Tolerance in an age of Intolerance.

[Emmet]

Long story short I have seen people get hurt, beat, slandered, yelled at, sworn at, marginalized, ostracized, etc. for challenging (even mildly) the views of the 'left'. In my own experience (not at all a reflection of the whole world) it is a problem. There are also very serious problems from the 'right'. Frankly, there really are just problems stemming from suffering, ignorance, and a fundamental unwillingness to listen and people's clinging to THEIR ideas.

I would like to end this with a far more poignant reminder, which should act as a pillar to practice and living in harmony with as many beings as possible:

'Zen mind is beginner's mind. A beginner's mind is a compassionate mind. A compassionate mind will change the world.'

This, I feel, should be a fundamental cornerstone in everyone's practice and life. I have formed connections with everyone kind of human imaginable, and it's wonderfully enriching, to be with people.

I wish everyone hear happiness, peace, joy. That is all.

Gassho,

Brad

SatLah

Yeah; the Right has "very serious problems" all right; ultranationalism and imperial militarism abroad; authoritarianism and ethnic cleansing at home, all under an overarching ethos of insatiable greed, violence, and White supremacy; and what can only be described as a thanatotic attempt to exterminate all life on earth as expeditiously as possible. Call me "clinging to my ideas" all you want, but my Buddhism (such as it is) doesn't extend New Agey, pop-psychology, "I'm OK; You're OK" BS, false equivalencies, and contrived toleration where Fascists, neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan and their fellow travelers are concerned. The last time Fascist ideology was treated gently with courtesy and respect, 60 million people were killed, and if my intolerance for other's intolerance gives rise to bruised feelings of White male victimhood, oh well. Considering the profound suffering and death being inflicted upon millions of beings here and abroad, I have a really hard time empathizing with that...actually, a really hard time caring about that at all.
I simply don't understand why anyone, particularly Mahayana bodhisattva-wanna-be's, would ascribe to 969-style Buddhism.

FAIR DISCLOSURE: My mate is a Muslim immigrant, my brother was Gay, my niece is a Mexican national, miscellaneous other nieces & nephews are of Draft age, and they and their progeny will inherit the sweltering wreckage of a thoroughly depleted and uninhabitable ecosphere we've left as our bequest.

[Risho]

here’s the thing and frankly it turns me off in the current buddhist zeitgeist; Brad Warner talks about this; I’m not a fan of virtue signalling, engaged buddhist nonsense. I do not need to adhere to a specific political leaning to practice zen. further, I don’t think the right is the only problem; I think the left has quite a few too; I honestly feel that most people are reasonable and moderate but the media/social media exacerbates things quite a bit. I think that both sides have a problem where they speak over each other and have lost the ability to comport themselves as leaders and adults, our president included. I believe racism exists but white people don’t have a monopoly on it; cultures all over the world are racist; it doesn’t make it right but I just want to bring perspective. I also don’t think the us is so horrible; we are far from perfect but the us is a good country.

finally I believe nazi is being thrown around quite liberally; there are crazies out there no doubt, but just because someone is rightwing does not make them racist, just because someone is liberal doesn’t make them communist. The world is not ending; it will be ok.

gassho

rish
st

[Junkyo]

Well this has been a very interesting thread to read! Thank you to all who have posted, as well as to Rob H for starting it.

I have always found politics very interesting. I won't say much on the idea of political correctness as I think it has been fairly well covered already in this thread. Instead I just want to take a moment to share a few observations I have made while watching the news/social media over the last few years.

I think it is important to recognize that there is a lot of "manufactured" rage in our media. Various group use divisive language, and often twist the facts, to rally a particular base of people. I do not find that this is a "left or right" problem, I think both sides are doing an equal amount of it.

I feel that it is also important to recognize that we are very much influenced to "judge" everything as either left or right, conservative or liberal etc. Rather than focusing on a social issue, and the best way to remedy it, we are often encouraged (through media) to pick a side and defend that one stance (even if it may not be the best one). This seems to happen with both political issues as well as social ones (although they are so intertwined it is hard to separate one from the other).

This is all really counter intuitive to what we are taught in Buddhism and Zen. If I touch a hot stove and it is painful, removing my hand makes the most sense! The stove is not "bad" for being hot, and it does not help my situation to become angry at the stove! It is a stoves "nature" to be hot. I was just the dummy who touched it.

I think it is more important to look at our political and social issues, and make decisions based on what helps, and avoid decisions that cause harm (or further harm). We shouldn't be letting the "us versus them" idealism get in the way.

Unfortunately human nature is, well, human nature; and it is in our nature as humans to discriminate, judge, and categorize. I doubt that this will change in the near future!

I suppose the best we can do is try to be a part of the solution, doing what we can to alleviate suffering to what ever degree we each have a capacity for.

Just some thoughts.

Gassho,

Junkyo
SAT

[Hoseki]

Howdy folks,


I think its OK to say that we live as Buddhists try to live with one foot in emptiness and the other in form. Its only by standing with both feet firmly planted that we walk the path. But like any walking we have to put our weight on one foot when we lift the other. So we oscillate between these perspectives as we go about our lives. But as emptiness is form and form is emptiness our actions work on two levels. As Jundo mentioned in a previous post (I can't remember where) when we are sitting its kind of formless so the precepts help guide us navigate the world when we experience it as form. But the precepts can't give us the answers so much as orient us towards a solution. But the precepts are only one piece of the puzzle. The decision one arrives at under the influence of the precepts will be different depending on the values they already have. For example, if its world war 2 and the Nazi's ask if your hiding Jewish people in your house you lie. Even though the precepts say we shouldn't use false words to be truthful would mean their deaths and possibly yours and your families as well. If we value the lives of these people enough to hide them surely breaking the precepts here is understandable. Does that make sense to everybody? Does anyone disagree? I've met people who have in the past.

So with that mind where does contemporary politics come in to play? I think it has to do with how the precepts work in conjunction with our existing values (which can change of course.) I think this is why we can have Buddhists across the political spectrum. If you go to https://www.yourmorals.org/ you can complete surveys that can help you identify you articulate your values as well as show you where you match up with the people who've already completed the surveys. I think that might help explain why you feel the way you do.

So I think this is a helpful way of thinking about these types of conflicts. That said, I think we need to also recognize the extent that the social meliu we grew up in influenced the formation of those values and how that intern provides the framework for the discriminating mind. We see the world through the lens of concepts that we picked up when we were growing up. So what one might call moderate in one circumstance may appear extreme to others (this isn't to say there aren't limits.) alternatively we can see both sides as sides of the same coin even through they are very different. We need the conceptual understanding of their positions (as well as historical precedents) to really get a good grip on their differences and the implications that follow.

For me, I have trouble thinking of Buddhism (from the form perspective.) as being anything other than left wing but that clearly doesn't reflect the history of Buddhism yet I think the people who disagree with me are wrong. Am I correct? probably not but the judgement comes from the discriminating mind. Does that make sense to anyone?

At least these are my thoughts on this without going into specifics.

Gassho
Hoseki
Sattoday/lah

[Ippo]

Well this has been a very interesting thread to read! Thank you to all who have posted, as well as to Rob H for starting it.

I have always found politics very interesting. I won't say much on the idea of political correctness as I think it has been fairly well covered already in this thread. Instead I just want to take a moment to share a few observations I have made while watching the news/social media over the last few years.

I think it is important to recognize that there is a lot of "manufactured" rage in our media. Various group use divisive language, and often twist the facts, to rally a particular base of people. I do not find that this is a "left or right" problem, I think both sides are doing an equal amount of it.

I feel that it is also important to recognize that we are very much influenced to "judge" everything as either left or right, conservative or liberal etc. Rather than focusing on a social issue, and the best way to remedy it, we are often encouraged (through media) to pick a side and defend that one stance (even if it may not be the best one). This seems to happen with both political issues as well as social ones (although they are so intertwined it is hard to separate one from the other).

This is all really counter intuitive to what we are taught in Buddhism and Zen. If I touch a hot stove and it is painful, removing my hand makes the most sense! The stove is not "bad" for being hot, and it does not help my situation to become angry at the stove! It is a stoves "nature" to be hot. I was just the dummy who touched it.

I think it is more important to look at our political and social issues, and make decisions based on what helps, and avoid decisions that cause harm (or further harm). We shouldn't be letting the "us versus them" idealism get in the way.

Unfortunately human nature is, well, human nature; and it is in our nature as humans to discriminate, judge, and categorize. I doubt that this will change in the near future!

I suppose the best we can do is try to be a part of the solution, doing what we can to alleviate suffering to what ever degree we each have a capacity for.

Just some thoughts.

Gassho,

Junkyo
SAT

That was a really nice post to read Junkyo! My 'political energy' is spent engaging in the community here. I liked 'the best we can do is try to be a part of the solution' in whatever capacity we can. It's wonderful. I've seen the effects of a thousand small acts of kindness, here in the developing world (and developed). People die EVERY day because they can't afford medicine, food, etc. I've also seen how 'right action' can have such profound impacts on even ONE individual; it can trump the collective impact of a life-time of spewing opinions, anger, etc. It's wonderful knowing we actually can do something, take action.

I will now get off this forum, and go do something useful . I hope any who read this, know we have more power to enact change then we realize. If we have the energy to post, we have the energy to act (even in small capacities).

Gassho,

Brad

SatLAH