| |
 |
Thursday, February 13, 2003 |
Giving up on Buddhism
Very interesting piece in Slate by John Horgan on his disenchantment with Buddhism:
Four years ago, I joined a Buddhist meditation class and began talking to (and reading books by) intellectuals sympathetic to Buddhism. Eventually, and regretfully, I concluded that Buddhism is not much more rational than the Catholicism I lapsed from in my youth; Buddhism's moral and metaphysical worldview cannot easily be reconciled with science—or, more generally, with modern humanistic values.
... But what troubles me most about Buddhism is its implication that detachment from ordinary life is the surest route to salvation. Buddha's first step toward enlightenment was his abandonment of his wife and child, and Buddhism (like Catholicism) still exalts male monasticism as the epitome of spirituality. It seems legitimate to ask whether a path that turns away from aspects of life as essential as sexuality and parenthood is truly spiritual. From this perspective, the very concept of enlightenment begins to look anti-spiritual: It suggests that life is a problem that can be solved, a cul-de-sac that can be, and should be, escaped.
A concise, fascinating piece. Now speaking as someone who had read, maybe, two books on the topic, my ignorane always made Buddhism seem kind of interesting: "you can be an atheist and a Buddhist," I was told. This last paragraph is really interesting, and says a great deal:
All religions, including Buddhism, stem from our narcissistic wish to believe that the universe was created for our benefit, as a stage for our spiritual quests. In contrast, science tells us that we are incidental, accidental. Far from being the raison d'être of the universe, we appeared through sheer happenstance, and we could vanish in the same way. This is not a comforting viewpoint, but science, unlike religion, seeks truth regardless of how it makes us feel. Buddhism raises radical questions about our inner and outer reality, but it is finally not radical enough to accommodate science's disturbing perspective. The remaining question is whether any form of spirituality can.
I like that sentence: "Science, unlike religion, seeks truth regardless of how it makes us feel." That's so very true: even when religion challenges or even condemns us, it does make us the center of the universe. But wouldn't this still exist if we never built a Hubble space telescope to see it? Horgan looks to be an interesting writer. I read some stuff about his last book, The End of Science, but rejected its premise out of hand, though I did read some of the debate on Edge.
10:45:10 PM Permalink
|
|
Tivo/iLife
TiVo Integrates With iLife. Apple and Tivo are working together to furnish complete integration between Macs and Tivo devices. (Macworld UK via MyAppleMenu) [MyAppleMenu]
Alas, no iMovie or QuickTime integration. It would be fun to use Tivo to watch your QuickTime movies on the TV monitor, and also really great to capture stuff from Tivo for use with iMovie. That's the hidden bit.
8:48:34 AM Permalink
|
|
Outside, the chimes rung
From Expecting Rain come a link to Jim Linwood's site on various movie references in Bob Dylan lyrics. It's a nicely done site, with movie posters from the various movies in question. Dylan's movie references are pretty ubiquitous, he is a child of the 20th century after all.
there's a movie called
Shoot the Piano Player
the last line proclaimin'
"music, man, that's where it's at"
it is a religious line
outside, the chimes rung
an' they
are still ringin'
--"11 Outlined Epitaphs"
8:30:21 AM Permalink
|
|
© Copyright 2004 Steve Michel.
|
|
|
|
|
