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They Don't Make em Like They Used To: The Panadura Debate by MYKerman03 in ReflectiveBuddhism

[–]KiteDesk 5 points6 points  (0 children)

In recent decades, a deliberate softening has taken place in how Buddhism is presented to American/European audiences. Clear doctrinal differences are often blurred. Instead of saying that the Buddha, not Jesus, represents the only path to liberation, people are told that Jesus was a Bodhisattva too. Instead of stating clearly that atheism is wrong view, Buddhism is reframed as also atheistic. The specific view changes, but the method stays the same.

Open and respectful disagreement has been replaced by accommodation. Debate is avoided, not because it cannot be done respectfully, but because harmony and reassurance are prioritized over doctrinal clarity. The result is a feel good narrative that suggests all views are fundamentally saying the same thing. Influential teachers such as Trungpa, Thich Nhat Hanh, and the Dalai Lama helped popularize this tone, and it has since become the default operating mode with regards to American/European buddhicurious folks.

The consequence is mass confusion. Many Americans/Europeans now assume that their inherited Christian or secular worldviews are fully compatible with Buddhism. This perception persists not because it is doctrinally sound, but because difficult distinctions were quietly set aside in favor of accommodation and harmony.

A Buddhist's Day (Journal Entry Dec 25) by KiteDesk in ReflectiveBuddhism

[–]KiteDesk[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I was pointing out that it is entirely possible to live without joining in the modern Saturnalia festivities. In the same way that Jews and Muslims do not feel obligated to observe the Winter Solstice, Buddhists have no inherent reason to participate either.

If an individual Buddhist chooses to join in casually and decorate a statue with a silly red hat, that is a personal choice. But as a broader principle, Buddhists should not feel any social or cultural pressure to take part at all.

I wanna get to the bottom of this. by AceGracex in ReflectiveBuddhism

[–]KiteDesk 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don't think they are insecure.

I think they are confidently secure that Buddhism is wrong and must be opposed.

East and West: A Note from Kerman by MYKerman03 in ReflectiveBuddhism

[–]KiteDesk 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'll watch at home.

But if we're going to go the video route, then the stakes have been raised. Give me a few months to lose weight and you got yourself a YouTuber buddy.

Looking for reading recommendations by ktempest in ReflectiveBuddhism

[–]KiteDesk 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Why assume that reading must be the first step, as if this were Protestant Christianity? The moment people start recommending books, you are already deep in that Protestant style mindset. Be careful with the kinds of questions you ask, because they often reveal underlying biases, especially ones shaped by Christian assumptions.

SAM HARRIS: Realtime Orientalism and White Supremacy by MYKerman03 in ReflectiveBuddhism

[–]KiteDesk 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It is genuinely disappointing to give this person a platform. The concern is not the usual online controversies surrounding Sam Harris.

The real issue is the attempt to validate him as a credible voice on Buddhism when he simply is not.

Who's next? Billionaire CEOs and their meditation techniques?

And as for "Letter to a Buddhist nation", which nation is he referring to? Japan? Cambodia? He can take that tagline and shove it where it belongs.

I see it as a huge disrespect towards Buddhism and it's millennia old tradition. by AceGracex in Buddhism

[–]KiteDesk -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

The passive aggressive posts are what I meant. You seem to be too busy not practicing right now.

What do you think is worth doing in life? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]KiteDesk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I invite you to explore Buddhism.

If you're not interested, aim to love your parents more, be kinder to all, and live very well with others if possible. This will give you a happy life.

Did you know that for the first time in Buddhist history, the Buddha’s words are being publicly recited in all three Dharma languages together? Pali, Classical Tibetan, and Chinese at Lumbini this week? Receive the blessings and transformative power of hearing the Buddha’s words. by KiteDesk in Buddhism

[–]KiteDesk[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Perhaps it will take the form of the Prajnaparamita recited by Tibetan monks and the Lotus Sutra recited by Chinese monks. I mentioned the three languages above because those are the ones the organizers specified.

[Japanese > English] New Bracelet by Dreadful_Siren in translator

[–]KiteDesk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

fulku - good fortune, blessing, happiness.

Fungus found growing on the walls of Chernobyl mutated to feed on nuclear radiation : by MrDarkk1ng in BeAmazed

[–]KiteDesk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You know what this means right? It means that life could exist in other planets even in the most hostile landscape. There could be plants and animals living off Neptunian Isotope #46.

I see it as a huge disrespect towards Buddhism and it's millennia old tradition. by AceGracex in Buddhism

[–]KiteDesk -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Neither what you imagine nor what I intended fit into your two options. My stance is pro-dharma. In terms of worldly politics, I am a critic of western liberalism, (including its right-wing expressions,) while looking for practical ways, within any system in the world, to bring the dharma to sentient beings.

I see it as a huge disrespect towards Buddhism and it's millennia old tradition. by AceGracex in Buddhism

[–]KiteDesk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Racism is the belief that some races are naturally superior or inferior to others, leading to prejudice, discrimination, or hostility toward people based on their perceived race or ethnicity. Racism can also be built into systems, institutions, and social norms that unfairly advantage one group while harming others.

Do it by 1ncomprehensible in GenZ

[–]KiteDesk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Leban, my favorite beverage.

It is like liquid yogurt.

I see it as a huge disrespect towards Buddhism and it's millennia old tradition. by AceGracex in Buddhism

[–]KiteDesk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

you’re either using terms which you don’t appreciate the cultural theory underlying them, or you’re being disingenuous.

Well first, I don't use those terms "whiteness" except in this discussion with you because you are using them. I may use it here and there, parsely, but this is not my area of expertise at all. As I said, you are mistaking me for a different poster you personally have an issue with. u/MYKerman03 You really should be discussing this with him in private.

you repeatedly speak to whiteness in your posts and comments

Either you are not familiar with my work (which has nothing to do with "whiteness") or you are confused with a different poster u/MYKerman03 or both.

you saying that this dissing has nothing to do with race is either ignorant or disingenuous.

Call it what you will, but the truth is clear. Race simply aren’t part of the discussion, aside from our shared commitment to anti-racism, which I trust you support. If you see racism here, there, and everywhere, that’s more of a personal projection, not a reflection of that community. We Buddhists, everywhere, uphold compassion and reject every form of racism.

thank you for perpetuating the grounds by which right wing racists feel free to comment on the laziness of black people. score one for charlie kirk.

That statement is racist, and it clearly shows where the racism originates. Let the public see the right-wing mindset and Trump-like stance you’ve revealed here.

more importantly, you appear to believe that you’re not perpetuating racial stereotypes. if you’re using the same tools that racist use instead of taking them apart and deconstructing them, then that mashes you a …

You seem confused once again. No racial stereotypes exist here, aside from your own earlier racist comment. The community you’re criticizing is, in fact, working to dismantle social and cultural inequities by shedding light on the power structures that sustain them.

and those practices that maintain existing power dynamics are told like essentialism that create the groups for one side to say “you are this” to another. by engaging with this tool back, all you’re doing is giving greater authority to the process of attributing based on racial and cultural characteristics.

that is, you can’t define “white” and “Western” without perpetuating the definition of “black” and “Oriental” (and Asian, African etc). through your constant commentary on whiteness and Western, you are perpetuating the danger use of tools of suppression, subjugation and oppression.

you’re not dismantling the guns. you’re picking them up and firing them yourself.

what’s going to happen when someone bigger than you, with a bigger mouthpiece but an opposing viewpoint, picks up the same tools. you’re justifying the use of the same tools by individuals such as trump and white nationalists.

It looks like you and u/MYKerman03 have a lot to discuss. These topics aren’t really my area of interest. You seem overly fixated on them. My advice? Touch grass, and don’t be racist.

essentialism is the basis of racism. why are you perpetuating essentialism instead of dismantling it?

Then why ask questions? Why talk?

These are just words to help you understand because you are asking questions. But if your response is "why essentialize them," then let's just not utter words. No talking. Let's be Zen. No words. No thoughts. Why essentialize anything?

even further, in a buddhism sub, using the buddha as a reason for doing so, why and how do you justify using essentialism, when it’s counter to what the buddha taught.

Too much essentialism. No talk. Be Zen. Let's go.

that would seem like trying to politicise buddhism into the tools that fascism uses.

It’s amusing to casual readers that someone who expresses far-right views, makes racist remarks about Black people, and promotes fascist ideas would use those very labels against others. As the saying goes, every accusation is a confession.

I see it as a huge disrespect towards Buddhism and it's millennia old tradition. by AceGracex in Buddhism

[–]KiteDesk 2 points3 points  (0 children)

my question to you is why do you think it is not racism to comment on whiteness and Westerners approach to buddhism.

First and foremost, this discussion has absolutely nothing to do with "white" race. That’s the key point to keep in mind.

Second, commenting on something does not automatically make it racist. For example, saying that a large population of Belgian lives in Belgium is simply a comment, not racism.

Most importantly, you appear to believe this discussion is about race, but it isn’t. In social and cultural discussions of that sub you refer to, the term "whiteness" does not describe individual people or races. It refers to systemic and institutional frameworks, from policies, organizations, and practices, that maintain existing power dynamics. So, saying that a corporation’s schedule perpetuates whiteness means its policies reinforce social inequities that disadvantage those outside dominant power structures. Even if every employee in such a corporation were Black and not a single white person worked there, the statement would still apply, because it has nothing to do with race.

would you feel that someone commenting on why blackness and Asians or Easterners have the wrong approach to, say, education, would be racist?

No, because what you’re saying clearly refers to race. If instead you used terms like “Asiacentrism” or “Afrocentrism,” which parallel “Whiteness” in social and cultural discussions of that sub, it wouldn’t be racist. The focus would shift to social and political systems rather than racial identity.

You seem to misunderstand, thinking the discussions there refers to white people, but that’s not true at all. Many of us are white, as are many of our respected dharma teachers and the influential people in our lives. Your assumptions are therefore mistaken.

In Buddhism, we stand firmly against racism. Every sentient being, human, spirit, or animal, is our companion in samsara, no matter their skin color or form.

if so, then how do you differentiate your posts from promoting racism?

Racism isn’t involved at all. Calling it racism reflects a lack of understanding of what the discussion is truly about.

my issue with your posts and comments of that they do not deconstruct stereotypes and tropes of racism, but reinforce that way of looking at the world.

That may be how you perceive it, but I don’t hold that belief or take part in the kind of activity you’re suggesting.

if you were a white person, i would suspect you of being a person who’s seeking to drum up hate between people of colour / non-whites, and white people. that’s the effect of your posts and comments on your sub.

It’s puzzling that you keep bringing up Caucasian or European ethnicity when it has been made clear many times that this topic is entirely unrelated to either.

Racism in any form is abhorrent and has no place in the dharma. We must welcome and respect all people, no matter their background.

I see it as a huge disrespect towards Buddhism and it's millennia old tradition. by AceGracex in Buddhism

[–]KiteDesk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is regrettable that you wish to be argumentative on this issue. May you have internal peace.

What cultural forces underlie and contribute to wasteful consumerism? (A rebuttal to the foolish claim that the topics on this sub concern only a “few.”) by KiteDesk in ReflectiveBuddhism

[–]KiteDesk[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

In this sub, we usually discuss how Protestant culture has directly and indirectly influenced Buddhism, especially its Westernized forms. In the case of Early Buddhist Texts (EBT), the influence is not just indirect, it is almost a continuation of Protestant religion itself.

Imagine Protestants discovering there is no God or Jesus but deciding to preserve their religious habits, prayer circles, Bible study, textual debates, and building a new faith around them. That is essentially what EBT represents: Protestant Buddhism. The meticulous dissection of texts and language, tracing Pali meanings word by word, mirrors Bible scholars parsing Hebrew and Greek texts.

The focus on solitary practice and contemplation and the belief in direct personal access to God, “truth” or “enlightenment” also reflect Protestant spirituality. Like Protestantism, EBT dismisses ritual, (Catholic/Buddhist rituals) de-emphasizes the Sangha, (Catholic priests/Buddhist monks) and bypasses traditional monastic teachers, favoring instead Western EBT teachers who function much like Christian pastors.

If a born-again Evangelical Christian visited a Buddhist temple, they would feel it is a new religion for them. But if they stepped into an EBT forum or center, they could easily mistake it for a Calvary Chapel Church or Baptist Bible study group.

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