[Buddha-l] Question for academic teachers of Buddhism

[Richard Hayes]

On Tue, 2008-06-24 at 20:28 -0400, Curt Steinmetz wrote:

> Personally I think HUGE mistakes have a certain appeal - compared to 
> puny little half-assed mistakes.

I admit it's probably more fun to watch others make big mistakes than
small ones. When it comes to making mistakes myself, I have a preference
for making smaller ones. They tend to hurt less.

> Also, if one manages to survive, HUGE mistakes make the best stories.

If one's purpose in life is to have good stories to tell, you may have a
point. But what if one tires of stories?

> But actually as I think about it it occurs to me that during a certain 
> window of oportunity - say from 15 to 25 - we DO have a chance to seek 
> out and gain exposure to "myths, images and practices" that our parents 
> never dreamed of exposing us to.

If one's parents had limited imaginations and experiences and were rigid
and dogmatic, then breaking free from them probably has some theoretical
benefit. But if one's parents were limited, rigid and dogmatic, then the
chances of breaking free from their influence is just about nil anyway.
Feelings of freedom of exploration of new ideas are more often a
delusional than veridical. (I have no idea whether that's true, or even
whether I believe it. I said it because it sounds cynical, and I have
learned that cynicism is what some people most like to hear.)

Richard