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Post by Flitzerbiest on Jun 5, 2014 21:29:01 GMT -6
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Post by stevec on Jun 5, 2014 22:40:27 GMT -6
Boo hoo, Buddhism has been Americanized and watered down in America. The author should be grateful that we haven't invaded a Buddhist country in a long time. Perhaps we should rethink that policy.
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Post by Flitzerbiest on Jun 5, 2014 22:55:17 GMT -6
Boo hoo, Buddhism has been Americanized and watered down in America. The author should be grateful that we haven't invaded a Buddhist country in a long time. Perhaps we should rethink that policy. The author regrets the loss of rules, authority and dogma. Where have we heard this before? If Buddha can't walk into a bar (horrible book, I'll concede...I made it about 2/3rds in) , then he probably isn't going to know where to find converts. |
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Post by stevec on Jun 6, 2014 8:04:14 GMT -6
Boo hoo, Buddhism has been Americanized and watered down in America. The author should be grateful that we haven't invaded a Buddhist country in a long time. Perhaps we should rethink that policy. The author regrets the loss of rules, authority and dogma. Where have we heard this before? If Buddha can't walk into a bar (horrible book, I'll concede...I made it about 2/3rds in) , then he probably isn't going to know where to find converts. I've had my fill of opportunistic gurus and spiritual authority. Most of the discussions over the years with Buddhists have centered around what Buddhism isn't as compared to Western religions. Now this author would prefer to see Buddhism mimic the old western spiritual practices in many ways. Removing a religion from its original culture and dropping it into another is the perfect recipe for its bastardization. If she wants Buddhist rules, authority, and dogma, she should go live in Nepal(and climb all those friggin stairs that Buddhism is famous for). |
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Post by showmedot on Jun 6, 2014 8:35:44 GMT -6
Up to a point, I agree with the idea that you're not getting the real thing unless you affiliate with a religious community and follow its do's and don'ts. Dabbling in other religions' rituals can be meaningful to the individual. However, I think it can be an important concern whether or not the person doing so is getting anything authentic. Think Madonna toying with Kabbalah here.
I saw too much sheer idiocy when Unitarian Universalists got into Native American spirituality. They did sweat lodges and drumming groups blithely without a clue what the role of either is supposed to be within its context. Sure, you can take any religious ritual and perform it like a play, perhaps gleaning some uplifting moments for the performers and observers. But the result is generally cringe-inducing for those who know how it should be done and who understand it in its larger context.
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Post by Flitzerbiest on Jun 6, 2014 16:01:47 GMT -6
Up to a point, I agree with the idea that you're not getting the real thing unless you affiliate with a religious community and follow its do's and don'ts. Dabbling in other religions' rituals can be meaningful to the individual. However, I think it can be an important concern whether or not the person doing so is getting anything authentic. Think Madonna toying with Kabbalah here. I saw too much sheer idiocy when Unitarian Universalists got into Native American spirituality. They did sweat lodges and drumming groups blithely without a clue what the role of either is supposed to be within its context. Sure, you can take any religious ritual and perform it like a play, perhaps gleaning some uplifting moments for the performers and observers. But the result is generally cringe-inducing for those who know how it should be done and who understand it in its larger context. I hear you. Jews of my acquaintance tend to take a bit of umbrage from Christian sects (J4J, etc) who borrow their rituals and distort their readings. Steve, Jim and I used to be involved in a religion board where (as occasionally happens here), fundamentalist Christians would post as though they were inheritors of the traditions of Judaism through the language of New Covenentalism. One Jew their (MC--they will remember), used to remark that "Christianity is to Judaism as Grape Nehi is to wine." I think the difference here is that meditation and mindfulness are such ubiquitous practices/cultivated attitudes that no tradition can rightfully claim them. I get why a Buddhist religionist might be bothered by dabblers in spiritual practice who call themselves Buddhists. On the other hand, I tend to have more sympathy for the idea that Buddhism has piled a hell of a lot of dogmatic shit on the largely common sense teachings of Old Sid. The very book that our current author lambastes (Batchelor's Buddhism Without Beliefs), I consider to be worth reading and re-reading every few years. It's simply that good, and you know that I have no ongoing affinity for religion. Buddhists don't think Batchelor is Buddhist, and yet he believes (with some justification, IMO) that he is harkening back to the non-clerical, non-dogmatic Buddhist roots. Self-report...it's the only way to rationally identify belief. A dude's a Buddhist if she says she is. |
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