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It's not meant to be a critique of historical Buddhism as a whole, it's meant to be a critique of how Buddhism is often viewed in the West. And yes, the "super

It's not meant to be a critique of historical Buddhism as a whole, it's meant to be a critique of how Buddhism is often viewed in the West. And yes, the "superior philosophy" assumption is pretty widespread in the West, especially compared to eg. Islam. I've gotten some very surprised looks when mentioning things like how Kyoto's sohei warrior monks had violent battles between competing temples and regularly extorted both nobility and populace, the role of Buddhism in ultranationalist mob violence in eg. Myanmar [2] and Sri Lanka [3], etc. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C5%8Dhei https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C5%8Dhei [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriotic_Association_of_Myanmar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriotic_Association_of_Myanm... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodu_Bala_Sena https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodu_Bala_Sena

garbagecoder 4y ago
Mass culture in the "west" (whatever that is, so let's just say US for the sake of the argument) absolutely gives Buddhism a pass, but it more or less gives anything that's not Christianity a pass. This is understandable since this culture is largely a post-Christian one. I think on the left there is a tendency to explain away a lot of Islam's problems too, whereas on the right there is a tendency to exaggerate them. I'm not sure what else to make of This event at Hamline College.[1] The whole Myanmar thing is quickly turned into a No True Scotsman conversation any time you bring it up. [1]https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/08/us/hamline-university-islam-prophet-muhammad.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/08/us/hamline-university-isl...
nativecoinc 4y ago
For sure, the Buddhist majority oppression of the Muslim minority in Myanmar is a niche comparative/inter-religious fact and not something that has been on the world news. Sarcasm.
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garbagecoder 4y ago

Mass culture in the "west" (whatever that is, so let's just say US for the sake of the argument) absolutely gives Buddhism a pass, but it more or less gives anything that's not Christianity a pass. This is understandable since this culture is largely a post-Christian one. I think on the left there is a tendency to explain away a lot of Islam's problems too, whereas on the right there is a tendency to exaggerate them. I'm not sure what else to make of This event at Hamline College.[1] The whole Myanmar thing is quickly turned into a No True Scotsman conversation any time you bring it up. [1]https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/08/us/hamline-university-islam-prophet-muhammad.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/08/us/hamline-university-isl...

nativecoinc 4y ago

For sure, the Buddhist majority oppression of the Muslim minority in Myanmar is a niche comparative/inter-religious fact and not something that has been on the world news. Sarcasm.

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