Comments | tquid: Addendum: Buddhism

tquid

Addendum: Buddhism

Oct 24, 2007 11:42

Oh, I forgot to note, the visit by Noah Levine went really well. I went to all the events--2 talks, and 2 short "retreats" of half a day each--and they were excellent. If anything Noah's presentation and clarity has gotten better, and good questions from the crowd were had. Noah has a remarkable ability to connect with people individually even when ( Read more... )

Comments 6

anyone... pach00ey October 24 2007, 20:20:05 UTC

who thinks that a "Westerner" learning Buddhism is 'stealing from Asia' should then remember that the East/SE/Central Asians "stole" Buddhism from the Indian sub-continent...

*shrug*

Re: anyone... tquid October 24 2007, 20:51:56 UTC

Yeah, basically Noah said that unless you thought Buddhism meant dressing and acting like an Asian when you're not, the question doesn't really arise. I'd add further that it's impossible to steal what is freely given, and contrary to popular belief, Buddhism historically is a missionizing religion, quite happy to get converts.

So that I won't misrepresent Noah's words unwittingly, here is a link to the recording of his talk.

Re: anyone... eastvanhalen October 26 2007, 02:13:25 UTC

I gave it a listen. The central point makes sense but I'm not impressed with some of his rhetoric. "This isn't a religion - this is what is true in this world"? The West is responsible for the Buddha's teachings finally making it to prime time, freeing them from the historical baggage that the East has apparently laden them with? Let's start undressing the cultural assumptions in those statements, with reference to our current discussions about racism in the sangha, and the discussions we should be having but aren't about sexism in the sangha.

Snarking about what idiots the questioner's friends apparently are wasn't all that hot, either. Looking at questions of cultural appropriation, especially in the context of a broader discussion of the racism that cultural appropriation is a manifestation of, isn't stupid. The guy's friends might have been wrong, but their wariness isn't ridiculous, given the Western habit of pulling precisely that kind of bullshit.

Re: anyone... tquid October 26 2007, 06:00:02 UTC

That's a good response; it reminds me that I myself don't agree with the "this isn't a religion" line. I agree that it's a triumphalist view that we just now figured out the "core" or "essence" of Buddhism; I guess that's why I'm in some ways a bit doctrinaire. Mostly I don't presume to know what the "core" is so I'm unwilling to toss out stuff, at least if it's actually in the scriptures. (I am willing to be critical of the practices of other cultures' interpretations of Buddhism, when they include stuff like monks' handling money, telling fortunes, or other things that are quite explicitly forbidden in their written rules. I guess this makes me a fundamentalist ( ... )

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