Many people are surprised to learn that Thich Nhat Hanh’s main teacher was ‘Thich Quang Duc‘ – a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who burned himself in protest to the Western (and ‘Catholic’) imperialist invasion of Vietnam. This is because Thich Nhat Hanh and his Western acolytes were highly successful in distancing his perceived history from this fact. Why did this happen? What drove an Asian Buddhist to side with his Western persecutors? The West has appropriated Asian Buddhism with very little protest from the small number of ethnic Buddhists living in the West. This has nothing to do with condoning this process of what might be termed ‘spiritual theft’ and everything to do with the reality that Buddhism as conceived and practiced in the West is a perverse ‘inversion’ of what it is in Asian and has been throughout history for over 2,500 years or more. Most Westerners, for instance, are so used to reaching for their credit card when they pick up their ‘mala’ that most would be incredulous to learn that the historical Buddha himself, considered it a spiritual offense to demand money (or any form of payment) in exchange for receiving instruction in the ‘Dhamma’ or his understanding of reality. Indeed, whilst thousands of Westerners crammed into meditation halls ‘at a cost’, the only genuine Buddhists in the world were living in poverty-driven enclaves throughout Asia (these being the products of Western imperialism) and suffering from periodic bouts of ‘death’ caused by the tens of thousands of bombs dropped upon Asian countries by the US Airforce. This historical process of the aggressive West blowing the bodies of ethnic Buddhists to smithereens has happened throughout India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, China, Japan, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, etc. Individual Buddhists, their temples and their communities were thoroughly destroyed in the name of Eurocentric dominance and greed – whilst elements of that destroyed culture were imported into the West to be used in the process of capitalist exploitation – a preferred bourgeois mirror-image of the hellish reality generated out of sight and out of mind. The misrepresentation of Buddhism has been a lucrative business fie not only the White community, but also to those Asians who have aligned their minds and bodies with it, such as the 14th Dalai Lama, Li Hongzhi and Thich Nhat Hanh, etc. All these are examples of Asians who have sat at the head of a vast money-making empire that has ‘sold Buddhism’ to Westerners – whilst those same the governments elected by those same Westerners have chosen to blanket-bomb large swathes of Asia for ideological reasons. Surely, such Asian leaders in the West are guilty as Buddhists of breaking every one of the prohibitions and guidelines contained in the Noble Eightfold Path and the spiritual guidance contained in the Four Noble Truths. Not to mention the hundreds of moral restrictions formulated throughout the extensive Vinaya Discipline! This betrayal of Buddhism and the Asian people is exactly how I would like to remember the Traitor to the Vietnamese people – Thich Nhat Hanh – who sat quietly counting his money (a practice termed ‘pacifist’ by his Western admirers and hangers on), whilst the bombs paid for by the tax dollars of this followers were dropped by the governments those followers elected into power! This is the image I have of Thich Nhat Hanh and the image through Thich Nhat Hanh will be remembered by the vast majority of ethnic Buddhists living throughout Asia!
0 Comments
Even a cursory glance of the media today, will expose the latest fad for ‘mindfulness’ - invariably followed by numerous lists of ‘top ten facts about Buddhism you didn’t know’ - which are mostly wrong, misinformed or otherwise blatantly ‘racist’! If the bourgeoise really practiced Buddhist mindfulness – then the predatory capitalism they so admire would be permanently ‘uprooted’ from their minds and they would fall-in behind the working-class adding their voices to the mass call for a Socialist Revolution! As the ‘mindfulness’ the bourgeois practice actually ‘strengthens’ their commitment to predatory capitalism it can be logically assumed that ‘Buddhism’ has nothing to do with this narcissistic process. The Buddha’s teaching is inherently ‘anti-capitalist’ and it is interesting to observe how modern Thailand – under its decadent monarch – possesses a society that has been swamped by US capitalism, politics and militarism, and which sees the bodies of Thai women and girls used for the sexual gratification of ‘foreign’ men, etc. The Western capitalism that the ruling elite allow into that country misuses the Buddhist culture and keeps the populace in a state of perpetual poverty and exploitation. Even within the previously hallowed arenas where Muay Thai matches take-place between warrior-monks practicing an ancient martial art – fearuring ‘Coca Cola’ signs hanging proudly at the back of the seated arena so the film footage always features two-fighters, a ring and a virulent symbol of American capitalism infiltrating and colonising an Asian country! Just as US predatory capitalism is slowly destroying the ancient Thai culture in Asia, US anti-intellectualism is performing the same effect for all practical purposes in the West with regards to the understanding and practice of genuine Buddhism. The Buddha identified that the untrained mind of ordinary humans is riddled by greed, hatred and delusion, and that it is these three traits that cause perpetual suffering for humanity (and all forms of life)! Buddhist ‘mindfulness’ is NOT a vehicle that facilitates a Westerner feeling of ‘niceness’ for a moment or two (like puffing on a joint) - far from it – Buddhist ‘mindfulness’, when performed properly, is the beginning of a path toward self-purification that seldom runs smoothly and invariably involves an increase in the experience of human suffering! It is not a path of ‘joviality’ and ‘mirth’ as suggested by the misled followers of the corrupt 14th Dalai Lama! NO! Uprooting greed, hatred and delusion is a very serious business that has nothing to do with modern, bourgeois concepts of ‘feeling temporarily good’ - usually for a ‘price’, of course. Even modern Thailand – a place thoroughly over-run by US predatory capitalism, corruption and human degradation – the average Thai would never dare to ‘charge’ money for Dharma instruction! This is through the fear of receiving a hellish karmic recompense in return for associating such blatant ‘greed’ with the ‘non-greed’ implicit within the Buddha’s teachings! The Western mind seeks to retain its ignorance and ‘feel good’ about doing it. This is NOT Buddhism and certainly NOT Buddhist ‘mindfulness’. If a Westerner practiced genuine ‘mindfulness’, then the first casualty in this spiritual war would be his or her support for predatory capitalism – and as we never ‘read’ this as ever happening in the Western press we can safely assume that a) genuine Buddhism is not being practiced and b) Buddhist ‘mindfulness’ is NOT present and has NEVER been present! This bourgeois misuse of ‘mindfulness’ matches that decadent class’s equally odious misuse of Buddhism – which sees the already wealthy pay hundreds of pounds to spend a weekend on a country estate breathing the fresh-air and being momentarily ‘removed’ from the stresses of modern life!
The Western philosophical and religious tradition has often assumed that 'thought' is separate and distinct from 'matter' - as if arising within (and representing) a 'non-material' and 'unseen' realm. However, the above-linked neuroscience research offers proof that 'thought' is a physical phenomenon that possesses physical characteristics and can be both 'observed' and 'measured'. Moreover, all trends in bourgeois science confirm the observations of Karl Marx - but 'stop' only at the measurement of matter - adopting an ideological position of ignoring the socio-economic conditions that humanity has created throughout its long evolution, and which a) influence and b) manipulate how matter manifests and c) conditions 'how' this matter is 'interpreted' in the best interests of the ruling class. Bourgeois science exercises a brutal control of material resources so that its class dominance can be perpetuated and defended (often through naked aggression and warfare). What is interesting is that bourgeois science perpetuates the myth of 'neutrality' as its public face - whilst behind the scenes it cooperates fully with the bourgeois system it serves, supports and endorses. Although bourgeois science is continuously 'proving' the attitudes and opinions of Marx (and Engels) correct - this fact remains suppressed as the bourgeois system itself does not want the masses 'knowing' or 'understanding' this, and thereby being 'influenced' into 'changing' the dynamics of the 'class' that runs and administers Western society. It is probably correct to say that the world prior to the rise of capitalism (and the bourgeoisie control of society) possessed a much more uninhibited and fertile ground for 'free thought' (outside of religion) than it does today - but that without Marx (and Engels) to focus this thought, it lacked the potential for meaningful Revolution!
Dear Comrade (Swagatam Chakma)
Thank you for your very interesting email. Marx and Engels both had a very high opinion of Buddhism and had learned about the Dharma from their good friend - Karl Koppen (Early Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism). Indeed, Marx is even recorded as practicing Buddhist meditation to 'rest his mind'! There were at least three Buddhist Republics in the USSR and the Soviets had academic experts tasked with learning about every aspect of Buddhist philosophy and Buddhist culture. In the Soviet movie '1917' a Chinese-Buddhist Temple in the USSR is featured. Of course, in 1928, Joseph Stalin founded an academic department specialising in Buddhist studies. Today, China, North Korea, Vietnam and Laos now pursue the concept of 'Dharma' and 'Socialism' being one and the same in essence! Please feel free to translate any of the BMA- UK articles into the wonderful Bengali language. With Metta Adrian Kind Attention: Mr. Adrian Chan-Wyles PhD Buddhist-Marxism Alliance (UK) Dear Sir, May I introduce myself for a noble task (at least for my nation). I am Swagatam Chakma, a Buddhist by birth, hailing from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh. Our CHT region is mainly inhabited by Buddhist population, where Islam is being spread very quickly under the patronization of a vested quarter now a days. On the other hand our political leaders of the region considers Buddhism an 'opium', since they are the true communists, as they claim. I did find your articles as blessings, quite useful in eradicating such wrong notions and concepts about Buddhism. If translated into Bengali language and circulated widely in our region, the articles will help us find the right path towards political emancipation and reduce our undue sufferings. Therefore, I would be grateful if you please give me your kind consent/permission to translate and publish the articles into Bengali. Thanking you in anticipation. Best regards, Swagatam Chakma Dhaka, Bangladesh Mobile: 01715-778753 |
AuthorAdrian Chan-Wyles PhD - Political Commissar and BMA (UK) Historian & Researcher. Archives
April 2024
Categories
All
|