[Buddha-l] New trans. of poetry of the Sixth DL

[jkirk]

>I have to admit feeling a little uneasy about this book. It
> emphasizes the more lurid side of Tibetan Buddhism (or
> more generally, of Tantrism) - and it is written by a former
> Buddhist who has recently converted to Catholicism. There
> is a long and sad history of Christian Buddhologists seizing
> upon Tantra (especially its more lurid manifestations) as
> evidence of the "decadence" of Eastern religions in general.
> I wouldn't dream of accusing Paul Williams of intentionally
> participating in that kind of theological propaganda, but I
> wonder if he happens to mention anywhere in this book
> that he is now an ex-Buddhist - or if he acknowledges the
> past misrepresentations of Tantrism by Christian Buddhologists
> and explicitly distances himself from them?
>
> I say this having read Williams excellent book "Buddhist
> Thought", which was published in the midst of his recent
> conversion away from Buddhism. The tone of that book
> is extremely problematic in places and he makes very strange
> choices of words - like insisting on calling the Buddha and
> by extension all Indian ascetics "dropouts". He also goes
> out of his way to use Hume-esque language to describe
> the Buddhist critique of the Self. I was even more struck by
> the tone of "Buddhist Thought" when I started reading Williams'
> earlier book on Mahayana Buddhism - in which he makes it
> very clear from the beginning that he is writing not just as a
> scholar but also as a practicing Buddhist. No such clarity about
> where the author is coming from is to be found anywhere
> in "Buddhist Thought".
>
> When reading a book about the drunken sexual daliances of
> a historically important figure in Buddhism, I think it is
> only fair to ask what the point is supposed to be.
> This is even more true when one reads that Williams is
> publicly saying that the current military occupation of Tibet
> by China is, at least in part, a result of the behavior of the
> sixth Dalai Lama.
> - Curt
=========================
I haven't read anything by Williams but I have read a bit on the 6th DL and 
his social predilections and fame as a poet. I'm skeptical of your suspicion 
that this book luridicizes--if I may coin a word--Tantrism, since the 6th DL 
gave up all preliminary vows and refused to take final vows.  He did not 
practice as a monk. My guess is he knew very little about Tantra. The fact 
that his songs are still sung today by ordinary Tibetans suggests that his 
memory is popular. If they like him, what's to worry?
Did his poetry actually employ Tantrism or figures of Buddhist redemption to 
make its points?  If so, there were a few Zen monk poets of Japan who wrote 
philosophically or otherwise about wine and women (don't know about the song 
part), but they have not thrown Zen into any disrepute. Thus, he seems to 
have been simply a party man, albeit situated in a high place and lineage, 
who nevertheless favored wine, women and song instead of attending to his 
traditional duties.
I can't comment on Williams's historical inferences about Chinese conquest 
of Tibet, or whether he concealed his conversion away from Buddhism, until I 
read the book.
Best wishes, Joanna