[Buddha-l] the poignancy of Donald Lopez

[Curt Steinmetz]

Richard Hayes wrote:
> On Jan 17, 2010, at 3:46 PM, Curt Steinmetz quoted some bozo as saying:
>
>   
>> by the 1960s U.S popular culture no longer depicted Buddhist 
>> traditions as primitive, but as mystical
>>     
>
> Does the bozo explain the difference between primitive and mystical for the benefit of us Brights who can't tell the two apart?
>   

There is a lot to unpack in those two words, especially in how Jerryson 
has chosen to use them here.

However, the popular culture myth of Shangrilalian Buddhist Mysticism 
hardly springs forth fully formed only in the 1960's. Even Edwin Arnold 
was jumping on an already existing bandwagon when he wrote "The Light of 
Asia" in 1879.

Curt