[Buddha-l] nytimes review of pbs The Buddha

[Richard Hayes]

On Apr 8, 2010, at 10:00 AM, Timothy Smith wrote:

> I particularly liked the way, on several occasions, the burden of awakening was placed squarely on the individual's shoulders.  The emphasis on the development
> of equanimity resonated for me, as it is the key area where I struggle.

I've been meaning to have a little talk with you about your equanimity problem, Tim. It's good to hear that missing a bowl of green chile stew and handmade tortillas at La Choza didn't push you out of shape (if I may be forgiven for using another yet expression from the 60s, back in the days when Buddhism was still Buddhism).

>  I just can't come to accept (fill in the right-wing blank) easily.

It's Nietzsche season in my Philosophy 101 class. I had a lot of fun yesterday talking about Nietzsche's influence on Freud, Jung and Ayn Rand, and Ayn Rand's influence on the followers of Goldwater and then the followers of Ron Paul and Sarah Palin. I suggested to my students that when they go to their next Tea Party rally, they should be sure to carry a copy of The Gay Science in their hip pocket and to read passages aloud to remind the Tea Party where the roots of their will to power came from.

Coincidentally, yesterday in my Buddhist Philosophy class we were reading Dan Lusthaus's excellent translation of passages from the Buddhabhūmyupadeśa in Edelglass and Garfield's reader in Buddhist philosophy, and the class had some lively discussion about Dan's account of how different Yogācāra's imagined a Buddha's mind would be like. After reading Dan's truly beautiful account of a Buddha's mentality, it was fascinating to read his churlish and uncharitable comments about the PBS series.

What especially struck me was Dan's fascinating observation that the Buddhism being described in the series belongs in an some anthropology museum, as if suddenly having impermanence renders something invalid. When I think back on the "ball of confusion" (as I have a temptation to call it) that my generation has experienced through the almost constant threat of nuclear war, the almost constant presence of conventional wars, the environmental degradation of the planet, the decades of manufactured paranoia about Communism and then Islamic fundamentalism, the heartbreaking devolution of a democratic system into factions of uncooperative quibbling politicians sponsored by and representing the interests of billionaires and ignoring the needs of ordinary people, I am deeply grateful that there has been for my generation just exactly the kind of Buddhism we have had. It makes me a little sad for Dan that rather than being grateful that so many people have found beneficial teachings and practices to help them through a troubling era, he can apparently only see that we in modern times have strayed away from the lofty insights of Asanga and Xuanzang. Ah well, to each his own.

Next time you're in Santa Fe, Tim, give me a call. I'll zip up to Santa Fe on the Railrunner, and we'll eat a handful of handmade tortillas together. Maybe I can even talk Peavler into coming with me (although he's a dangerous man to be around when large quantities of beans have been served).

Richard