…they just keep coming in. Here are just some of the latest for your dubious pleasure.
Of course there’s the near-obligatory weed reference, this one on a t-shirt, via herspiral: “Here’s something we found online…yikes…”
…and another bit of faux-dharmic financial marketing, via reader Michael D:
“I love your site, and so I have a ‘Dharma-Burger’ I just found for you. Their cringe-worthy commercial came on TV yesterday, and so I looked up their site– pretty interesting way to market this!”
Other readers also sent in word of Zendough’s existence. Arielle K, for her part, describes Zendough as:
…More Dharma Burger in one place than I have ever seen:
“By offering you insight and wisdom about your credit reports and score, debt standing, and identity theft risk, the path to achieve your goals and master your finances will be smoother… gain wisdom and confidence and proactively manage your finances… zendough.com can …help you achieve financial peace of mind. …Learn more about taking the first steps down the path to financial enlightenment at www.achievezendough.com“
Reader Jim B wrote of Zendough: “I actually had to look twice to make sure it wasn’t a parody — sadly, I think it’s real.”
…But reader Guttorm G writes with some darker stuff:
“Thanks for your wonderful site. Of course I’ve heard of socially engaged Buddhism, but it’s normally on the activists’ side. The Copenhagen police, known for their brutality, used this uniform when imprisoning activists during the climate cop15.”
[Though clearly not Buddhist, the emblem here does resemble the Wheel of Dharma.]
Guttorm goes on to write: “I was [recently] studying in Kyoto and I went to one of the 5 main Rinzai Zen temples (as well as a world heritage site), Tenryu-Ji. I’m attaching a picture of what I saw. I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry, but its certainly not what i expected”:
Laugh or cry? I don’t know. But if, somehow, Tenryu-Ji is seeing at least a little bit of money from this, that would help. …Nescafe ads at Zen temples — a sign of something terrible, or just a sign of the times?
More to come, and thanks.
Really. This post is not about Tiger Woods.
If you saw Real Time With Bill Maher Friday night, or read the written version of his closing “New Rules” segment — which is more what this post is about — you might think this is about Tiger Woods, just like you might have thought it was just Woods (and, “sex addiction”) that Maher was talking about. But this is about Buddhism, and it’s about how people perceive and talk about it.
I’ve been getting some guff from people for covering the Tiger Woods/Buddhism affair on Shambhala SunSpace, here, and elsewhere. People think it’s “tabloidy” to cover it, that it’s all about celebrity. My argument, though, is that if the Buddhist media isn’t covering it, other media, who don’t necessarily understand Buddhism very well, will be framing the discussion of Buddhism. And that’s what Maher did with his “New Rule.”
And, as with the whole “Tiger Woods and/or Brit Hume” discussion, the reason it’s important to talk about such things is because, if we don’t, then the mistaken ideas that are put forth by media figures (well-meaning or not) are sure to remain out there, and to then be mistaken as not-incorrect by others.
I should say: I have a lot of admiration for Maher. I feel like his politics often represent my own, I think he’s uncommonly inventive and funny, I think he’s generally well-informed, and I admire his bravery; the man comes out and says things that people often just aren’t brave enough to say. (He’s also a damned good stand-up.) But some of the things he’s now said/wrote about Buddhism — much like what Howard Stern said the other day — are just plain off, satire or not, and should be addressed.
Or at least that’s how I see it. My question is, what about you?
Here are some excerpts of what Maher said. To be fair, you should really read all of what he said, for complete context, but here’s the ending, the part I wanted to address, for reference:
[Buddhism] really is outdated in some ways — the “Life sucks, and then you die” philosophy was useful when Buddha came up with it around 500 B.C., because back then life pretty much sucked, and then you died – but now we have medicine, and plenty of food, and iPhones, and James Cameron movies – our life isn’t all about suffering anymore. And when we do suffer, instead of accepting it we try to alleviate it.
Tiger said, “Buddhism teaches that a craving for things outside ourselves” makes us unhappy, which confirms something I’ve long suspected about Eastern religions: they’re a crock, too.
Craving for things outside ourselves is what makes life life — I don’t want to learn to not want, that’s what people in prison have to do. Buddhism teaches suffering is inevitable. The only thing that’s inevitable is that if you have fake boobs and hair extensions, Tiger Woods will try to fuck you.
And reincarnation? Really? If that were real, wouldn’t there be some proof by now? A raccoon spelling out in acorns, “My name is Herb Zoller and I’m an accountant.” …something?
People are always debating, is Buddhism a religion or a philosophy: it’s a religion. You’re a religion if you do something as weird as when the Buddhist monks scrutinize two-year-olds to find the reincarnation of the dude who just died, and then choose one of the toddlers as the sacred Lama: “His poop is royal!” Sorry, but thinking you can look at a babbling, barely-housebroken, uneducated being and say, “That’s our leader” doesn’t make you enlightened. It makes you a Sarah Palin supporter.
Again, as with what Stern said the other day — beyond also being the work of a professional humorist-slash-curmudgeon — there’s some fair reasoning to what Maher is saying here. On paper, from a non-Buddhist’s point of view, these are valid questions and points. But if you’re a Buddhist — and I’m not talking about being “offended” here — you just know that a lot of what Maher’s talking about is off the mark.
I won’t address it all here, but for example: whatever you do or don’t think about reincarnation, many Buddhists would agree that the more important hallmark of Buddhism is its capacity to help us to discover our capacity for re-birth, to help us wake to the way the world is in this moment, with an enhanced — less conditioned, more connected — clarity. Some Buddhists might place a strong emphasis on literal reincarnation, but all, I’d venture to say, are much more concerned with this very life we have now.
That’s a much more important point. Isn’t it?
And yes, the “medicine, food, iPhones, and James Cameron movies” that Maher holds up as examples of how we suffer less these days are very much part of many of our lives these days. Sounds like progress, for sure. But honestly, aren’t the latter two items in this list (as examples) more emblematic of how we escape from the down and dirty — but incredibly valuable — business of looking reality in the face? Don’t get me wrong; I love my gadgets and I love a good film. But how often do we dive into interfacing with these as ways to distant ourselves from others — and from the unsatisfactoriness we perceive in ourselves?
What Maher is missing, to my mind, is that what the Buddha — and so many who have learned from his example — discovered is that there is much to be gained from appreciating all of the aspects of life: the medicine, the movies, the difficult times, the quiet times. Because when the power goes out and you’re left without your iPhone or a movie-world to escape to, it’s a fine, fine thing to be able to be just as happy as you were before everything went black.
It’s not about “Life sucks and then you die.” It’s about, in the Buddha’s words, “suffering and the end of suffering.” And that’s always worth talking about.
Right?
Or am I losing my sense of humor?
Let me know. Thanks.
[By the way: as with many posts here on The Worst Horse, you'll also find this post on Shambhala SunSpace, where a bunch of other comments have come in.]
Maybe not as much as some would think. This graphic, showing different US religions’ members incomes, has some surprises in it.
Via the great GOOD magazine, in collabro with Column Five.
This might not be a popular notion to a lot of readers of The Worst Horse, but I listen to Howard Stern. Yes, I know all the many arguments people have against the show; I won’t recount them here. The fact is, I always used to have a love/hate relationship with the show — I loved it but wish I didn’t.
But Howard makes me laugh, is a brilliant interviewer, and since he’s moved from the wasteland that is terrestrial radio to Sirius satellite radio, he’s become a lot more loose, happy, and fun. Particularly interesting is how much he’s talked about his practice of Transcendental Meditation, and how it’s contributed to his happiness. I may do Buddhist meditation, but a lot of creative people I respect/enjoy do TM (Howard, David Lynch, Jerry Seinfeld, etc), so I’ve come to appreciate that it must work for them.
Anyway: Today Howard talked about Tiger Woods — something I was waiting all weekend for him to do. Now, Howard’s a satirist (among other things), so I can’t get too mad about the silly (and wrong) things he said in criticizing Wood’s evocation of Buddhism in his now-infamous media event on Friday.
For example: “Buddha? There’s only seven Buddhists in America. [...] But Tiger had to whip out some kind of god.” He also identified the Buddha as being “fat,” and criticized Siddhartha Gautama for leaving his home and family to pursue his path and teach it to those who found it useful.
Like I said, I’m, not willing to get mad at that — some of it’s understandable on some level — but I did figure I could try and address it. I tried and tried to call, but didn’t get thru. After about 400 rings of the phone (at least!), it was clear I should abandon speaking to him. So I wrote a letter to the show. For those who might care, that letter follows. (more…)
…searches for “buddhist” were among the top 10 on Google Trends yesterday, The Globe and Mail reports.
That’s right, folks, set your DVRs. His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be on Larry King Live this coming Monday night. The LKL site says he will talk “about China, human rights and Haiti in his only interview after his controversial meeting with President Obama.”
And speaking of that meeting, the Dalai Lama yesterday described Obama as looking “like a monk… [he] had a peaceful, calm expression on his face.” …A nice thing to hear about one’s president, no?
One had to wonder, after all the hubbub, if Tiger Woods’ much-publicized post-scandal media statement today would address his Buddhist practice. Well, yes, it did:
“I have a lot of work to do, and I intend to dedicate myself to doing it. Part of following this path, for me, is Buddhism, which my mother taught me at a young age. People probably don’t realize it, but I was raised a Buddhist, and I actively practiced my faith from childhood until I drifted away from it in recent years. Buddhism teaches that a craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously, I lost track of what I was taught. As I move forward, I will continue to receive help, because I’ve learned that that’s how people really do change.”
Update: Tida Woods, the golfer’s mom, had this to say about her son’s rededication to Buddhist practice: “Buddhism teaches you to go deep inside your soul and look through from himself, and correct the bad thing to be a good thing. When he realized, he said okay, and went back to practice Buddhism and that will make him a much better person.”
For my ongoing coverage of the media-circus surrounding Woods’ Buddhism (versus Brit Hume’s suggestions that he convert to Christianity), click here.
Update: CNN has posted a new piece (featured on its homepage as of Friday evening): Tiger Woods’ apology brings new attention to Buddhism
That’s right. It seems that the “It Girl” of the 60s is taking her ongoing appreciation of Buddhism and mindfulness to children across the pond. It’s not that much of a surprise, given Hawn’s recent endorsement of the book Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness, from Wisdom Publications.
Having formed the Hawn Foundation, whose mission is to “create a more mindful world,” the actress, producer, and “creative philanthropist” has been taking meetings with British education secretary Michael Gove, looking for ways to make the benefits of mindfulness part of school-kids’ curriculum. “A peaceful, happy child,” says Goldie, “is the first step towards a peaceful world.” Here Goldie speaks about her work in a clip from Giving TV.
Via a press release:
Steve Madden, a leading designer and marketer of fashion footwear and accessories for women, men and children, today announced that it has completed its acquisition of privately held Big Buddha, Inc., a designer and marketer of fashion-forward handbags. Founded by Jeremy Bassan in 2003, Big Buddha sells its trend-right handbags to specialty retailers, better department stores and online retailers. Big Buddha had net sales in 2009 of approximately $13 million (unaudited).
That’s one expensive Dharma-Burger.
