Institutional Structures and Ideology

Mr. Loy,

In the final chapter of your book you discuss Buddhist ideology and different types of political and economic systems. In it, you outright state that you “do not think Buddhism has the answers to these questions” (141). I agree with your logic; there is no secret formula that can get rid of all of society’s dukkha.

For that reason, I have always felt at odd with a certain trend I’ve seen in nearly every religion. A person will take a single phrase from an ancient text and apply it to modern society without thinking about the societal context  surrounding the phrase. Some even go as far as to claim that a text written thousands of years before, for example, corporations existed is saying something very specific and particular about what the United States government should do about big business. Similarly, they ignore the fact that societal values and norms have changed. Often, a text that talks about the proper manner of treating one's slaves is also used to talk about the proper manner of treating current social issues.

I don’t question that the values presented in ancient texts can apply to modern society. Some values- not murdering, for example- are universal values. The questions surrounding them change slightly, but the root question is the same. “Is war okay? Is killing animals and eating them okay?” Details around the debate have changed, but the positions one can take on the issue are nearly the same: "Yes." "It depends." "No."

However, it is quite nice to read a religious book claim that their religion should not be used to support certain governmental or economic systems. I do not believe the Shakyamuni Buddha was an expert on communism, capitalism or democracy as it exists today. I feel that the exact “battle plan” for solving problems in economics or politics cannot be found in any text intended for an ancient audience. It is quite relieving to read that I am not the only one.

-Alexandria D.

The Three Poisons

In "The Three Poisons, Institutionalized" you discuss problems of society.  Living in our modern world, where politics, media, and corporations have such strong social force, how can someone break free of the poisons they create short of ostracizing themselves?  Even if one was able to recognize and understand the source of Dukkha that cultural norms create, it is still impossible to not be influenced by the collective-self.  Is just being aware of the problem enough?
-Michael

Finding Something in Another's Nothing

In the chapter "What’s Wrong with Sex?" you discuss the "myth of romance" created by society and media images which causes us to believe, consciously or unconsciously, that we can become whole once we find that significant other. Do you believe that romance or love between two people can actually exist or is the idea of an unspoken bond between to persons a creation of Hallmark and Disney? The enlightenment you write of should bring one free of this want and desire for fulfillment from another, does this include freedom from the desire of sex? I believe it can be agreed on the desire of sex is biological and I’m glad that you acknowledge that in the chapter, conceding that some of the desire for sex is not merely media created, but conditioned in us since creation. Finally, if one who is enlightened does not feel the need to seek fulfillment from another, would they obtain any joy from sharing a relationship with another person?

Mike W.

Does anybody have the time??

Loy,
In "Money,Sex,War,Karma" you included a chapter entitledTrapped In Time. After reading it, and taking quite an extensive period to digest it, the cogs started turning. You idealize that to fear time is useless, as we are time, and therefore cannot have time. How we can be a part of something that is endless unless we are endless ourselves? With that being said, if there is no 'self', what is the point of differentiating between time, no time, self, no self, nothing, or everything? Is there a point, or are you trying to tell us all that all the time that we put into wondering is only going to lead us to find one of those other nothings? Are we trying to find that nothing so we lose any reason to fear anything? If nothing is nothing to fear, than what should we be afraid of? So many questions. My last question for you, Dr. Loy, is this. What is the difference between us being a part of time, and time being a part of us?

Thanks,
Alex Underhill

Cash Rules Everything Around Me, C.R.E.A.M., Get The Money, Dollar Dollar Bills Y'all

In the March 2010 issue of Shambhala Sun, Judith Simmer-Brown describes romantic love as “the primary symptom of cultural malaise, the central neurosis of Western civilization”. In class we discussed that if romantic love is the primary symptom; what could be the primary cause of this cultural malaise? One thought was our misconceptions about money are the greatest causes of dukkha. My thoughts are when we have a preconceived idea of romantic love, chances are its not going to live up to our expectations. I think this is similar to the point you make about money. Money is typically portrayed in the media as bringing happiness and because our society has this expectation of how money should make us feel, we are confused when money does not make us happy. In my opinion this would make romantic love a cause of the malaise as well. Like money, our definition of romantic love is constructed from our experiences and what others tell us. Do you think love a reality symbol like money, that we use to define ourselves, make a statement to society, instead of genuinely enjoying for how it makes us feel? What do you think the primary causes and symptoms of cultural malaise are?

Cary

Institutionalizing goodwill, generosity, and insight

Dr.Loy, I have wondered since reading the chapter "The three poisons, Institutionalized" how it might be possible to realize a system in which people and corporations alike would aim and prosper through providing more than they benefit. beyond that, how could we feasibly establish a global policy of beneficence and direct companies away from producing delusion? The influence that corporations exert seems too great and integral to out current economy to try to alter them without causing fear of its collapse, and receiving resistance because of this. The way things are, it seems that none of the big players would bite at the idea, and so long as they maintain the current status quo, nothing will be able to change on the large scale. It seems that it would be best to begin change on the individual level, but this causes me to wonder how long it might take for most people, and especially most businesses, to rid themselves of the three poisons. Considering the state of the world, I doubt the human race can properly function or benefit from current methods for much longer, and I am uncertain that the necessary change on the large scale through individuals is enough to alter our course before it ends up being too late to sufficiently mitigate what damage will be done.

-Alex L

Buddhism, I Like You, But I'd Rather We Just Be Friends.

It is extremely unlikely that I will one day pursue true enlightenment and detachment from the world. Honestly, one of my goals in life is to not live outside of craving or hope or even suffering, because I view these as important aspects of life, and I certainly do not intend to miss out on all I can experience through my beautiful emotions, overreactions and imperfections. I couldn't even be a monk if i wanted to! On the whole, there is entirely no motivation for me to seriously pursue much of ANYTHING in the way of Buddhism. I'm not striving for a "Buddhist Revolution" in any way. Despite my lack of determination to ever pursue a path of enlightenment, I still find Buddhist ideals and principles interesting, and at times helpful. However, it seems that in a discussion of Buddhist ideals, the main goal is always reaching enlightenment and realizing the truths of the universe and blah blah blah...it doesn't really seem like this is a one-foot-in-one-foot-out sort of thing, so my question is, if I have no intention of attempting to reach enlightenment in this lifetime, is there really any place in Buddhism for me?

-Halea