Communist imperialism, or individual self-defense against deadly attack. Sometimes he allows only an extremely narrow justification for violence — namely, saving his own life. To puzzle over the contradictions is to miss the non-binary spirit of Tibetan Buddhism."


    Sigh. Bigotry, New Agers, "the non-binary spirit", and even violence - including nukes! - yep, that's a wonderful system of belief you've got there, secret. Makes me, with my fetish for hard words, look like a piker in comparison - seeing how I'm usually defending sex, drugs, and Rock 'N' Roll, against so-called "peaceful" types aching for "tranquility" so bad they'll kill.

    It's all beliefs, secret, and there's no defending them: they're based on "faith" - and faith is another word for "ignorance". Ignorance of DL's real views - or the rest of his followers - for instance. Better to just let it go:

    We'll all be better off in the long run.

    ReplyDelete
  4. 'ma pass on your first question (because it would take me too long to print it all)

    -------------

    No, please. I am very interested in learning about all of the different sorts of brutality and injury you have faced at the hands of Southeast Asians, particularly Buddhists. It must have very extreme indeed to motivate to pursue what appears to be a personal jihad.

    ----------

    but, as far as your second point, I didn't ask about beliefs, or prayers, but his actual "views".

    ----------

    You asked if anyone could distinguish between the views of the Pope and the views of the Dalai Lama. Since you evince a great deal of hatred for religion I assumed you meant their theological views? Apparently you meant their economic and political views.

    I suppose the take away from this, or perhaps the poiont you feel you have proven, is that since the Tibetan Dalai Lama is a flawed and imperfect human being like the rest of us, this proves that Buddhists are evil and that the goals of that ethical system - quiet self-reflection, refraining from angry and injurious speech and/or action, are hence despicable.

    Now, I will ask you the same thing. Like Josef Stalin, Pol Pot, and many other atheists, you profess a strong hatred of the ethical traditins of various cultures and see them as mere superstitions to be exterminated.

    Perhaps like like these ideological brothers of yours (I notice that you quoted from the Workers World, a venemously Communist propaganda paper) you too believe in survival of the fittest, evolution, etc.

    Now, should this prove to me that because I can find so many examples of murderous atheists who hate humanity and would like nothing more than to lay waste to the planet and take millions of lives, that all atheists are equally dangerous and vicious?


    If I made this assumption you would accuse me of using bogoted thinking and you would of course be right.

    I think that you know this and that is why you will not answer my first question because then all ofthe rest of your premise would fall apart.

    I can admit that the Dalai Lama is a mere human being and Josef Stalin too, but I neither hate atheists nor Buddhists because of it.

    Why do hate so much? What are you so angry about? That is what is interesting me.

    Drawn back into this discussion and your blog I understand that you had a vio.lent childhood and recently your marriage ended, which as any human being would have to have a heart of stone not to feel some compassion for the pain you must feel. I am sorry for that.

    WHat I wonder now is, how is it helping you to heal from this, by making such ridiculous points as saying that Buddhists are the same things as Nazis?

    This really makes no sense at all. You seem like a cornered animal in a lot of pain, snapping your jaws and trying to bite anyone who comes into your orbit. I do not think this will last forever but for your sake I do hope you see your way out of it soon.

    ReplyDelete
  5. "When you believe in things that you don't understand then you suffer - superstition ain't the way."

    Wow - you just blew off a whole lot of information there - just like you've blown off the link to the killer homeoapth I asked you about. And, yes, I'll take information from anywhere - even the hated communists.

    And my marriage didn't just "end", it was engulfed in this bullshit and - in this world of believers - I had no one to turn to for help with the nonsense someone put in my wife's gullible head. (The first person who came to "comfort" me suggested I get my astrological chart done.) Everybody saying, "It's harmless" haunts me now. And I've had it.

    I'll agree with you on one point (because excusing Nazis is beyond the pale for me) when it comes to being surrounded by believers - which I, obviously, equate with the same Nazi impulse - I am a cornered animal:

    I want it to stop - now - and this is me doing my part. Will I ever "heal" from this? I don't know:

    I don't even know what that word means anymore - seeing how it's been co-opted by new agers.

    There's no escape.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hello,

    It is not that I did "blow off" the historical information you posted, it is that this information is irrelvant to your assertion.

    You claim that Buddhists "pretty much [are] full of themselves, doing whatever they want, without anyone caring about right or wrong" and they are no different from concentration camp guards.

    Now, the monks who are being shot and tortured for leading peaceful resistance against the military dictatorship in Burma right now might disagree with you, but I suspect that you are not so interested in the fine points of reality here.

    No, what your are interested in (it seems) is this: one person (a Buddhist?) treated you badly, so from there you go to quoting from Communist and conspiracy cult pamphlets to "prove" that the the figurehead of one country's local brand of this ethical system is a BAD MAN, and then this is used to show that all 350 million Buddhists in the rest of the world are tainted and evil too!!!

    Sorry, I don't believe that you have met 350 million people and judged the state of each person's character and morals.

    I think your are being intellectually lazy and making gross categorical errors, in your furious hatred for "ideologies."

    Seeing as you live in the United States I really do wonder how big of a problem Buddhism is for you?

    I think your are being motivated here by emotional pain and fear, actually. You do not understand WHY somebody would seek as a goal to have a calm mind, to practice compassion, etc. Perhaps you are angry nobody has shown these things to you? I do not know. But I do think you would be better served by looking at yourself a bit more and attacking your fellow human beings and the world a little bit less.

    The world will not change, It is the way it is. We all do suffer, dog eat dog, cradle to grave, ashes to ashes, etc. The planet earth can be a very harsh place and not a very forgiving one.

    But we can forgive ourselves and forgive others, some wise people say that is one of the only powers we really do have that is worth anything.

    I bet that a lot of this this sounds like utter madness to you but perhaps some day when you grow up a bit you will remember this and some of it might make some sense to you then.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I don't like the way you debate - not because you don't agree with me but, now, where I get accurate info from ("communist and conspiracy cult pamphlets" - like the New York Times) has become an issue you use - are we going to debate or play pinball? If the info is wrong then prove it so - fuck the bullshit.

    I'll make this simple: Buddhism is a belief "system" and, like all belief systems, it's bogus to the core and corrupting to the mind and civilization. I showed you clear proof of the metaphysical and social underpinnings that pull Buddhism and Nazi theory together - just as I said - and your ability to side-step that clear argument in favor of requesting a head-count of my interactions over the course of a lifetime of travel, which has included stays in Buddhist countries, says a lot. As Chris Locke, of the Mystic Bourgeoisie site, says:

    "I'm probably not being fair. It's probably just a coincidence that so many of these deep spiritual types keep turning out to be racists or fascists -- or, in the case of German Sanskritist, Indologist, and pioneering Yoga researcher Jakob Wilhelm Hauer, both. And it's probably just a coincidence that their various cheerleading sections keep being blissfully unaware of these facts.
    Yeah, that's probably it. I guess I just need to work on developing a better attitude."


    Really, I think, like so many today (especially those suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome) you just want to play snarky and stick to your guns no matter what's said. What'll it be, secret? Are you down with evil or not?

    In 2007, those guys in Burma could be doing something else with their lives - anything - including trying something that works. But, for the sake of their religion, the bald-headed, red robed, idiots are intent on suffering, just as occultists are bent on subversion. Sorry if I don't tear-up but which superstitious bunch of Buddhists will rule Burma? is nothing but an ugly, wasteful, silly, fight to me:

    The monks won't let the military give alms! Oh My! The military will be lost in the cycles of existence! What shall they do!?! What shall they do!?!

    Give me a break. That bullshit game deserves a clubbing over the head. I'm not being intellectually lazy - it's a bullshit belief system they're fighting with - that's being intellectually lazy. And again with the fear shit (spiritual types do love to throw that shit around) when I've got scars, and stab wounds, been shot at, and have fought people who outweigh me by 200 lbs.? Please. I know why people do these things - I've been surrounded by believers my whole life - I don't want them to do it anymore. Clear?

    "Meditation" isn't what the mind is made for. It makes you stupid. Like saying the only power we have is forgiving others? Whoever said that wouldn't last where I come from. He'd have "loser" stamped on his head so fast he wouldn't have time be to forgiving anybody because, like Leonard Cohen at the ashram, his shit would would be gone before he knew it.

    And I love the condescension ("perhaps you are angry nobody has shown these things to you" or "perhaps when you grow up") which of the five golden principals did that spring from? I betcha it's the same one that says you can forgive yourself for it. Very convenient, that. How much you wanna bet the Nevada State Medical Board is filled with Buddhists?

    You could get away with murder with such a philosophy.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I can see that "The Crack Emcee" is indeed in great need of some Zen!

    He is angry that religious people all over the world claim unshaking belief in things they not only cannot prove, but for which they have no evidence at all. This is an understandable reaction. I used to be very angry about this as well.

    But Zen requires no such beliefs. Zen has no dogma, and anyway, no authority with which the dogma might be enforced. It does not require any "suspension of disbelief" or denial of reason and intelligence. All Zen requires is this:

    At the sound of the bell in the silent night, I wake from my dream in this dream-world of ours. Gazing at the reflection of the moon in a clear pool, I see, beyond my form, my real form.

    Or this:

    The wind-blown
    Smoke of Mount Fuji
    Vanishing far away!
    Who knows the destiny
    of my thought?

    Or:

    My storehouse having been burnt down,
    Nothing obstructs the view of the bright moon.


    There is nothing wrong about being wary of spiritual gobbledygook, and of charlatans and religious hypocrites, and of the way terms like Enlightenment and Attainment are thrown around by people who have made no sincere effort to understand the concepts and who (it is very possible) may in a few days have forgotten about them entirely, having moved on to the next Path to Fulfillment of the Week. There is no doubt that people have a habit of lying to each other and to themselves, and that this dishonesty often takes the form of "belief systems" in which they do not, in fact, believe.

    Yes, there is ignorance and evil in the world, and I can certainly understand bitterness about this fact. But you seem bitter not just towads the badness of humanity, but towards absolutely everything. Why the polemics against Buddhism? Why so much anger against a perfectly beautiful philosophy? Cynicism may be inevitable for an intelligent person in the world but it isn't something to be reveled in.

    What are the things that make you happy? What do you find joy in? Don't you prefer it when all the argumentation and counter-argumentation and sophistry and pedantry and words and words and words just melt away, and it's just you enjoying the fact of your being alive? This is what Zen is, this is what Zen holds as the highest Truth - your own personal experience of being a person living in the world, not something a scientist in a lab somewhere discovered (this is just an example, Zen is by no means anti-scientific). Zen is not an outdated system of barbaric rituals and superstitions. It is a path to becoming a happy person, and a good person.

    I think religion (as you have lumped Buddhism and Zen Buddhism under this umbrella term, perhaps not incorrectly) deserves better treatment than you have been according it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. It can't truly work, I think this way.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Interesting and informative (as well as entertaining) post! There are some websites I would like to direct to you for further infotainment on this subject. The first one is by an Aussie b******t New Ager who keeps ill feelings for Dalai Lama´s Vajrayana-cult:

    http://www.shambhallah.org

    The second link is to a (Neo)Gnostic website, where they are quite opinionated about their view of the entire New Age phenomenon and a lot of other stuff:

    http://www.templeoftheola.org

    No one of these web-links are atheist/agnostic or the like, but, like I said, they provide good infotainment and fuel for the hunch that something fishy is going on.

    Greetings
    /K. A.

    ReplyDelete

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