More Reading
I’ve been discussing my concerns about what seems to me to be the inappropriate politicalization of Socially Engaged Buddhism with one of my teachers, Lila Kate Wheeler. As part of this discussion, she sent me a new book by David Loy — A New Buddhist Path: Enlightenment, Evolution and Ethics in the Modern World. (About which Lila is quoted on the flyleaf as saying: “This gripping, important, and ultimately heartening book by David Loy is a wake-up call for Buddhists and everyone else on how to respond to current crises.”)
I have only just started reading the book, but so far (1) I sincerely appreciate its clear, thoughtful, non-New-Age-y tone and (2) I don’t quite understand the dichotomy he sees between accepting the world as it is and working to change what needs to be changed.
He writes: “Will Buddhist temples and Dharma centers adapt to modern life by helping us cope with the stress of surviving in a deteriorating ecological and economic climate? Or will we appreciate Buddhist teachings and practices because they offer a radically different worldview, with an alternative perspective on what’s happing now and what needs to be done? Or do we need both?”
I don’t understand why he thinks that Buddhist temples and Dharma centers are even considering adapting to modern life by simply “helping us cope with the stress of surviving in a deteriorating ecological and economic climate.” Or that there is any question that Buddhist practices “offer a radically different worldview, with an alternative perspective on what’s happing now and what needs to be done.”
Over and over I hear western/modern Dharma teachers going out of their way to explain that acceptance of “things as they have come to be” does not mean passivity, but that instead, the Buddhist teachings are a kind of radical acceptance. Which is the first step in being able to respond in a way that’s actually going to make productive change…no matter what’s happening…and not just for ecological, economic, social or political issues.
So I don’t understand why Loy is calling for a NEW Buddhist path. It seems to me that the one we have is exactly what we need.
I guess I’ll just have to keep reading.