[Buddha-l] Re: **REALLY** Western Buddhism

[curt]

Life is short and there are still dialogs of Plato's that I haven't read 
- so decisions have to be made, obviously, about what books to read 
without first reading them all. How else is one to proceed? By chance? 
However, the truth of the matter is that I have Harris' book and I have 
read about 1/4 of it. More than enough.

You see, Harris is basically a showman. And I've seen this show before. 
Heck, I used to be a fan of this show - and I've seen it done better. At 
least the James Randi can pull a rabbit out of his hat.

- Curt

Richard Hayes wrote:
> On Tuesday 31 October 2006 07:25, Curt Steinmetz wrote:
>
>   
>> Sam Harris doesn't understand the inherent benefits of "making believe".
>> This could be a sign of serious psychological problems - but,
>> unfortunately, these kinds of problems are far from rare these days, so
>> they have the appearance of normalcy.
>>     
>
> Just out of curiosity, why is it not sufficient for you to say that you like 
> make-believe for various reasons? Why do you feel a need to make unwarranted 
> claims about what another person does not understand (especially when you 
> show no signs of ever having read the person in question), and then adding 
> the rckless insinuation that those who do not share your tastes may be 
> mentally ill? 
>
> Are we seeing the benefits of your decades of Buddhist meditation? Do all 
> those hours you have logged on Zen cushions enable you to do nothing more 
> than badmouth people who do not share your aesthetic enthusiasms? In just 
> what ways are you a walking advertisement for the benefits of Buddhist 
> practice and other forms of make-believe?
>
>