[lbo-talk] Re: Bush & his God

Christian Gregory christian11 at mindspring.com
Mon Jun 14 05:24:02 PDT 2004



>The backward belief that must be abandoned is a belief in self which all
>Western religions, whether progressive or reactionary, subscribe to. Since
>asceticism is a hard sell in our materialistic culture, the left settles for
>promoting compassionate individualism which is just as meaningless and empty
>as compassionate conservatism.

Sure, but you can't expect anyone to take seriously that you have overcome the belief in the self--or even that you advocate it--when you toss off dilapidated categories like "Western religion." Not only does this imply a view of a coherent self-- a body of knowledge or practice, Eastern v. Western religion, etc--but it also ignores the history of "Eastern" religions. As has been demonstrated over and over, Eastern religions--and Buddhism in particular--have not secured any high ground from which to judge others. Zen was and is profoundly conservative in Japan; its practitioners aided (or didn't stop) the advent of Japanese fascism, to say nothing of its views of women, etc. Many of Tibet's teachers before the invasion were charlatans or brutes or both. And then there's Sri Lanka, etc.

Even those who have realized that there are no central headquarters have to operate in a world in which believes in the bureaucracy of ego. At the end of the day, the realization itself counts for nothing--else it just becomes another credential (Look ma, I'm enlightened!), more paperwork for the thing you're saying you want to rid yourself of. What matters is what comes of it.

Christian



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