RE: Do you have any interest in the philosophies of introflection pioneered by Buddhism?
January 12, 2024 at 6:44 pm
(This post was last modified: January 12, 2024 at 7:05 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
Zen buddhism and modernist (or western) buddhism present an interesting locus of competing motivations, lol.
In modernist buddhism, god and ritual and concrete dogma aren't there because it's a pitch to a largely secular and western (and humanist) audience. It wouldn't have worked otherwise. In zen buddhism, that stuffs not there because they were building empires. It didn't work, or, if we prefer, if it wasn't tang-alike it was gonna end up stuck on a spear. They didn't wanna hear about fucking gods and concurrent dissenting traditions. Certainly didn't want their soldiers having a moral crisis on the battlefield. In china and japan, the emergence (or success) of zen is linked to civil wars. Zen is the kind of inner calm you need to cut your brother down...even when...especially when, you're not angry with him and have nothing against him, personally.
Inevitably, in the west...highly militaristic culture that we are, elements of zen get rolled into the modernist pitch and into the popular zeitgeist - even if they're scrubbed of the military applications that spawned them, part and parcel of the same (present) moment in our culture.
In modernist buddhism, god and ritual and concrete dogma aren't there because it's a pitch to a largely secular and western (and humanist) audience. It wouldn't have worked otherwise. In zen buddhism, that stuffs not there because they were building empires. It didn't work, or, if we prefer, if it wasn't tang-alike it was gonna end up stuck on a spear. They didn't wanna hear about fucking gods and concurrent dissenting traditions. Certainly didn't want their soldiers having a moral crisis on the battlefield. In china and japan, the emergence (or success) of zen is linked to civil wars. Zen is the kind of inner calm you need to cut your brother down...even when...especially when, you're not angry with him and have nothing against him, personally.
Inevitably, in the west...highly militaristic culture that we are, elements of zen get rolled into the modernist pitch and into the popular zeitgeist - even if they're scrubbed of the military applications that spawned them, part and parcel of the same (present) moment in our culture.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
