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hardie karges
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hardie karges
Modern Buddhism: 9/11 and Twin Towers Falling
It’s easy to celebrate, or commemorate, the New York City catastrophe of 2001, as the malevolent manipulations of misguided Muslims, but that would likely be an example of what the best Buddhists might call ‘unskillful actions’. Because, if the current excitement over (Buddhist) Monks Walking for Peace has proven nothing, it has proven that the minute you make politics part of the program, then you have lost the narrative upper hand in the Noble Eightfold Path for Right Thoughts, Right Words, and Right Actions, among other noble imperatives.
And if anybody asks why I must tread carefully around politics when Buddhism is experiencing its headiest times in the race for chart placement, then I try to explain as delicately as I can that you might not really want to know the politics of some of these Theravada monks raised in the shadow of strongman Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand in the two thousand aughties when reds and yellow shirts were fighting it out on the streets of Bangkok. And, in retrospect, much of that was tame in comparison to the current politics of the shiny happy USA of modern America.
So, I have a policy of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’, when it comes to modern American politics and Buddhism. Thailand’s Thaksin was at least a genuine populist, not a cheesy con. The point is, though, that politics and religion don’t mix, never have, and never will. There are too many conundrums and contingencies, and too many causes and conditions that can never be reconciled satisfactorily. Burmese politics might be the best example of that, in which a right-wing junta has conscripted the Buddhist sangha as almost something of a right-hand facilitator to Rohingya genocide.
And that’s easy when the victim in question is Muslim, whether Christian or Buddhist the perpetrator. Yet Islam exists for a reason, and it is incumbent upon injured parties to make claims for the rights that they are due. So, Christian and Buddhist onlookers must see this as an opportunity for Right Actions, by condemning the actions and not the actors. Much of this happens in India, too, and not always by Muslims, that the most spiritual country in the world by many measurements.
The Buddhist Middle path is always a guide, balanced actions against imbalanced transgressions in a steady dialectic of understanding. Bottom line: the 9/11 attacks were symbolic, by any measure, though the casualties were significant. But that was never the point, just as the number of miles or kilometers walked is not the point of the Monks Walking for Peace. The point is the symbolism, and that’s what we need to remember, in both cases, both the good and the bad…
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hardie karges
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hardie karges
Buddha Talk 2026: the case for a Modern Unified Buddhism
Hi, I’m Hardie and I’m here to talk about the possibilities for a new modern Buddhism, based on the original ancient principles, but free of any superstitions, and thus perfectly compatible with science. At first glance, that may sound like Secular Buddhism, but that would only be partially true. Because secular Buddhism places little value on religious experience, i.e. feelings, which can be a very valuable addition to any religion, and very important to most. Philosophy is a good substitute for religion, of course, but that doesn’t always help when your life is in danger, and you’re clinging desperately to hope. At times like those it’s nice to believe in something, almost anything will do sometimes. But that is superstition, magic, and sometimes pleading to an extra-terrestrial God to appear in the flesh to interfere in conditions upon our beloved terrestrial Earth. And there is no scientific basis to that, of course. Or is there?
Many Asians act like that is normal, while many Westerners are repelled by the thought, but what did the Buddha believe? It always revolves around karma and rebirth, and while it is clear that the Buddha accepted much of that, it is also clear that those were not his ideas, but borrowings, mostly from the Jains of his place and time, India c. 500 BCE. And you certainly can’t blame him, given the popularity of the notion, which persists to this day. Buddhists hem and haw about what it is that is ‘reborn’ without ever really answering the question, given the strong no-self anatta sentiment, which is central to Buddhism, especially in comparison to the Brahmanistic ‘Hindus’ of his time, who elevated Atman to the Cosmic Self that rules supreme with Brahman. So, if the celebrated Middle Path of Buddhism was a path between luxury and lack, asceticism and celebration, it was also a path between Hinduism and Jainism.
And from that humble beginning, Buddhism divided and conquered until it had spread to almost all Asian countries and became the majority religion of at least seven, which is considerable even if not as many as its rivals Islam and Christianity, and not counting China, Japan, Taiwan, Tibet, and Korea(s), all with sizeable numbers and percentages, but not a clear majority. But that may not be as impressive as it sounds at first if you consider that Buddhism has had longer to develop than most other religions. But that is not what matters now. What matters now is that Buddhism is on a rapid rise, and just when we need it most. Because the earth is in crisis, and the representatives of Buddhism are not pontificating (pun intended), nor sitting idly by. They are walking thousands of miles and even more kilometers. You know who I’m talking about. Yes, I’m talking about those monks walking for peace who caused such a stir in the USA recently.
Their timing was spot on, and their PR was even better, since they managed to win the hearts and minds of many, with their fresh approach and non-political orientation. The politics were always in the background, of course, but fortunately, that’s where it has stayed, for the most part. Others quickly followed suit, since this is part of an age-old tudong tradition in Thailand, if now expanded beyond the original pilgrimages to more symbolic excursions. The best part is that this is more what I call ‘soft Buddhism’, a la Thich Nhat Hanh, i.e. meditation and mindfulness, than the fire and brimstone of Tibetan Buddhism, i.e. Karma (of retribution) and Rebirth (reincarnation). Because the issues of karma and rebirth have always divided modern and traditional Buddhists, just like modern Christians can still believe in Heaven and Hell (as long as they don’t talk about it too much).
Because there is not much difference in the ‘soft Buddhism’ of TNH and W4P’s Bhikku Pannakara, even though the former is from Zen and the latter Theravada, even though the latter also talks about his dog Aloka being reborn as a human. That’s not even Buddha-flavored ‘rebirth’. That’s Hindu reincarnation, just like Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, while I favor the Christian ‘rebirth in Spirit’. A Godless world does not have to be an evil place, if Buddhism can unite with Christianity and Hinduism to provide a sympathetic approach to society and politics. Just leave the Karma and the dogma behind. Buddhists have already borrowed ‘lovingkindness’ from Christianity, just as Christians have borrowed meditation from Buddhism and Hinduism. So, Buddhism gets warmer, while Christianity gets cooler, helluva deal. It’s already happening. Stay tuned. Join us.
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hardie karges
Soft Buddhism, Hard Buddhism, and the Middle Path between…
If there is a convergence of Christianity and Buddhism in the works, as I often think, then I think that will be accomplished by the evolution of ‘soft’ versions of each, which will allow them to mix and mingle almost imperceptibly, which I think is good. Because, even if I have some minor misgivings about Buddhism possibly losing some of its distinctive characteristics, I can assure you that rebirth is not one of them, nor is the vengeful form of ‘hard’ karma that supports it.
In that mindset, the idea is that not only rebirth, but virtually everything, is a result of prior actions, both good and bad, which strictly control present rewards or punishments, to the point that the word ‘karma’, which means ‘actions’ becomes a synonym for the English term ‘fate’. I don’t think that was the Buddha’s intent, but many people have a negative view of the world, and we are all subject to their influence. I prefer a much softer karma, more closely related to the Buddha’s own ‘samma kammanta’, i.e. right actions, as elucidated in the Eightfold Path. Do good actions, and you will receive good things.
And, if that karma of retribution is the ‘hard’ Buddhism which I dislike, then that Eightfold Path, which is the Middle Way between extremes is mainstream Buddhism, which stands like Hegel’s dialectic as a path forward for decision making, which is how I often use it. In this view, ‘Soft’ Buddhism would be the meditation and mindfulness often invoked by those monks walking for Peace and for which many Westerners are poised and ready to adopt whole-heartedly ASAP.
Christianity has a soft mystical side, too, and even a ‘reborn’ side which is preferable to the Hindu reincarnation which often is the source of Buddhist rebirth and which supports a caste and class system which too often follow hereditary priest and warrior affiliations. That is why Buddhism is not popular in India today and good reason to avoid Hinduism like the pandemic. Buddhism and Christianity need fertile ground on which to mix and mingle. That is the Buddhist Middle Way, Hegel notwithstanding…
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hardie karges
Buddhism in the Morning Paper and the Evening News…
The Buddha stressed Right Actions. But he never said to do nothing all the time. That’s why the long-distance Buddhist monk tudong walkers have accomplished something more than just a little bit special in the ranks of the Buddhist sangha. Because it’s always been a little bit of a joke amongst Thai expats that if you want a free ride in life, then become a monk, because they don’t really have to do much to stay fed. And it wasn’t easy to refute those snickering claims—until now.
Because now we’ve got simple country monks performing heroic feats of self-sacrifice and long-distance hiking all for the love of dharma and karmic merit. And they always smile and they never complain. They even perform the more intricate ‘tudong’ (dhutanga) rites among the highly disciplined of them, including upright sleeping and barefoot walking. How’s that for a country song? The effect is splendid, too, even if the accomplishments are largely symbolic.
But those symbols can go a long way, too, and they’ve only gotten started. Peace is no easy conquest, even if it’s just inner peace, no rush for the Strait stuff of heroic duels and the lingering whispers of duality. Those things take time. First, we start with baby steps and then we see what hill we can climb. I think metta and maitri are the next big steps, more brotherly love than mom’s lovingkindness, and that means continuing the quest in ‘foreign’ countries. Because that’s the only way we’ll ever truly become brothers, albeit with the same mothers. Think big. It’s time for Christianity and Buddhism to admit their common cause. Stay tuned.
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hardie karges
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hardie karges
Buddhism in a Time of War…
I take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, the Mahasangha, community on the quest for knowledge, path of fulfillment. Those are the three jewels of Buddhism, of course, enshrined in the old familiar Pali chant: Buddham saranam gacchami, Dhammam saranam gacchami, Sangham saranam gacchami. (I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Dharma, I take refuge in the Sangha), refuge being the foundational commitment, so much preferable to any other feigned obedience, in my humble opinion, this being voluntary and heartfelt.
Because religion has a bit of a bad reputation in some circles, and Buddhism must answer to those accusations, also, whether it is technically a religion or not. Those claims usually consist of accusations that religions cause war in their respective names with little regard to the consequences. And this is at least partly true but usually comes with the naive assumption that life was always precious and dear before that, and anything that threatened that was guilty of a cardinal sin. But as much as I’d like to believe that, it’s probably not true.
Love of life in any form is probably a very new development, though the so-called ‘Venus figurines’ of ancient history are certainly worth considering. I don’t think those approximate our modern concepts of ‘love’, though, much less ‘lovingkindness’, and I’m not sure but what many men would rather fight to the death than worship peacefully. So Vedic Brahmanism gave up fire rituals as part of its conversation with the Jains and Buddhists on their way to adopting the more enlightened principles of the Upanishads. And the Christians of the New Testament rejected much of the Jewish Old Testament similarly. Maybe it’s time for the next phase in the history of religion: peace, love, and understanding. Be kind. It’s good for your health.
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hardie karges
Buddha Talk #0: Emptiness
You can have infinity, i.e. endlessness, with no boundaries, but it’s empty. Or you can have things, but only a limited number of them. You can’t have both. Infinite stuff is a fool’s dream. But that’s exactly what many Christians believe, or buy into, I should say. Because it ties directly into the capitalism that accompanies so much Christianity, especially the Protestant sort, which by no accident came into existence at almost exactly the same time as capitalism, maybe even preceding it by a bit, thereby giving the lie to any idea of mutual causation, in fact maybe a direct cause.
And many of those Christian values get carried into Buddhism by the same Christians who gave up their worldly ambitions in the process, at the same time that they cast piercing glances at the senior monks over the status of women in the ranks of the ordained. The meaning of the hallowed Buddhist concept of ‘Emptiness’, i.e. ‘shunyata’, is also up for grabs. Because, while shunya is the Sanskrit word for ‘zero’ and dates from right around the same time as the invention of the zero (yes), and may very well have originally been a philosophical concept long before becoming a mathematical one, that doesn’t stop certain westerners from frowning upon the concept.
Because ‘Emptiness’ has a very negative, and strong, Western psychological connotation as the cause of depression and unhappiness, this in a culture that rewards engagement above all else. I see it every day as a digital creator on social media, with no seeming recognition that such engagement is exactly what drives many people away from such media. Apparently driving sales is more important. So, I let many comments go unanswered, not because I agree or disagree with the viewpoint expressed, but simply because that uncertainty is fine, and often not worth fanning the flames of dispute, since the only certainty is negation. Then there’s spiritual bypassing, but that’s for another day. Be kind.
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hardie karges
Buddhist Emptiness and the Myth of Abundance
You can have infinity, i.e. endlessness, with no boundaries, but it’s empty. Or you can have things, but only a limited number of them. You can’t have both. Infinite stuff is a fool’s dream. But that’s exactly what many Christians believe, or buy into, I should say. Because it ties directly into the capitalism that accompanies so much Christianity, especially the Protestant sort, which by no accident came into existence at almost exactly the same time as capitalism, maybe even preceding it by a bit, thereby giving the lie to any idea of mutual causation, in fact maybe a direct cause.
And many of those Christian values get carried into Buddhism by the same Christians who gave up their worldly ambitions in the process, at the same time that they cast piercing glances at the senior monks over the status of women in the ranks of the ordained. The meaning of the hallowed Buddhist concept of ‘Emptiness’, i.e. ‘shunyata’, is also up for grabs. Because, while shunya is the Sanskrit word for ‘zero’ and dates from right around the same time as the invention of the zero (yes), and may very well have originally been a philosophical concept long before becoming a mathematical one, that doesn’t stop certain westerners from frowning upon the concept.
Because ‘Emptiness’ has a very negative, and strong, Western psychological connotation as the cause of depression and unhappiness, this in a culture that rewards engagement above all else. I see it every day as a digital creator on social media, with no seeming recognition that such engagement is exactly what drives many people away from such media. Apparently driving sales is more important. So, I let many comments go unanswered, not because I agree or disagree with the viewpoint expressed, but simply because that uncertainty is fine, and often not worth fanning the flames of dispute, since the only certainty is negation. Then there’s spiritual bypassing, but that’s for another day. Be kind.
streaming consciousness... 
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