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Do the same complaints exist from thinkers/pholosophers of Asia? I feel like there is a substantial difference in thought from the Buddhists for instance, and t
by raziel2701 11y ago
Do the same complaints exist from thinkers/pholosophers of Asia? I feel like there is a substantial difference in thought from the Buddhists for instance, and the zen way of thinking that encourages people to accept who they are. This idea of self-improvement, which is what's at the bottom of all these critiques of the young being inattentive and distracted, is dismantled by people like Alan Watts who claims that the reason why you want to be better is the same reason why you aren't.
In essence, people like Watts want to tell you, or convince you, that there's nothing you can do to improve, you would already be that person if you had it in you. Now I'm not here to argue whether or not this view is correct nor am I interested in reading your anecdotes on how that can't be right. What I am interested in knowing is whether or not these complaints about distraction and inattention are uniquely Western. What do the Africans or the Asians say about this through the course of history?
- whytaka 11y agoI would say that honing your discipline is widely promoted in Asia.
- auganov 11y agoI'd say complaining and being open about your own shortcomings is a somewhat Western thing in general. Kind of ties into the concepts of guilt vs shame societies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilt_society https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilt_society https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shame_society https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shame_society
- johnchristopher 11y ago> The distinction between shame and guilt as methods of social control has long been recognized. Both articles cites very few sources about that distinction being useful or acknowledged by sociology. I see both articles relies heavily on « Japanese Perceptions of The Chrysanthemum and the Sword ». Is there more substance and relevance to the concept ? What does it explain ?
- mbrock 11y agoThat sounds more like Western self-esteem teaching than Zen. Watts was a very eclectic preacher with lots of different influences, both Western and Eastern. For a random example of a Zen master discussing distraction, Foyan said something like "You're constantly distracted by thinking about business; how will you have time to work on enlightenment?" And Huangbo said "If you would spend all your time—walking, sitting, standing, lying down—learning to halt the concept-forming activities your own mind, you could be sure of ultimately attaining the goal."