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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   32404 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of January 23, 2023

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Sufism does seem to be the favoured version, I think because of the devotional poets who, since the 19th century to Western ears, seem a lot more approachable in terms of religious fervour. All cuddly mysticism and the touch of the exotic.

It's a terrible misrepresentation, but it's the same kind of fate Buddhism suffers with the "eat, pray, love" treatment or Kabbalah did when red-thread kabbalism became a fad back in the 90s among celebrities.

I think that's the phenomenon David Chapman writes about a lot in his essays on Buddhism -- how Westernized "therapeutic Buddhism" has very little in common with how Buddhism is actually traditionally practiced, and if anything resembles more 19th century German Idealism, of all things?

There's a strong history of contact between real Buddhism and German Idealism. Schopenhauer is the most well known of the lot to be influenced by Buddhism. Less well known are the various Germans who just went to Asia, became monks and never came back. Many great works of scholarly Buddhism were written by this sort of monk.

The point is there is a very deep continuum between Buddhism as traditionally practice and the stuff that goes on in corporate mindfulness trainings in the West. The core of Buddhsm always has been a particular lineage of meditation teachings. Anyone seriously investigating those teachings seriously is a Buddhist; whatever the particular cultural-religious penumbra he surrounds it with.

Interesting, thanks.

EDIT: ... did I say anything wrong?

I don't think you said anything wrong. What was the worry?

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