Strange to think ... who else except believers would gather to listen to the author of "Buddhism Without Beliefs?" And without disrespect I do wonder if Batchelor thanks his lucky stars for the believers and beliefs of which he might claim to despair. Every man has got to put spaghetti on the table one way or another, so, OK ... "believers" or "Buddhism" ... why not?
Strange again about beliefs....
Beliefs do nothing so much as underscore the doubt they were built to escape.
Beliefs invariably rely on a past that no one can grasp ... and yet people live in the present: Now there's a basis for uncertainty.
Belief will trip up the believer with the same certainty that disbelief will ... believe 'em and you're cruisin' for a bruisin'; disbelieve 'em and you're cruisin' for a bruisin'.
Truth and falsehood ... same stuff, different day.
Shunning and embracing amount to the same thing.
So what then?
I see nothing wrong with beliefs.
But there's nothing saying you have to believe them.
Just noodling ... just chasing my tail ... just realizing it's time for breakfast.
"Beliefs do nothing so much as underscore the doubt they were built to escape."
ReplyDeleteOoo...I like this one...I believe (LOL) it's the best one I ever heard. Thank you Adam.
Yes Bambi
ReplyDeleteAdam,
ReplyDeleteBatchlor's book is very interesting. I think would would agree with much of what he has to say.
Are you going to the talk? Will you report back to us?
Assuming I have the energy, I think I might.
ReplyDeleteBefore I start I have just flown back from sunny climes which was great..we are having a looooong winter here, but I am probably even more incoherent than usual.
ReplyDeleteI would be very interested to see what you think of him Adam.
We used to live near Stephen and his wife Martine before they moved to France.
I have said before that I think you and he would get on.
He walks the talk. Has little time for doctrine and spends a lot of time sitting.
Peter -- Glad if you were properly toasted in your getaway and happy to hear your encomiums for Batchelor. I do doubt that I am well-positioned enough to "get on" with him.
ReplyDelete"He walks the talk. Has little time for doctrine and spends a lot of time sitting" but apparently still has lots of time to globe-trot and promote his brand of beliefs...
ReplyDeleteThe fact that they travel extensively does not alter the fact that they both sit for several hours a day. And that they are enormously kind and generous people of great integrity who have given practical help and support to large numbers of people.
DeleteHe is a former monk, she a former nun.
They still live with an almost monastic simplicity.
That's walking the talk in my book.
He doesn't hate ppl like some ppl?
DeleteAlways seemed to me (afar) like someone who never quite made the deal, so made up his own system of beliefs to account for the limitations he encountered. and why not? It sells.
ReplyDelete