Author’s Note: What follows is a diary entry included in Alexander Werth’s epic 1947 book that records the events surrounding the momentous Battle of Stalingrad - which occurred in 1942. Werth spent much of the war-years between 1941-1945 ensconced as a BBC Journalist in the USSR and witnessed first-hand the brutality of the Catholic-supported Nazi German invasion - and attempted genocide - of that country’s population. Of course, the USSR was in fact fifteen diverse countries united in their joint other-throwing of the Bourgeoisie and the vicious capitalist system it practiced. At least three of these Republics, although ‘Socialist’, were nevertheless historically and culturally ‘Buddhist’. A number of Red Army regiments were formed containing ‘Buddhist’ men and women who fought bravely to defend the USSR from external attack! Of course, the West exercises a mixture of racially motivated ‘ignoring’, ‘disinforming’ and ‘misinforming’ when it comes to recording Soviet history. Soviet ‘Buddhists’ were good Communists – as Werth records. Furthermore, as we live in changing times in Bourgeois society - the manner in which Werth describes 'Tanya' is a product of his time and considered today as being 'insensitive' at best and 'discriminative' at worst. I certainly do not endorse this type of demeaning narrative. On the other hand, the historical data Werth conveys is infinitely valuable in the face of wall-to-wall US anti-intellectualism. Think for yourselves and make-up your own minds. As the (British-educated) Werth could read, write and speak Russian fluently, (he was born in Russia - but his family migrated to the UK when he was very young), he takes a rather stern and overly critical attitude toward the Soviet method of providing authoritative translation textbooks (conveying correct Russian to Asiatic language translations and vice versa) – which were then deployed amongst the non-Russian populations by specially trained Cadres of young people who could not necessarily understand the language of the non-Russian ethnicities to any great degree (as they did not have to). This Soviet method allowed a few genuine experts in all the included languages to centrally compile these textbooks - which were then printed in their tens of thousands and quickly distributed freely to the masses – thus enhancing communication and cultural exchange. In a very real sense, Cadres such a ‘Tanya’ featured below – acted as a proto-search engine – with the caveat that unlike the universal translators of the modern internet age, the translations she supplied were ‘correct’ and ‘sound’. Once again, if indeed another example is needed, we see the ‘corruption’ of the Lamaist system of landlordism which the Communist Party of China has thoroughly over-thrown in Tibet and China! Although John Snelling – of the Buddhist Society in London – once published a book about ‘Buddhism in Russia’, he did so by completely ignoring the English language evidence provided by Werth, a fellow Britain who had lived in the USSR for many years of his life! After-all, people like Snelling were pursuing the hidden agenda of conforming to the strictures of US anti-intellectualism during the so-called ‘Cold War’ and misrepresenting the USSR through the agency of Buddhism. For the record, I do not agree with the arbitrary ransacking of temples or stealing Buddha statues – as this is the behaviour of the Western imperialists (a process which can be clearly observed in the British Museum). Local people taking matters into their own hands, however, is an issue involving the self-governing of Revolutionary activities, and the situation explained below should be interpreted in this context. (25.9.2023) November 23 (1942) ‘The other day I got to know, through Ludmilla, an enormously fat girl, tall, red-cheeked, and ginger-haired, called Tanya – with legs like Doric pillars. She seems to be vaguely married to somebody – or divorced; I don’t know. Anyway, this formidable fat blonde is said to drive all the Caucasians and Asiatic crazy, whenever she visits their countries. She’s on a good racket. She translates into smooth Russian verse the works of Azerbaijan, Buriat-Mongol, Yakut and God knows whatever poets. She doesn’t know any of their languages, of course, but she is given a literal translation, and then concocts a poem with roughly the same idea, and it’s often called “Translated from the Buriat-Mongol,” etc. It’s a well-paid and well-encouraged racket, and she claims that Stalin himself was delighted with her Buriat-Mongol Poems. It’s done in the name of a closer acqiantance amongst the peoples of the Soviet Union, and these “translators” are given some wonderful facilities by the Writers’ Union. Thus, Tanya, has travelled by plane, ship, carriage, reindeer, sleigh, railway, and every other means of locomotion all over Western Siberia, and Yakutia, and right up to the Siberian Arctic coast, and all through Central Asia and Mongolia, and also the Caucasus. She is full of good stories about life in Yakutia, now quite a reasonably large town, and almost a metropolis in north-Siberian terms, and about all the remarkable adventurous characters one meets there – trappers, and sea captains who sometimes hibernate in the Bear Islands and Wrangel Island. She also tells stories of Buriat-Mongolia – of the secretary of the Obkom who as a youngster became famous for killing the most notorious bandit of the region; he came home one day and threw the bandit’s head on the family dinner-table, much to his mother’s horror. “He has an extraordinary face,” said Tanya, “very and pale, a perfect Mongolian face, with grey temples and black fiery eyes.” He had also led the young people’s revolt against the Lamas. When the Buriat-Mongolian Communists heard Stalin had expressed approval of Tanya’s translations from Buriat-Mongolian, they ransacked a distant temple and presented her with a whole trunkful of Buddhas. When I went to her flat the other day – she shares her house with some other people – I found that she still had a few Buddhas left; the rest had been looted by her friends, while some had been destroyed in the bombing of Moscow last year when there was a fire in the house where she was living. One of the Buddhas she carries around everywhere and seems to be very superstitious about it. She also owns a remarkable brass statue from a Buddhist temple – an unbelievably erotic affair.’ Alexander Werth: The Year of Stalingrad, Simon, (2001), Book III - The Defensive Battle – Chapter V - Moscow in October and November, Pages 327-328 English Language Reference:
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Author’s Note: The book entitled ‘The German Ideology’ was written by Marx and Engels around 1846 – but could not be published at that time (despite attempting to do so) for various reasons (indeed, it is remarkable to consider that this text was not eventually published until 1930). As history unfolded - and world events took shape - this manuscript became forgotten and was even gnawed by mice! Forty years later in 1886 (and three-years after the death of Marx in 1883) - Engels rediscovered this very important manuscript and penned a mature overview of it entitled ‘Feuerbach and End of Classic German Philosophy’ (from which two quotes are extracted in this essay). As ‘Buddhism’ and ‘Ancient India’ are mentioned – this material can be added to the ever-growing body of research data related to Marx and Engels regarding this subject. Although during the 1800s the ‘Theosophy’ movement was busy reinventing Eastern religious thinking and practice in its own (Eurocentric) image, it is important to remember that Buddhist Enlightenment is not ‘god’, the Buddha was not ‘Jesus’ and the ‘mind’ does not (and cannot) generate the material world through the power of its thought! Within the Buddhist teachings the mind is impermanent and only (temporarily) exists whilst a living (human) body is in-touch with the material environment it inhabits – via the six sense-organs perceiving the corresponding six sense-objects. When this interaction is broken, the mind ceases to exist and therefore does not (and cannot) pre-exist the physical conception of the individual body - or post-exist the death of that body, etc. Probably through the correct influence of Karl Koppen, Marx and Engels appear never to have fallen into the ‘Theosophy’ trap which has done so much to re-shape Asian Buddhism into its Western (Bourgeois) equivalent! The historical (Indian) Buddha placed the physical universe as the basis from which all existence evolves. It is only in the Bourgeois appropriation of Buddhism that the ‘mind’ becomes an all-knowing and all-conquering ‘god’ that creates the material world upon a whim! This is nothing but an ‘inverted’ myth which millions of people in the West dedicate themselves to following generation after generation – as it has become a very lucrative aspect of consumer capitalism! Marx and Engels, whilst recognising the existence and importance of Buddhism, nevertheless, never quite manage to include it in the same subject as theological religion. Of course, although NOT a religion in the conventional sense, Buddhism does sometimes serve that function for individuals and communities, and so whilst being distinctive and useful to the ideology of Marx and Engels, its religious associations can never quite be fully ignored either! ACW (20.1.2023) ‘If Feuerbach wishes to establish a true religion upon the basis of an essentially materialist conception of nature, that is the same as regarding modern chemistry as true alchemy. If religion can exist without its god, alchemy can exist without its philosopher’s stone. By the way, there exists a very close connection between alchemy and religion. The philosopher’s stone has many godlike properties and the Egyptian-Greek alchemists of the first two centuries of our era had a hand in the development of Christian doctrines, as the data given by Kopp and Berthelot have proved. Feuerbach’s assertion that “the periods of humanity are distinguished only by religious changes” is decidedly false. Great historical turning-points have been accomplished by religious changes only so far as the three world religions which have existed up to the present – Buddhism, Christianity and Islam – are concerned. The old tribal and national religions which arose spontaneously, did not proselytise and lost all their power of resistance as soon as the independence of the tribe or people was lost.’ Friedrich Engels: Feuerbach and End of Classical German Philosophy (1886), Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels Selected Works (In One Volume), Lawrence and Wishart, Third Edition, (1973), Page 602 - (Entire Article Pages 584-622) - First Edition (Progress Publishers) 1968 – USSR ‘We will now in addition deal only briefly with religion, since the latter stands furthest away from material life and seems to be most alien to it. Religion arose in very primitive times from erroneous, primitive conceptions of men about their own nature and external nature surrounding them. Every ideology, however, once it has arisen, develops in connection with the given concept-material, and develops this material further; otherwise, it would not be an ideology, that is, occupation with thoughts as with independent entities, developing independently and subject only to their own laws. That the material life conditions of the persons inside whose heads this thought process goes on in the last resort determine the course of this process remains of necessity unknown to these persons, for otherwise there would be an end to all ideology. These original religious nations, therefore, which in the main are common to each group of kindred peoples, develop, after the group separates, in a manner peculiar to each people, according to conditions of life falling to their lot. For a number of groups of peoples, and particularly for the Aryans (so-called Indo-Europeans), this process has been shown in detail by comparative mythology. The gods thus fashioned within each people were national gods, whose domain extended no farther than the national territory which they were to protect; on the other side of its boundaries other gods held undisputed sway. They could continue to exist, in imagination, only as long as the nation existed; they fell with its fall. The Roman world empire, the economic conditions of whose origin we do not need to examine here, brought about this downfall of the old nationalities. The old national gods decayed, even those of the Romans, which also were patterned to suit only narrow confines of the city of Rome. The need to complement the world empire by means of a world religion was clearly revealed in the attempts made to provide in Rome recognition and altars for all the foreign gods to the slightest degree respectable alongside of the indigenous ones. But a new world religion is not to be made in this fashion, by imperial decree. The new world religion, Christianity, had already quietly come into being, out of a mixture of generalised Oriental, particularly Jewish, theology, and vulgarised Greek, particularly Stoic philosophy.’
Friedrich Engels: Feuerbach and End of Classical German Philosophy (1886), Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels Selected Works (In One Volume), Lawrence and Wishart, Third Edition, (1973), Page 618 - (Entire Article Pages 584-622) - First Edition (Progress Publishers) 1968 – USSR By Yang Chengchen LHASA, March 27, 2022 (CNS) -- March 28 is the 63rd anniversary of the liberation of millions of serfs in Tibet. The book "When Serfs Stood up in Tibet" was written by American writer Anna Louis Strong in 1965 and is still one of the best books for anyone to understand the history of Tibet’s democratic reform.
In 12 chapters, Strong makes an important observation about Tibet, the snowy plateau, as part of the foreign press in 1959, when the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) suppressed a rebellion seeking to overturn democratic reform. In the preface of its English version, Israel Epstein, the Polish-born journalist, commented that Strong’s narration was “close to the facts” and her "approach and the actual development of reality are in harmony." The book’s perspective is still valuable today 60 years after Tibetan serfs were emancipated. However, the description of Tibet has been distorted more or less from reality by some western media, converting Tibet into an imaginary and idealized place that never existed. Uncritical thinking, lazy reporting, and even deliberate misreading of Tibet are still prevalent in Western media sources. These are arm-chair writers who hold the view that Tibet is the one that exists only in their imagination, refusing to recognize or willing to admit "actual development" in the real Tibet. Since the 1990s, with the development of criticizing Orientalism, post-colonialism, and cultural hegemony, the impression of Tibet under the influence of the western context has aroused extensive reflection. People should realize that the so-called spiritual Tibet, like Shangri La, does not exist. This land, which was in the grip of the feudal serfdom for thousands of years, was never a spiritual land for most of its people. Exploitation, oppression and material concerns could be frequently witnessed here in the old society. The title "When Serfs Stood up in Tibet" was true for the vast majority of people in Tibet in 1959. According to Strong’s personal observations, Tibet was undergoing a dramatic reform, which rejuvenated this snowy plateau. The author witnessed youth coming back to the land, which had been unchanging for hundreds of years by the feudal serfdom. At that time a new vision was shared among the people, the fate of the land was in their own hands and a democratic Tibet was being built. In fact, this vision has largely been realized by the people of all the various ethnic groups in today’s Tibet. The people on this snowy plateau can see all of the possibilities, which are now revealed in the full development of the unique, mysterious, and rich Tibetan culture. Just a casual investigation into the history of Tibet would reveal that primitive feudalism controlled the land until the middle of the last century. Serf owners in Tibet, who accounted for less than 5% of the population, possessed all cultural and educational resources and monopolized material and spiritual wealth due to their control of political and religious power. Women, even of the upper class, and monks who were in charge of important temples such as Jokhang Temple, in Lhasa, were deprived of the right to education, and were not allowed to read newspapers or any modern books. The vitality of Tibet, which had been suppressed by this antiquated social system, found new life in this land due to socialistic democratic reform. Today, a new inclusive cultural system has been established in Tibet, with new shared wealth created with a value of more than 6 billion yuan. The illiteracy rate in the old Tibet was as high as 95%. After the establishment of a modern educational system, ordinary people can enjoy 15 years of free public education, and the average length of education has been increased to 13.1 years. To over romanticize, even "exoticize", Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism will not help anyone to understand Tibet or its place in the larger Chinese national community. "To build a paradise on the roof of the world" was a slogan hung on the streets of Tibet in 1959. At the time, the 10th Panchen Erdeni Lama, Chökyi Gyaltsen, told the press, which included Strong, "the Tibetan people are walking towards happiness from now on". Today, 63 years later, the actual development of Tibet demonstrates the truth in these words. The Chinese government is sparing no effort in continuously improving the roof of the world, which can be witnessed and welcomed by all people. A better Tibet belongs to China and the world. People’s Daily Reporter Liu Tao: (刘韬)
(Translated by Adrian Chan-Wyles PhD) One of the main contents of "The Pearl of Snow-China Tibetan Culture Week", has been the Buddhist monk exchange symposium held in Hong Kong this afternoon (16.7.2005). The theme of the symposium was "Buddhism and the Construction of a Harmonious Society". Living Buddhas (Tulkus) and Senior Monks from Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Hong Kong - together with Buddhist researchers - discussed the relationship between Buddhism and the construction of a harmonious (Socialist) society, as well as the interconnection and very good relations that typifies Sino-Tibetan Buddhism. Recognised experts expressed their opinions on various topics regarding the broad subject of how a harmonious society might be constructed. More than 100 people from all walks of life including Han and Tibetan Buddhists, Buddhist believers and students attended the symposium. The chairman of the Hong Kong Buddhist Federation, Venerable Kwok Kwong (觉光长), said in his speech that the Buddhist philosophy of compassion, equality for all beings, selflessness, altruism, and conscious awareness of others, is ideal for social harmony and world peace, as well as ensuring peace and harmony between people within society. Qinghai Provincial Committee of the CPPCC Vice Chairman Sina (西纳) Living Buddha (Tulku) believes that Tibetan Buddhism is a religion of peace which advocates harmony, seeking common ground while recognising differences, practicing inclusiveness, advocating harmony and praising peace. Tibetan Buddhism has always been committed to advocating equality, respecting compassion, purifying people's hearts, and opposing war. These core concepts and spiritual values of Tibetan Buddhism also reflect the requirements for building a harmonious society. In the process of building a harmonious socialist society, the harmonious concept in the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism should be brought into play, and the Tibetan Buddhist community should be organized and guided to build a harmonious society. Tibetan society makes its own contribution toward the building of (Socialist) society. Saichang Lubsang Huadan (赛仓·罗桑华丹) Living Buddha (Tulku), a member of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC in Gansu Province, said that Buddhism advocates compassion and self-improvement. To obtain psychological balance, and then to enhance the spiritual realm of people; to provide a "detoxification mechanism" for society, to maintain social stability and spiritual ecological balance. The Duoji Tashi (多吉扎西) Living Buddha (Tulku) from Ganzi Prefecture of Sichuan said that Buddhism is a people-oriented religion. To learn Buddhism, you must first learn to be a human being. To build a harmonious society is based primarily upon the establishment of a noble personality. You need to work hard to improve your personality and reduce selfishness. Buddhist psychology purifies words and deeds, and emphasises respect and care for others, whilst observance of social ethics of fairness and justice are consistent with its genuine practice. Everyone will abandon evil and all will do perform good actions – this will surely lead to social harmony and national tranquillity. Hong Kong’s Dharma Master Juezhen (觉真) believes that Buddhism is the belief of the entire people of Tibetans, Mongolians, Dais, and Tus. Strengthening the unity of various ethnic groups, enhancing social cohesion and building a harmonious society are not only the advantages of Buddhism, but also the common aspiration of Buddhists. Individual Buddhists and Buddhist organizations should serve society with the Buddha's compassionate spirit, devote themselves to charity and public welfare, care for disadvantaged groups, rescue the poor, help the poor, and play an important role in safeguarding the unity of the Socialist Motherland, strengthening national unity, and expanding friendly exchanges with foreign countries. Chinese Source Article: http://news.sina.com.cn/o/2005-07-16/21506452528s.shtml 佛教高僧座谈“佛教与构建和谐社会”(图) 人民网香港7月16日电记者刘韬摄影报道:“雪域明珠——中国西藏文化周”的主要内容之一,佛教高僧交流座谈会今天下午在香港举行。座谈会的主题为“佛教与构建和谐社会”,来自西藏、青海、甘肃、四川等地的活佛高僧与香港的佛教高僧、佛学研究者等,就佛教与构建和谐社会的关系,以及汉藏佛教如何为构建和谐社会做出贡献等话题发表了自己的意见。汉藏佛教界人士、佛教信众和学生等各界人士100多人出席了座谈会。 香港佛教联合会会长觉光长老在致词时说,佛教的慈悲思想,众生平等,主张自利利他、自觉觉他,就是为了社会和谐与世界和平,以及人与人之间的和合和睦。青海省政协副主席西纳活佛认为,藏传佛教是和平的宗教,主张以和为贵、求同存异、兼容并蓄、崇尚和谐、褒扬和平,始终致力于提倡平等、推崇慈悲、净化人心和反对战争。藏传佛教的这些核心理念和精神价值也体现了构建和谐社会的要求,在构建社会主义和谐社会的过程中,应发挥藏传佛教教义中的和谐理念,组织和引导藏传佛教界为构建和谐社会做出自己的贡献。 甘肃省政协常委赛仓·罗桑华丹活佛说,佛教主张慈悲为怀、自贵其心,这个基本主张在构建社会主义和谐社会的过程中,有着独特的作用:对个人可提供安身立命之处,以求得心理平衡,并进而提升人的精神境界;对社会则可提供一种“解毒机制”,维护社会安定和精神生态平衡。来自四川甘孜州的多吉扎西活佛说,佛教是以人为本的宗教,学佛首先要学习做人,而构建和谐社会,正是以高尚人格的建立为基础,需要努力提高自己的人格修养,减少自私自利的心理和言行,尊重、关心他人,遵守公平正义的社会公德,这与学佛修行是一致的。人人都诸恶莫作、众善奉行,必定会社会和谐、国家安宁。香港的觉真法师认为,佛教是藏族、蒙古族、傣族、土族等民族的全民信仰,加强各民族的团结、增强社会凝聚力和建设和谐社会,既是佛教的优势所在,也是佛教徒的共同心愿。佛教徒和佛教团体应以佛陀的慈悲精神服务社会,投身慈善公益事业,关怀弱势群体,救灾济困,助学扶贫,并在维护祖国统一,加强民族团结,扩大对外友好交往等方面发挥重要作用。 In and of itself, Marxist ideology is very difficult to understand without committed study, experience and dialectical debate. This is absolutely fine if an individual is lucky enough to be born into a Socialist State which possesses a progressive education system. If an individual lives in a Socialist State – then all the components exist within their educational environment that are required to facilitate this process. As no bourgeois ‘inversion’ exists, and given that there is no longer any capitalist corruption or exploitation, a young person is educated within an a priori ‘Marxist’ milieu where there is no contradiction or deliberate policy of ‘undermining’ this reality! So far, so good. However, if a person is born into a predatory capitalist society, then any attempt at securing a sound Marxist education is very much an experience of swimming against the current. As persecution is rife, it is very difficult to establish and secure a Marxist educational foothold within a capitalist society outside of relatively small and isolated ‘special interest’ groups (such as in the ‘free’ education classes offered by the various branches of the now disparate Communist Party). As we live in a predatory capitalist society, and given that we cannot readily access a Communist Party branch, what can be done to assist a Marxist education? Obviously, in this sense all Marxist education is ‘self-education’ due to the fact that mainstream education is dominated by the ideology of the ruling bourgeois class. Everything is pre-set to present Marxism in a thoroughly disjointed and despised ideology that is opposed to the well-being and aspirations of the working-class. The bourgeoisie is of the opinion that the only reality that benefits the working-class is that of continued oppression and subjugation to the bourgeoisie. Anyone honest worker who lives in this nightmare knows full well that this is a ‘lie’ from top to bottom – and that when they read the work of Marx and Engels – their minds and bodies feel ‘empowered’ and ‘strengthened’ regardless of personal circumstance – and this is just the effect of the written word presented within a non-inverted format. Therefore, a worker must read and study all things ‘Marxist’ (excluding Trotsky whose work represents the ‘inverted’ mind-set of the bourgeoisie). This process will probably ‘empower’ and ‘confuse’ in equal measure at the beginning of the process. Das Kapital, for instance, is often described as being so clever that it is difficult to grasp its full scope and impact – even after two or three readings! Of course, not all of the work of Marx is this specialist in presentation – and he wrote ‘The Manifesto of the Communist Party’ as a substantial and excellent foundation to his anti-capitalist thinking. My experience of Buddhis meditation has assisted me in preparing my mind for the work of Marx and Engels to ‘make sense’. As a child I had a terrible first-part to my education in the UK – barely being able to read and write until I was ten-years-old. The second part of my education was much better and I had to rush to catch-up once my ability to read and write was on a par with the other children. As I experienced a terrible start to my education, this made me realise just how important the ability to read and write actually is for the working-class! Without being ‘literate’ Marxism will remain an opaque subject. I have found that if I read a section of a Marxist text and then meditated for 30 minutes – any confusion or misunderstanding I originally had quite literally ‘falls away’ and the original meaning of what Marx intended shines through! I repeated this training policy for many years, particularly during my late teens and early twenties. Focusing my mind upon my breath, and putting into practice the various methods of the Chinese Ch’an School. By focusing the mind in upon itself – the obscuring ‘ignorance’ (which is like a bourgeois-derived self-limiting mechanism – a form of inner oppression) is ‘dissolved’ through precise and exact concentration. This allows the non-inverted basis of my true-mind to ‘unite’ with the non-inverted true-mind that Marx is writing from. Where I needed to break the inner obscuration within my mind through Buddhist meditation (imported from my capitalist environment) - whereas Marx and Engels already possessed this frequency of mind through natural evolution. As for myself, I had to use Buddhist meditation to reach the same frequency of reality. Once my surface mind was cleared of its habitual obscuration, my understanding capacity increased dramatically, as did my intellectual ability to engage with new texts and comprehend the meaning correctly and exactly on the first reading. My view is that Buddhist meditation, as it uproots greed, hatred and delusion, is quite naturally ‘anti-capitalist’ in nature, is nothing other than an early version of ‘Marxism’ suitable for the historical epoch within which it manifested.
I fully recognise that the human species is communal and has evolved from an extended family base that became tribal. Indeed, human collectivity has been the strength underlying human (biological) evolution in general, and cultural development specifically. What, then, is the purpose, value and meaning for humanity (as a whole), for an individual pursuing a solitary path? What does it mean to be 'solitary'? Can a human being be truly isolatory? Is it possible to leave human society completely or even partially? What is it that is being left? From what is the individual removing him or herself from? To where are they relocating? What changes when an individual supposedly 'leaves' society? From a philosophical position it would seem that 'leaving society' might be a 'tautology' - more of a convention than a practical reality, and yet something tangible does appear to 'change'. Firstly, there is an inner change in orientation usually coupled with a concerted change in behavioural patterns. Indeed, 'leaving society' seems to be primarily a decision about abandoning one set of behaviours whilst embracing another. What is abandoned is the ordinary or expected patterns usually associated with the conventions of everyday life. Although there are grades of disengagement from everyday life - the more stringent examples include the rejecting of commercial labour (that is labour for profit), but not usually labour in principle. Personal (amorous) relations are purged from the expectations of the mind and body - as are any associations and interactions with family members and family structures. These are remarkable realignment of outward behaviour, but their purpose is to create an external (sensory) environment that generates the conditions for a profound change to occur in the functionality of the inner psychological and biological processes of the body. An outer physical transformation is required because without this impetus it is doubtful that will power alone could furnish the requisite strength of purpose required to permanently 'change' the frequency through which the mind and body operates. This being the case, is living in isolation in reality simply another definition of collective existence, albeit existing 'outside' of the convention that usually defines what many believe communal living actually is? If course, as the individual living in isolation still inhabits exactly the same physical world after supposedly 'leaving' it - and given that no one disappears or that anything changes to any great extent - it must be the case that 'leaving society' is really a redefinition of the physical phenomena of the world and of the manner in which these processes interact. Nothing changes except how the physical world is interpreted. However, although this may appear to be a superficial definition, throughout human history, it is clear that great historical and dialectical forces have been unleashed and harnessed that have brought down (and established) dynasties, empires, religious movements and social orders, all premises on markers of outer differences and distinctive modes of inner thought. Gods have come and gone, spirits have emerged and been exorcised and many different types of nature worship have come and gone. Yet the ability for a man and woman to live peacefully in the metaphorical (and actual) hills has often provided the inner (and outer) stimulus for great spiritual, artistic and engineering achievements to be conceived in the mind, built through the control of the body and put to use for the benefit of humanity. In this model, the direction of travel is easy to discern - from isolatory inspiration to purposeful application to collective human society in general. How did this happen? What is the pattern that grants this kind of inspiration? It seems that by consciously ‘withdrawing’ an individual is entering a ‘different’ type of collectivity – one that is not necessarily common or obvious to the rest of humanity. There appears to be a ‘gathering’ of inner and outer energy – a combination of psychological creativity and physical strength and healthy robustness! This intensification of the over-all energy available to the participating individual is ‘focused’, ‘directed’ and ‘intensified’ through the act (and experience) of ‘isolation’. It is as the ‘herd’ is seen better from a distance and understood to a greater degree. As an individual is part of the herd – it is the same as stating that the ‘herd is looking at itself in a particular manner’ - and none of this at this juncture has to have anything to do with ‘religion’ as such or even specifically. Taking a step back allows for the human mind to adopt a wider scale of observation and thereby ‘select’ a more effective mode of interactive behaviour that is designed to alleviate the greatest amount of collective suffering with the least (or most ‘efficient’) amount of individual effort. Although perhaps associated with the monkish disciplines – even those undergoing specialist education in the secular world still have to ‘withdraw’ from regular society to attend a school and become a ‘student’. A certain ‘isolation’ from mainstream reality is acquired to define what is a ‘different’ approach to understanding and interpreting reality! It could be that by adopting the meditative style of the monastic – a style of being considered the most ‘efficient’ for self-isolating – the secular student could achieve a much more profound appreciation of their subject matter! The forces of historical materialism, for instance, together with the waves of dialectical transformation could be easily perceived as unfolding through the inner and outer world! Surely, this is the Revolutionary power of isolating for self-education.
Although the Buddha’s assessment of physical reality seems very ‘modern’ in its use of logic and reason, is his notion of enlightenment relevant to a modern world that is dominated by science? What relevance does a Buddhist viewpoint have in a world that no longer accepts religious dogma in a blind and one-sided manner? Even if the Buddhist philosophy is placed to one-side and Buddhist enlightenment is reduced to perceiving the empty essence of the thinking mind, so what? How does this ability assist humanity in a world of measuring matter, observing processes and continuously striving to understand more about material existence? How does the Buddha’s idea of leaving the world help a person living in the modern world understand that world better? Of course, the honest answer is that it does not. Seeing into the empty fabric of the mind does not build houses, feed people or cure diseases. As an ability, it does not generate an income and cannot pay the bills. Leaving the world does not offer any contribution to making the world a better place. For the Buddha, an individual removes themselves from the most obvious causes of physical and psychological suffering. This suffering he associates with the conventional life of a lay-person participating in marriage, child-rearing and working for a living. This includes the activities of commerce, politics and warfare, etc. Interestingly, the Buddha advocates a moving further into abject poverty as all work is abandoned as a manifestation of desire. Once a regular income is denied, then it becomes a matter of sustaining the life of the individual through the indifferent eating of waste-food acquired by the monastic through the act of begging. Even so, as begging does not guarantee a daily meal, a semi-state of starvation becomes the norm. What is the point of this lifestyle? The Buddha states that all of humanity’s suffering stems from the traits of greed, hatred and delusion continuously operating in the mind, which manifest without end through a corresponding set of physical behaviours in the outside world. Cutting-off and uproot these three traits in the mind and the corresponding behavioural patterns will cease to function in the outside world. When the root of humanity’s suffering is permanently uprooted in the mind and purged from the body, then there exist no more suffering-inducing conditions to plague the individual. However, as life in a capitalist society relies entirely upon ‘greed’ and ‘selfishness’, the Buddhist path is obviously ‘anti-capitalist’ and renders the individual impotent and unable to effectively participate in a greed-orientated society. Of course, things are different within a Socialist society, as a ‘selfless’ individual who profoundly cares for the ‘welfare’ of others is exactly this type of ‘altruistic’ society requires for each of its citizens. An enlightenment achieved within a capitalist society proves to the experiencer that all greed is thoroughly incorrect and counter-productive toward the achieving of human happiness. In other words, a genuine Buddhistic experience grants the insight that the world of predatory capitalism is immoral, backward and the source of all human suffering! Capitalism is clearly perceived as existing entirely due to an unquestioning of human ignorance! Once the mind is cleared of its capitalist corruption, then the individual acquires the ability to comprehend not only the higher teachings of the Buddha but also the dialectical meaning contained within the work of Marx, Engels and Lenin! This would suggest that the Buddhist ideology, if pursued within its proper Asian context, leads the practitioner to an innate understanding and comprehension of the ideology of Scientific Socialism as formulated by Marx and Engels, and developed by thousands of other Revolutionary leaders ever since! Of course, bourgeois Buddhism – or that teaching which is mixed with the Judeo-Christian tradition to exclusively serve the socio-economic system of predatory capitalism – is nothing but a ‘bogus’ Buddhism used by privileged ‘White’ people as a leisure activity and simple play-thing. As this is the most common Buddhism functioning in the West, Buddhism in this guise has no relevance for freeing humanity or in the appreciation of Communist ideology. This is the fake Buddhism of ‘feeling good’ and of temporarily ‘escaping’ from the woes of everyday life for short periods of time. No one practicing this ogre of misrepresentation can ever clear their minds of greed, hatred and delusion, as all this ‘playing’ does is strengthen the functioning of greed, hatred and delusion! This shadow of Buddhism ‘strengthens’ capitalism and gives it’s a greater stability in the minds of the practitioners. This is why bourgeois Buddhism is nothing other than a collaboration with capitalism and the exploitation of the working-class! Anyone can read the Pali and Sanskrit Buddhist teachings, and apply the teachings themselves as part of their study of Marxist-Leninist ideology. Indeed, meditating and calming the mind allows for a preparation of the intellect so that it can more readily ‘absorb’ the profound lessons inherent within the teachings of Scientific Socialism and the work of Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Ho Chi Minh, Che Guevara and Thomas Sankara, etc. Ethnic Buddhist communities in China, Laos and Vietnam use this method to integrate their communities into the Socialist System! It is exactly the same method used by the three or four Buddhist Republics that were part of the Soviet Union! Although Buddhism is certainly not required for the successful learning of Marxist-Leninism, nevertheless, if it already exists it can be useful as a method of working-class empowerment!
Although I do not believe in the literal reality of any religious teaching – my academic speciality is that of ‘religious thought’ and ‘religious practice’. This follows on in the Soviet tradition and the current situation in Mainland China. As various ethnic groups are required to be ‘integrated’ into the Socialist System, an expert knowledge of religious knowledge at the political level is required to implement this transition. A Socialist or Communist academic living in a Marxist-Leninist State, must be free of any religious ideology in the primitive sense, and be able to objectively study, understand and predict the behaviour of those who ‘literally’ believe in religious mythology. Such an academic is an advanced dialectical human-being who understands Marxist-Leninism (and its variants) exactly, and is no longer inhabiting the ‘inverted’ mind-sets that propagated religious ideology in the first place! The rational human mind must be brought into play to clear the ‘fog of religion’ as Lenin called it – whilst still understanding why religious groupings think and act as they do. This understanding is crucial to predict problems before they start, and to guide the religious communities into thoughts and behaviours more complicit with life in a progressive, Socialist society! Religion is transitioned into a ‘private’ affair for the masses, and is removed’ from the ‘public’ space. Religion is moved from all positions of political power and business interference! As religion was originally a vehicle for personal salvation in an indifferent world – these changes must be explained to the religious groupings in a manner that they understand without conflict or resistance! This is not always an easy task, but it is an essential task. Religion, like philosophy, can be fully understood by the secular and atheistic mind. Once it is understood, it can be guided and moulded so that it benefits from being within a Socialist States, and yet does not interfere in the political process. Furthermore, as the ‘classroom’ is separated from the ‘Church’ - religious leaders must be taught to understand the ‘new’ rights that his community now possess. Conservativism is now no longer required or allowed, and so a religious leader must take responsibility in guaranteeing that his community is able to register for welfare, housing, medical employment and education opportunities – offered either free of charge or highly subsidised by the Socialist State! All religions must now support the Socialist System and have no relationship with the bourgeois community or reactionaries of any kind. Should a religious leader enquire ‘how’ he or she is supposed to present these requirements to his or her community – a Political Commissar tasked with integrating religious groupings into the Socialist System must be ready with a profound and relevant answer that can be clearly explained and put into action!
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AuthorAdrian Chan-Wyles PhD - Political Commissar and BMA (UK) Historian & Researcher. Archives
April 2024
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