[Buddha-l] Re: Hindu Fundamentalism

[Richard P. Hayes]

On Sun, 2005-08-07 at 16:04 -0400, Bshmr at aol.com wrote:

> For what it is worth (FWIW), I know others, with differing given names, who 
> feel similarly put off by Wilbur. 

A couple of years ago I had a student who was deeply enamored of Wilber.
Every single class this student diligently did all the readings I
assigned and then told the class how Wilber had said something much more
profound on the same topic. He kept suggesting that if I really wanted
to give people an idea of Buddhist philosophy, I should have them read
Wilber and more Wilber. He was a nice enough guy, but he just couldn't
get beyond Wilber. In the end he couldn't bring himself to write an
essay, because he knew it wouldn't be as good as something Wilber would
write. He failed the course. I felt really bad about it, because I hate
to see students fail after working so hard. 

One day I asked a very well-known Buddhist scholar (whose name shall
remain undivulged) "What could I have done for this poor student to help
him get over his infatuation with Ken Wilber and see that Wilber knows
next to nothing about Buddhism?" The scholar said "Shoot him."


-- 
Richard Hayes
***
"Where the clear stream of reason 
has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit...
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake."
                             --Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)