Spirituality: Blues for Buddha

Being critical of Buddhism isn't easy.

Buddhism is the most likable of the major religions, and Buddhists are the perennial good guys of modern spirituality. Beautiful traditions, lovely architecture, inspiring statuary, ancient history, the Dalai Lama - what's not to like?

Everything about Buddhsim is just so... nice. No fatwahs or jihads, no inquisitions or crusades, no terrorists or pederasts, just nice people being nice. In fact, Buddhism means niceness. Nice-ism.

At least, it should.

Buddha means Awakened One, so Buddhism can be taken to mean Awake-ism. Awakism. It would therefore be natural to think that if you were looking to wake up, then Buddhism, i.e., Awakism, would be the place to look.

::: The Light is Better Over Here

Such thinking, however, would reveal a dangerous lack of respect for the opposition. Maya, goddess of delusion, has been doing her job with supreme mastery since the first spark of self-awareness flickered in some chimp's noggin, and the idea that the neophyte truth-seeker can just sign up with the Buddhists, read some books, embrace some new concepts and slam her to the mat might be a bit on the naive side.

On the other hand, why not? How'd this get so turned around? It's just truth. Shouldn't truth be, like, the simplest thing? Shouldn't someone who wants to find something as ubiquitous as truth be able to do so? And here's this venerable organization supposedly dedicated to just that very thing, even named for it, so what's the problem?

::: Why doesn't Buddhism produce Buddhas?

The problem arises from the fact that Buddhists, like everyone else, insist on reconciling the irreconcilable. They don't just want to awaken to the true, they also want to make sense of the untrue. They want to have their cake and eat it too, so they end up with nonsensical theories, divergent schools, sagacious doubletalk, and zero Buddhas.

Typical of Buddhist insistence on reconciling the irreconcilable is the concept of Two Truths, a poignant two-word joke they don't seem to get, and yet this sort of perversely irrational thinking is at the very heart of the failed search for truth. We don't want truth, we want a particular truth; one that doesn't threaten ego, one that doesn't exist. We insist on a truth that makes sense given what we know, not knowing that we don't know anything.

Nothing about Buddhism is more revealing than the Four Noble Truths which, not being true, are of pretty dubious nobility. They form the basis of Buddhism, so it's clear from the outset that the Buddhists have whipped up a proprietary version of truth shaped more by market forces than any particular concern for the less consumer-friendly, albeit true, truth.

Yes, Buddhism may be spiritually filling, even nourishing, but insofar as truth is concerned, it's junkfood. You can eat it every day of your life and die exactly as Awakened as the day you signed up.

::: Bait & Switch

Buddhism is a classic bait-and-switch operation. We're attracted by the enlightenment in the window, but as soon as we're in the door they start steering us over to the compassion aisle. Buddhists could be honest and change their name to Compassionism, but who wants that?

There's the rub. They can't sell compassion and they can't deliver enlightenment.

This untruth-in-advertising is the kind of game you have to play if you want to stay successful in a business where the customer is always wrong. You can either go out of business honestly, or thrive by giving the people what they want. What they say they want and what they really want, though, are two very different things.

::: Me Me Me

To the outside observer, much of Buddhist knowledge and practice seems focused on spiritual self-improvement. This, too, is hard to speak against... except within the context of awakening from delusion. Then it's easy.

There is no such thing as true self, so any pursuit geared toward its aggrandizement, betterment, upliftment, elevation, evolution, glorification, salvation, etc, is utter folly. How much more so any endeavor undertaken merely to increase one's own happiness or contentment or, I'm embarrassed to even say it, bliss?

Self is ego and ego is the realm of the dreamstate. If you want to break free of the dreamstate, you must break free of self, not stroke it to make it purr or groom it for some imagined brighter future.

::: Maya's House of Enlightenment

The trick with being critical of so esteemed and beloved an institution is not to get dragged down into the morass of details and debate. It's very simple: If Buddhism is about enlightenment, people should be getting enlightened. If it's not about enlightenment, they should change the sign.

Of course, Buddhism isn't completely unique in its survival tactics. This same gulf between promise and performance is found in all systems of human spirituality. We're looking at it in Buddhism because that's where it's most pronounced. No disrespect to the Buddha is intended. If there was a Buddha and he was enlightened, then it's Buddhism that insults his memory, not healthy skepticism. Blame the naked emperor's retinue of tailors and lickspittles, not the boy who merely states the obvious.

Buddhism is arguably the most elevated of man's great belief systems. If you want to enjoy the many valuable benefits it has to offer, then I wouldn't presume to utter a syllable against it. But if you want to escape from the clutches of Maya, then I suggest you take a very close look at the serene face on all those golden statues to see if it isn't really hers.

::: About the Author

"Jed McKenna is an American original." -Lama Surya Das

Jed McKenna is the author of "Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing" and "Spiritually Incorrect Enlightenment", published by Wisefool Press. Coming in 2005: "Spirituality X" and "Jed McKenna's Notebook". Visit http://www.WisefoolPress.com to learn more.

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


The Science of Enlightenment

I would like to share my experience, working with the... Read More

Chakras 101

The chakras are different coloured energy centres that originate from... Read More

Esoteric & Occult Secrets

To understand the nature of esoteric and occult secrets it... Read More

Integrating Soul And Science

"Spirit is beyond the void of space. This realm, beyond... Read More

Living Your Noble Purpose

"A common jar of clay can never become a noble... Read More

The Many Waters, Lauretta Lueck

The Many Waters explores the universe and sifts through the... Read More

The Reality of Fairies

No, I have never seen a fairy, an angel, nor... Read More

Spirituality: Living the Whole

The words 'new age' and 'spirituality' can have people running... Read More

Mankinds Ten Worst Enemies: #2 Arrogance

According to H. G. Bosch, the newspaper cartoonist H. T.... Read More

Actualizing Personal Truth

Self-actualization comes down to three basic premises: this is who... Read More

Self-Realization How It Can be Achieved Within Ones Life Time

Before we dwell on the subject of Self Realization we... Read More

What Is The Secret of Life?

The question isn't, "Is there life after death."Rather, the question... Read More

Oh, God. What Do I Do Now?

Uh, oh. I'm in trouble now. I found God. Now... Read More

By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them

Military personnel at a U.S. prison in Guantanamo, Bay, Cuba... Read More

The Dark Side of Spirituality

On reading Susan Cato's Time Magazine Canada piece titled, "In... Read More

Universal Meaning of Celtic Knotwork

In the spring of 2003, I spent three weeks in... Read More

Spiritual Surrender: Let Nature Be Your Teacher

Although spring is just around the corner, there have been... Read More

Angel Connection ? How the Angelic Realm is Interacting with Humanity at this Historic Time

Angels, those divine beings of love and light, are here... Read More

Integrity and Spirituality

The concept of integrity has arisen often in discussions of... Read More

Spirit and the Law of Cause and Effect

Most of our troubles are bought about by exercising our... Read More

Write Your Own Magic

Recently, I received a postcard from Ireland. Without reading the... Read More

Holy and Unholy Numbers

Many of our great religions hold that numbers contain hidden... Read More

Home of God

The first hymn of Isha Upanishad says - whatever living... Read More

Globe Unity

Most of us think of what a wonderful world this... Read More

God Became Man

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.... Read More

There is Light at the End of the Tunnel - Just Get Out of Your Way !

There is light at the end of the tunnel, but... Read More

The Spirituality of Pigeons!

I was walking down the street the other day, walking... Read More

A New Beginning

Sometimes showing up for life can seem like a major... Read More

Candle Burning to Petition the Male Saints

Last NAN I explained how to petition the female Saints... Read More

Gods and Energy

An interesting question that frequently comes up is "Which Gods... Read More

Moving On Gracefully: Leaving Your Spiritual Group

While there are alot of warnings and admonishments regarding what... Read More

Whats Up With the Bad Reading?

A lot of times when I am reading people on... Read More

Trust in God

Ecclesiasts 5:18 Then I realized that it is good and... Read More