Archive für 30.11.99
English text category
Bhutan und Buddhismus aktuell
Lubob, Autor der Zen-Lampe, bespricht in seinem Blog einen weiteren Artikel aus Buddhismus aktuell, Ausgabe 1/2012 (vgl. auch unten: Konfickte des Buddhismus). Er nimmt sich der Problematik bhutanesischer Glückskekse an – d.h des so genannten Bruttoglücksproduktes. Lubob fragt: Ist Bhutan so glücklich wie es der offizielle deutsche Buddhismus haben will? Ich habe dazu noch ein paar ergänzende Erwägungen beigesteuert. Abgerundet wird das ganze mit einigen sehr spezifischen und hochwirksamen Meditationsempfehlungen.
To my english speaking readers
This is another take on a recent number of Buddhismus aktuell, a german mainstream buddhist magazine. In the article Konfickte des Buddhismus (see below) I analyze their relation to sexuality. The strong impression is: Main stream german buddhism, as represented in this magazine, is in reverse gear. Back to catholic Hypocrisy, Repression, Inhibition, Stagnation – staring absent minded into a broken mirror. Black silk ornamenting a fading dream of bliss. A sad story with no happy end.
In addition to this Lubob, author of the new german blog Zen-Lampe, writes about an article describing Bhutan. Bhutan seems to be more and more the latest fad for western Buddhists which want to see ‚original‘ Tibetan Buddhism. Bhutan is described as a country in which people shine with „a natural bliss from within“. At least that seems the fantasie of the author of the Bhutan-article in Buddhism aktuell. Lubob finds some reason to doubt this shiny picture. Additionally he also gives some very specific meditation advice. He reminds us that there have been quite some boddhisattvas around in the U.S. Hearing their mantric healings might help if the cushion doesn’t.
Remember the The Dead Kennedys?
Buddhism is lifestyle. I realized this soon after I began being interested in buddhism and especially in buddhist meditation practice in Zuerich in 2005. Because of my interest the buddha-figure was not longer filtered out from my perception. I began seeing buddhas all over Zuerich. I realized how much tibetan prayer flags can be seen in this town, how the buddha was present everywhere. I saw him on big advertisement posters, in all sorts of places, he was for sale in expensive antique shops, in cheap outlets, in wellness boutiques (especially there). He was present in the strangest places. Obviously he functioned as an eye catcher and as an buyable symbol for … a certain lifestyle?
The overarching goal of all Buddhism is to end all suffering. A being knowing all causes and all effects is therefore, per Buddhist definition, obliged to act in a way that will bring enlightenment, i.e. the end of suffering, to another being. The latter then must act in the same way. What ensues is an exponential increasing number of beings causing the end of suffering of the unenlightened. As the latter is a finite quantity, there will be no more suffering being at some point in time. Therefore we can prove the theory of existence of an enlightened being wrong if there is no enlightenment in a finite amount of time. As an enlightened being knows all effects it should know how to cause enlightenment in an unenlightened being in the shortest possible amount of time, because there should no unnecessary suffering. Therefore the remaining time to the extinction of all suffering will tend to be near zero. From this follows the enlightenment of all beings should have already occurred or should occur in the next moment. If it does not, the existence of an enlightened being is refuted.
Der Unbuddhist 