[Buddha-l] Marx and Buddhism

[Stanley J. Ziobro II]

On Sun, 2 Oct 2005, Joy Vriens wrote:

>   Dan Lusthaus wrote:
>
> >>Capitalism
> >>is completely incompatible with Buddhism, by the way,
>
> > Buddhism literally crawled out of the swamps in India when it allied with
> > the Merchants, who not only helped them establish a major base in Gandhara,
> > but led them through the Silk Road from Parthia to China. Mahayana Buddhism
> > (e.g., Sambhoga-kaya) is capitalist through and through and through.
>
> One more anecdote about Buddhadasa. In the middle of the sixties he had
> regular visits from Westerners and Americans who feared Communism and
> wanted him to oppose Communism. They told him they would help him
> financially and materially and that if he needed anything he only had to
> ask them. BB answered that Buddhists fear the passions more than
> Communism. On which they left.(Gabaude p. 439)

Because Dan was indicating the role merchantile endeavors played in the
spread of Buddhism, and because this anecdote illustrates one Buddhist's
resonse to geopolitical realities, I fail to see the cogency of your
remarks.  Besides, do not Communists also suffer from the passions?  Or
was the Communicst Revolution and its effects the play of dispassionate
agents on the world stage?

> BTW I believe it's more correct nowadays to compare religion to
> amphetamines, cocaine etc. than to an opiate. If only it were an opiate...

Would you consider that non-religion (whatever that would be) necessarily
provides an answer?  Besides the existence of a non-religion being an
impossibility, I tend to think that the desire for non-religion, because it is
a desire, also must be transcended.

Stan Ziobro