[Buddha-l] Question for academic teachers of Buddhism

[alx437 at charter.net]

I was in a class taught by David Eckel some years back, and I was troubled by his approach, which has been likened to that of a museum curator. I have also taught classes in Buddhism, where I have tried to avoid such an approach, due to methodological concerns I guess. Maybe my classes weren't very good, but I hope that isn't relevant. Anyhow, when I am teaching about any religion, I believe it is a mistake to take the curatorial approach, in that it leaves unexplored and unexplained what living people once upon a time found compelling about it. For example, let's take good old time Aztec religion. Very keen on human sacrifice, carried out quite gruesomely, as we all know from Apocalypto, also involved cannibalism and other practices which most people reading this message will, I expect, not endorse. However, if we simply keep this tradition at arm's length, noting its cruelty and bloodthirstiness, we lose the opportunity to understand something about human nature, since I believe one of the basic axioms of the humanities is that the experience of other people is accessible to us if we are careful. Indeed, if one does not wish to end up as a solipsist, one must accept the validity of experiences that we know only at second hand. I took it as a personal challenge to try to understand why Aztec people, intellectuals and other cultural leaders, no less rational than myself, felt that this was their best option, religiously speaking. Trying to understand the tradition from inside, without of course contemplating the idea of converting to the religion, helped me to be a better teacher I felt, especially if I could successfully convey my ideas to at least some of my students. Being able to appreciate other points of view, other perspectives, is one of the more valuable lessons I have learned from studying Buddhism. I believe it has enriched my life experience, and I believe it is worth trying to communicate the value I have found in this exercise to others. The curatorial approach as I understand it, and as I believe Eckel practices it, maintains one's own privileged viewpoint as unquestionably superior to any possible alternative. As the Tao Te Ching says, the hard and unyielding is the way of death, the soft and yielding is the way of life. 
     Well I think that is my two rupee's worth for now.

               All the best,       Alex Naughton