[Buddha-l] Rich men, eyes of needles and modern gurus

[Piya Tan]

If we go by history of religions, esp that of the Catholic church,
post-Buddha
monasticism grew very much like the mediaeval Catholic church, rife with
constructed sutras and superstition for the purposes of social control and
accumulation of wealth (and pleasure).

There are at least two general levels of Buddhists: the "nominal" faithful
who
are taught and believe that the monastics and lamas are sort of infallible
(after
all who is going to perform those complicated rituals and chants?).

And you have the new generations of educated thinking Buddhists who question
a lot of things, who also generally meditate. Many do not call themselves
Buddhist
and have nothing to do with monastics.

We have a third group, that is, the practitioner scholars (I'd like to think
you are the
ones: OK some snide remarks are coming here from someone!) Anyway, such
scholars (I can think of Lusthaus immediately from his remarks about Kuiji).
I'm
not sure if Gregory Schopen is a practitioner, so I will leave him with his
monastic
ruins and dead bone.

Oh yes, the psychotherapists and mind scientists (like Davidson at
Wisconsin) are
rapidly taking over meditative Buddhism, too. Soon we will be going to
meditation
clinics with gurus in white putting wires on our heads, and watching to see
if we
are really meditating.

Be still trembling heart, all will come to pass and we will arise in
Abhassara (says
Buddhaghosa), if not in a parallel universe (say Dhammapala).

Ah, I can see my amygdala blissfully still now, and there my left frontal
lobe is
active. Oops it's gone, I'm back on Buddha-L.

Piya Tan


On Feb 8, 2008 1:10 PM, Piya Tan <dharmafarer at gmail.com> wrote:

> (Wiping a tear with expensive soft tissue.) Lost for words....
>
>
>
> On Feb 8, 2008 12:42 PM, jkirk <jkirk at spro.net> wrote:
>
> > There you go---proof positive of the power of prayer.
> > JK
> > ====================
> >
> > Of course the prayers of the rich were eventually answered. George W.
> > Bush was elected president.
> >
> > --
> > Richard Hayes
> > Department of Philosophy
> > University of New Mexico
> >
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