I enjoyed the writing very much! Helped elucidate many of my own feelings towards enlightenment and the profundity of the mundane. Also, I feel if we all could carry a bit of uncle Iroh with us the world would be a lot more content.
Beautiful, brilliant piece. I've often had frustrations with the watered down rationalist-friendly form of Buddhism that seems to have infected most in the West chasing some sort of spiritual growth. I think you've hit the nail on the head with the idea that Western Buddhism often feeds into egotism.
Another piece I find fascinating about much religious experience is that it seems to demand we personalize forces outside of ourselves, make them as real as other people. When it comes to the experience of Fuller, he didn't annihilate himself and feel pure nothingness and non-duality. He felt an archetypal Father figure come down and tell him what to do. Give him a set of rules for life.
When you accept the mainstream Buddhist (in the West) framework, you lose the ability to have that experience. You can no longer have God or a Messiah give you practical, real instructions for living better. As you say, your spiritual path becomes about you alone. The idea of beings greater than you don't exist.
I especially love that you pointed out how the scientific literature has gone wrong in exploring religion. I truly appreciate when people work to bind religion and the scientific mindset together, as I am convinced the gap between the two worldviews is the gigantic wound our world is still reeling from, on a noological level.
Anyway, keep up the great work. And if you ever need folks to proofread or bounce concepts around, would love to chat.
I enjoyed the writing very much! Helped elucidate many of my own feelings towards enlightenment and the profundity of the mundane. Also, I feel if we all could carry a bit of uncle Iroh with us the world would be a lot more content.
Beautiful, brilliant piece. I've often had frustrations with the watered down rationalist-friendly form of Buddhism that seems to have infected most in the West chasing some sort of spiritual growth. I think you've hit the nail on the head with the idea that Western Buddhism often feeds into egotism.
Another piece I find fascinating about much religious experience is that it seems to demand we personalize forces outside of ourselves, make them as real as other people. When it comes to the experience of Fuller, he didn't annihilate himself and feel pure nothingness and non-duality. He felt an archetypal Father figure come down and tell him what to do. Give him a set of rules for life.
When you accept the mainstream Buddhist (in the West) framework, you lose the ability to have that experience. You can no longer have God or a Messiah give you practical, real instructions for living better. As you say, your spiritual path becomes about you alone. The idea of beings greater than you don't exist.
I especially love that you pointed out how the scientific literature has gone wrong in exploring religion. I truly appreciate when people work to bind religion and the scientific mindset together, as I am convinced the gap between the two worldviews is the gigantic wound our world is still reeling from, on a noological level.
Anyway, keep up the great work. And if you ever need folks to proofread or bounce concepts around, would love to chat.