For the average working-class person, classical music and the works of Shakespeare possess no relevance- as they make no sense. The workers are not conditioned to understand or appreciate these middle-class entities. Shakespeare and middle-class music have evolved out of the socio-economic privilege that is the cultural accumulation of the Bourgeoisie. In reality, this Bourgeois culture should not possess any meaning or relevance for the Proletariat. This is a body of pointless words and sounds imbued with a 'speciality' that only its creators can understand. The irony is that part of the profit generated by the labour of the Proletariat - and stolen by the Bourgeoisie - has provided the detached foundation of these exclusive cultural expression. Who cares 'What light through yonder window breaks?' Where is the food, clothing, medical care and housing in Mozart of Beethoven? The Bourgeoisie, of course, already possess these things and do not need to campaign to achieve these things again. The Bourgeoisie has accumulated the cream of Proletariat profit - kept the toilers completely impoverished - and built its opulent lifestyles upon the bones of the workers. Nice words and melodious notes do not free the mind of the workers from the oppression of the predatory capitalist system. The Bourgeoisie is free in the sense that it is dominant in the exploitative System it invented. The workers are subordinate. Being subordinate - the workers are forced to exist in a manner that sees the mind and body continuously oppressed. This encourages both inner and outer conflict and ensure emotional, psychological and physical violence rules the roost - not nice words or pleasant sounding musical notes. There are two ways forward. One is to reject the working-class and fully align with Bourgeois culture (and give-up any notion of Revolution). The second direction is to overthrow the Bourgeois System - and for the workers to sieze control of the means of production.
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Art is useful to uplift the spirit (mind) and generate a broader perspective through which the world can be understood! Marx and Engels discussed often how the external world conditions the inner being - whilst the Buddha explained in detail how to identify and uproot the 'imprints' projected into the mind in the form of greed, hatred and delusion - the tripartite cornerstones of ancient Indian feudalism and modern (predatory) capitalism! This relationship between the 'old' and the 'new' explains WHY Buddhism retains its importance in the modern world and can be a useful developmental tool for the contemporary Proletariat! Of course, the Bourgeoisie also claims Buddhism for itself - the paedophile 14th Dalai Lama springs to mind - but so do any of the so-called 'Western' Buddhist movements of appropriation! Just as soon as a monetary 'price' is charged for what amounts to regulating the breathing process - it is clear the true path of Dharma has been abandoned! Capitalist endeavour is NOT the uprooting of greed, hatred and delusion - but its EXACT opposite! The White intellection that justifies this process in the numerous so-called 'journals', 'magazines' and special interest 'books' - is surely the very definition of pure evil! An example of racism through the written word! The message is simple - the White Bourgeoisie has appropriated Buddhism for its own deceptive ends - and the developing (non-White) Bourgeoisie throughout the Asian countries is prepared to 'sell' their traditional culture to the Europeans as a means to fuel this racist addiction! Buddhism, when it is successful, is the end of predatory capitalism and the end White domination! This reality is true of both the 'inner' and the 'outer' world simultaneously!
The proposition is that both Marx and religion are correct within certain boundaries of definition. I suspect that what Marx is criticising is not genuine ‘religion’ per se, but rather what I identify as ‘pseudo-religion’ - or that which passes as religion within the capitalist system. Marx has no choice but to do this as pseudo-religion is a construct designed entirely to support capitalism and draw the spiritual aspect of humanity away from non-greed and firmly into the camp of pro-greed! There is no way that Marx could construct his theory if the structures of pseudo-religion were allowed to stand! This would mean the workers would over-throw the capitalist system only to have it continuously re-established everywhere that pseudo-religion influences! Marx has nothing to say about ‘genuine’ religion as it manifests exactly the same theoretical essence as does the completed historical mission that culminates in ‘Communism’. Obviously, Marx seeks to change the inner world of humanity by transforming the outer (material) world of habitation and activity, although he does recognise that if the workers are to change the outer world they must first wilfully change (or ‘alter’) their inner (conscious) world! This is nothing less than the ‘quest’ adventures found in many (if not all) genuine religious paths. Communism is not religion, however, and must be understood as an ideology entirely outside of religion – but genuine religion does possess the inherent ability to over-lap in places with the Communist quest without contradiction or paradox. A genuine religious path, therefore, can lead a dedicated practitioner to the state of ‘Communism’ within which ALL religiosity is transcended and left behind. In this model, religion becomes a launching pad that is left behind by the rocket of Communism that blasts-off into the space beyond! This suggests that Marxism and Marxist-Leninism must re-negotiate the place of genuine religion in the quest to establish Socialism and then Communism in the material world, as this transformation of humanity will have profound implications for the conscious development of humanity and the means through which humanity pursues existence and seeks-out challenges for the next step that stimulates human evolution!
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。 Living within the capitalist West, the existential reality for a young worker is that of family which serves as a cocoon within larger society. A young worker exists to have their minds and bodies ‘exploited’ by the Bourgeois State within which they live. The purpose and function of each generation of the working-class is the maintenance of the (historical) production of continuous ‘profit’ which is ‘stolen’ and ‘usurped’ by the controlling-bourgeoisie – and used to a) construct a sound nest and b) feather that nest with every available comfort known to humanity! As the bourgeoisie control the means of production, they also control the political system, the judicial system and the type of law-making they prefer which moulds the interior of society to their liking. The predatory capitalist system is presented as ‘inevitable’ with the best the working-class can hope for is to secure semi-stable employment and save a little of their wages for a rainy day. Of course, as the bourgeoisie now ruthlessly controls the management of business and has systematically ‘crushed’ and ‘disempowered’ the Unions over the last four-decades, attaining a job is a) not that easy, and b) maintaining a job once secured for any length of time is just as hazardous. This is because the bourgeoisie use capitalist society as a trading-floor where they buy and sell working-class (human) flesh for the lowest possible prices, for the minimum of any sort of ‘guarantee’. The bodies and minds of the workers are set adrift in this sea of habitual aggression and brutal exploitation with only the agency of ‘death’ (natural or otherwise) offering a permanent ‘break’ with the system! As the ‘Communist Party’ hardly figures on the daily radar of the contemporary working-class (even though the Communist Party is the only legitimate way out of predatory capitalism for the working-class) – as it is the bourgeois system that is pumped into the living room of the average family through the TV, radio and print, media, etc. Schooling provides a sound basis in eulogising the capitalist system and in demonising Socialism and capitalism, whilst further and higher education only serves to strengthen this view through ever more sophisticated models of fabrication, disinformation and exaggeration, etc. In other words, the mind and body of the worker is assailed on every side by the pro-capitalist rhetoric of the bourgeoisie! As it takes time to dialectically work their way out of this ensnarement, coming into contact with the works of Marx and Engels, and getting to grips with the disparate nature of the post-1991 Communist situation (following the collapse of the USSR), a worker is left with the only viable option of working on the state of their own mind. As both Buddha an Marx defined human-suffering as emerging from ‘inverted’ thinking, it can be argued that by embracing an Early Buddhist approach to mind-control and bodily discipline – the greed, hatred and delusion upon which the bourgeoisie construct their society are uprooted from the mind of the individual worker – eventually [producing (through labour) a ‘new’ Socialist individual who has broken the false isolating individuality preferred by the bourgeoisie (as an isolated individual is easier to control than an empowered collective) and has opened their mind to a ‘collective’ and ‘all-embracing’ reality which allows for an inrush of correct class consciousness! This is where a worker can acquire knowledge of Buddhist meditation from a book or documentary, or locate and attend a local Buddhist temple. The point is not to embrace a community of religion, but rather utilise the Buddhist method to break free of bourgeoise conditioning and use this as an embarkation point on the sea of a new proletarian politics! A worker who has achieved this ‘breaking’ with the bourgeoisie system can then approach the complicated world of Socialist and Communist ideology with a sense of confidence and assuredness!
The German Ideology - Part I: Feuerbach.Opposition of the Materialist and Idealist Outlook9/22/2021 [7. Summary of the Materialist Conception of History]
This conception of history depends on our ability to expound the real process of production, starting out from the material production of life itself, and to comprehend the form of intercourse connected with this and created by this mode of production (i.e. civil society in its various stages), as the basis of all history; and to show it in its action as State, to explain all the different theoretical products and forms of consciousness, religion, philosophy, ethics, etc. etc. and trace their origins and growth from that basis; by which means, of course, the whole thing can be depicted in its totality (and therefore, too, the reciprocal action of these various sides on one another). It has not, like the idealistic view of history, in every period to look for a category, but remains constantly on the real ground of history; it does not explain practice from the idea but explains the formation of ideas from material practice; and accordingly it comes to the conclusion that all forms and products of consciousness cannot be dissolved by mental criticism, by resolution into “self-consciousness” or transformation into “apparitions,” “spectres,” “fancies,” etc. but only by the practical overthrow of the actual social relations which gave rise to this idealistic humbug; that not criticism but revolution is the driving force of history, also of religion, of philosophy and all other types of theory. It shows that history does not end by being resolved into “self-consciousness as spirit of the spirit,” but that in it at each stage there is found a material result: a sum of productive forces, an historically created relation of individuals to nature and to one another, which is handed down to each generation from its predecessor; a mass of productive forces, capital funds and conditions, which, on the one hand, is indeed modified by the new generation, but also on the other prescribes for it its conditions of life and gives it a definite development, a special character. It shows that circumstances make men just as much as men make circumstances. This sum of productive forces, capital funds and social forms of intercourse, which every individual and generation finds in existence as something given, is the real basis of what the philosophers have conceived as “substance” and “essence of man,” and what they have deified and attacked; a real basis which is not in the least disturbed, in its effect and influence on the development of men, by the fact that these philosophers revolt against it as “self-consciousness” and the “Unique.” These conditions of life, which different generations find in existence, decide also whether or not the periodically recurring revolutionary convulsion will be strong enough to overthrow the basis of the entire existing system. And if these material elements of a complete revolution are not present (namely, on the one hand the existing productive forces, on the other the formation of a revolutionary mass, which revolts not only against separate conditions of society up till then, but against the very “production of life” till then, the “total activity” on which it was based), then, as far as practical development is concerned, it is absolutely immaterial whether the idea of this revolution has been expressed a hundred times already, as the history of communism proves. Nikunja Vihari Banerjee (1897-1982) was much respected as an 'original thinker' as a professional academic employed by Delhi University. I first came across his work through his book entitled 'The Dhammapada' (which appears to have been posthumously published in 1989). My academic background in the UK is in 'Spiritual Metaphysics' - which means I specialise in the study of the history, culture, philosophy and political thought associated with religious movements and their impact upon the material environment. As a 'non-theist' I do not subscribe to any theistic path even though it is my duty to understand 'what' and 'how' each particular school of thought operates in an objective and non-judgemental manner. This is why I was interested in the work of NV Banerjee, as he too also seemed to share an interest in Marxist ideology and its relation to Buddhist thought. As part of my broader political activities, my function is to persuade and reassure religious groupings about the importance of their siding with the rigours of a Socialist Revolution (Marxist-Leninist) and their contributing to the building of a 'Communist' society!
I have found the work of VN Banerjee to be naïve, deficient and sometimes reminiscent of ‘Trotskyesque’ distortions of the truth! His work on the Dhammapada is arbitrary and shockingly moribund – as he even gets the Pali title incorrect! The term ‘Dhammapada’ literally translates as ‘Truthful Path’ - with ‘pada’ said to imply a ‘foot taking a step’, etc. VN Banerjee opts for translating ‘pada’ as ‘sayings’ - whilst completely negating the intended symbolism contained within this typically ‘Buddhist’ notion. This error is compounded when just a few pages on VN Banerjee admits that the Pali word ‘apadam’ actually means ‘trackless’ (as in ‘no footsteps’ are present)! He then continuously asserts that everything stated within Buddhism is evident within Christianity – whilst further suggesting that the Dhammapada has been ‘polluted’ by the very ‘theistic’ elements found in other religions! This observation is incorrect. The Dhammapada represents the diversity of the Buddha’s teaching even at the point of his death – when his community of monks certainly did not all agree on what ‘was’ and ‘was not’ said by the Buddha. Whilst pointlessly re-arranging the order of the 423 aphorisms which comprise the Dhammapada – VN Banerjee makes the only factual comments in the entire book when he observes that the Pali term ‘citta’ (mind) as used by the Buddha does not imply a ‘consciousness’ acting in opposition to ‘matter’ - but is rather a mind-concept which is itself a form of rarefied matter (an awareness ‘this side’ of matter). He also asserts that the Dhammapada – with its emphasis upon ‘right action’ as juxtaposed to ‘wrong action’ - probably aligns the Dhammapada Sutta with the Vinaya Discipline. Even so, and despite describing the thinking of Early Buddhism as ‘naive realism’, VN Banerjee fails to mention that the peculiarly ‘modern’ thought of the Buddha may well have preceded the Greeks and perhaps even influenced that development (particularly if the Buddha lived around 500-years earlier than many Western scholars assume). Another area of contention, is VN Banerjee’s equating of Buddhist ‘emptiness’ (sunyata) with ‘nihilism’ - an allegation clearly refuted by the historical Buddha at numerous times through his lifetime. Buddhist philosophy, regardless of school, rejects the extreme notions of ‘eternalism’ and ‘nihilism’ as flawed view of reality. In this regard, VN Banerjee’s viewpoint that the ‘Vijnanavada’ trend of thought within Mahayana Buddhism represents ‘subjective idealism’ denotes a Western-derived disregard for the correct interpretation of Buddhist ideology. Even the founders of the Yogacara (‘Yoga-practice’) School confirm that they agree with the Buddha that the ‘mind’ (citta) is ‘impermanent’ and is comprised of the forever fluctuating ‘five aggregates’. This being the case, nothing ‘permanent’ or ‘long-lasting’ can arise from ‘consciousness’ or ‘conscious-awareness’ of the external, material world. Human perception DOES NOT generate the material objects it senses in the external environment (as if ‘sensing’ is an act of ‘creation’) – but merely ‘registers’ that these objects are a) present and b) the qualities and characteristics of said objects. The ‘Vijnanavada’ therefore, emphasises that the pathway toward ‘Enlightenment’ is primarily through the mind (and secondarily through a disciplined body) - with an onus upon the rarefied arrangement of matter from which consciousness arises, manifests and eventually returns. None of this VN Banerjee ‘sees’, ‘understands’ or ‘acknowledges.’ VN Banerjee’s assessment of the Dhammapada is pointless as it is obvious that he possesses no genuine knowledge regarding the Buddhist teachings. This is why his book on the subject represents an exercise in futility. This brings me to VN Banerjee’s other book under consideration – namely his ‘Buddhism and Marxism – A Study in Humanism’ (1978). Again, this is a thorough (and probably ‘deliberate’) misreading of the work of Classical Marx, as contrary to the claims of VN Banerjee, Marx mentions throughout his work that human existence is a continuous interconnection between the ‘material world’ and the ‘conscious’ mind. This is obvious from a study of the ‘Theses of Feuerbach’ by Karl Marx – and numerous other works such as the ‘German Ideology’, etc. Throughout the Paris Manuscripts, for example, this idea is explored over and over again. Despite this very real acknowledgement of ‘consciousness’ - VN Banerjee writes that Marx possesses no teaching on consciousness and as a consequence, has evolved a thoroughly ‘materialist’ ideology. This is VN Banerjee falling into the trap of ‘Metaphysical Materialism’ that has been soundly rejected by all Marxist thinkers. Like the Buddha, Marx acknowledged that material reality is permanently entwined and integrated with humanity’s conscious striving to apprehend the environment for survival purposes. This being the case, it is interesting that VN Banerjee claims that both Buddhism and Marxism have ‘failed’ to save humanity from its self-imposed suffering. How would he know? What is his objective framework of reference? The reality is that Marxism and Buddhism are alike in many ways and I suspect that VN Banerjee is busy representing the Western (capitalist) view of reality which attacks and denigrates any opposition to its dominance. This is why he has targeted ‘Buddhism’ and ‘Marxism’ in his work, because he knows that in this instance East and West are in full accord and that this alliance must be broken and discredited at its source. The problem haunting VN Banerjee is that he does not appear to possess enough knowledge of either subject to ‘pull-off’ his mission’s objective! He has no idea that Marx and Engels learned about Buddhism from their friend Karl Koppen, that both Marx and Engels praised Buddhist philosophy (equating it to the thinking associated with the Classical Greek World) - or that Marx once practiced the ‘emptying the mind’ meditation practice of Early Buddhism when recuperating his health whilst resting by the sea. My own research suggests that the Buddha’s theory of ‘Dependent Origination’ (as the ‘Chain of ‘Becoming’) equates philosophically with Marx’s theory of ‘Historical Materialism’ - suggesting that Marx may well have been influenced by the underlying thinking of Buddhist ideology – albeit modified for the contemporary, Western world. To finish with, I would like to reject VN Banerjee’s assertion that Marxism sanctifies violence. Both Marx and Buddha defined a ‘false consciousness’ as comprising of an ‘inverted’ (habitual) mind-set which interprets the chain of events involving material processes as being the ‘wrong way around’, or ‘back to front’, etc. To remedy this, the Buddha changes the way the interior of the mind interprets the outer world – whilst Marx advocates the changing of the outer world as a means to change the functionality of the inner world. The bourgeois, capitalist system – which VN Banerjee undoubtedly represents – inflicts a continuous policy of psychological and physical violence against the working-class as a means to keep the masses firmly in their place and performing their task of generating profit from their labour. When the workers attempt to ‘resist’ this continuous level of inner and outer violence inflicted upon them – the controlling bourgeoisie ‘intensifies’ its violent actions and issues the accompanying propaganda statements that it is the oppressed workers who are being ‘violent’ and the bourgeoisie they are attacking are the ‘victims’. This is a classic example of an ‘inverted’ reality. This is the preferred interpretation of reality for the bourgeoisie (as it hides their true objectives) - but its logic is entirely ‘back to front’! Therefore, contrary to the ridiculous assertion of VN Banerjee that ‘Marxism is violent’ - it is the bourgeois status quo that routinely uses violence against the masses. All that Marx added to this interpretation is that the ‘working-class has a right to defend itself from these attacks!’ The ability for the working-class to defend itself is a legal right as it pre-supposes an already existing physical threat to safety that must be ‘resisted’ if survival is to be assured! Again, with VN Banerjee ‘blaming the victim’ as he expertly does throughout his work – this Is yet another clear example of his ‘inverted’ thinking and instinctive support for the bourgeoisie and their system of predatory capitalism! Although VN Banerjee’s assessment of the work of Karl Marx is deficient in my opinion, as it lacks many of the basic insights that most bourgeois academics take as granted even if they are instinctively opposed to Socialism. In this regard, VN Banerjee privileges Western (bourgeois) thinking as if he were a ‘White’ European who has settled in India and established a curious and inquisitive colony! He is, in this instance, an Asian mouth expressing a distinctly ‘Eurocentric’ attitude! In this regard, VN Banerjee appears to reflect that other victim of European colonisation – Hu Shih – who as a youth was taken from China as a punitive measure against Chinese resistance to Western invasion, and quite literally ‘brain-washed’ into rejecting ALL Sinocentric-thinking and into adopting as his own opinion the implicit attitude that ALL Asian thinking is ‘deficient’, ‘inferior’ and ‘sub-standard’ when compared to ALL forms of bourgeois ‘Western’ thinking (that is not ‘Marxist’ or sympathetic to ‘Marxism’). Hu Shih was the product of (Western) bourgeois social engineering as he grew-up to instinctively support ALL Eurocentric attitudes, assessments and interpretations, and give the false impression that Eurocentric imperialism was both morally ‘right’ and spiritually and physically ‘good’ for the minds and bodies of the Asian people – an attitude that directly opposes the views of Karl Marx! For the Western (bourgeois) world to succeed in its project of ‘wiping-out’ an ‘independent’ Asia that can stand alone in its opposition to any and all Western hegemony! Through people like VN Banerjee quite naturally allowing himself to be influenced by the Western system – he is assisting the passive colonisation process that ‘inverts’ the Marxist project of ‘exposing’ it at every turn! This ‘inverts’ Marxist ideology and gives the false impression that Marxism is the ‘illness’ rather than the ‘medicine’! The irony is that VN Banerjee’s translation of the Dhammapada Sutta does have merit when compared with the others available (generated by scholars sympathetic to the Buddhist world-view). He provides the Pali text in both the Devanagari and Roman script. This follows the Western tradition of presenting the original Pali text in (Western) phonetic transliteration – whilst presenting an Indian alphabet, so that certain scholars can check the accuracy with the original ‘source’ material. The Dhammapada Sutta is organised to inform the average reader in ancient India of the Buddha’s path from ignorance to ‘Enlightenment’ - and from the ‘mind’ being the central-point of where the training is carried-out once the physical body is suitably ‘disciplined.’ Once the experiences of everyday life are explained and dealt with – then the chapters traverse toward the ‘Enlightened’ state as a ‘monk’, an ‘Arahant’ and a ‘Brahmin’, etc. This is by no means an unusual organisation for a Buddhist text in the Pali tradition – and yet VN Banerjee states that he ‘sees no reason’ for this structure! This is similar in dereliction of opinion to VN Banerjee stating that Marxism is a ‘religion’ when in fact Marx firmly ‘rejected’ the ‘inverted’ thinking that underlies ALL theistic religiosity. This aligns with the usual bourgeois disinformation that says Marxism ‘rejects’ religion and is atheist – whilst simultaneously asserting that Marxism is a ‘secular’ ideology that ‘mimics’ all aspects of established religion whilst denying the validity of the theistic construct. Again, this assertion makes no logical sense. The religionists – according to Marx – construct images and patterns that exist ‘nowhere’ than within the psychic fabric from which they emerge, and then ‘mistake’ these images and patterns as independently ‘existing’ in the external universe (free of any connection to the mind that creates them). Established religions then construct powerful political and physical structures designed to control society and privilege the Church! None of it is ‘true’ as its entire edifice is premised upon a false theory of reality. This thinking is ‘inverted’ because a fallacious ‘thought in the head’ is mistaken for a real ‘structure in the external world.’ As Marx advocates ‘material’ science over religious ‘superstition’, the only ‘truth’ worth knowing is that of the correct, scientific understanding of the material universe, and the results of this reflected in the mind as cultivated patterns of thought manifestation. Therefore, a ‘non-inverted’ mind-set according to Marx is the consequence of the scientific analysis of the environment and the ‘correct’ corresponding thought patterns that are ‘conditioned’ into the thinking mind as a consequence. Marxism, by logical definition, therefore, cannot be truthfully referred to as a ‘religion’ in any sense of the word. Marx rejects the inverted thinking that defines a) religious thinking, and b) the maniacal search for profit that defines the bourgeois system of predatory capitalism. The point missed by VN Banerjee is that modern manifestations of established religiosity fully support the predatory capitalist status quo and its liberal political structure – as such an arrangement privileges and maintains the Church in its dominant and anti-working-class position. Marx supports the working-class seizing the means of production and depriving the bourgeois system and its religious structures of ALL political power and influence – this is why Marx ‘rejects’ the inverted thinking that defines the bourgeois system and its religious structures. The Buddha, oddly enough, also defines ‘delusion’ as an ‘inverted’ mind-set which is polluted by a false duality that misinterprets the external world and generates suffering-inducing (internal) mind-states that are riddled with the three-taints of greed, hatred and delusion, etc. For Marx and Buddha – it is the ‘removal’ of this inverted mind-set through education which sets humanity on the path of true peace, tranquillity and freedom from suffering. Communist ideology firmly rejects ‘terrorism’ or unwarranted violence as the vast majority of the victims of such violence are invariably the working-class! Whenever terrorists attack the bourgeois system – it is the bodies of the working-class that are torn asunder by bourgeois weaponry! Furthermore, overtime the bourgeois punish the working-class through systems of education that ‘brain-wash’ working-class children into unquestionably accepting their own exploitation at the hands of the bourgeois as being ‘normal’ and being ‘beyond’ any reforming or alteration. Again, VN Banerjee applies his ‘inverted’ thinking by falsely stating that it is Marxism which is inherently ‘violent’ - when in fact the truth is the other way around! Whereas Marxism rejects the inherent violence of the bourgeoisie – it is VN Banerjee who is using his expertise to ‘blame the victim.’ If the mind is cleared of its conditioned clutter, then the pristine thought processes that are exposed are able to engage the intellectual world with a far greater clarity and understanding! This ability to think with a greater strength and power of thought is referred to in within Buddhist thinking as developing the capacity of ‘prajna’ (panna) which is usually translated from the Sanskrit (and Pali) as ‘wisdom.’ Wisdom appears to be the ability to use the human mind to ‘think’ in a three-dimensional manner. This maybe compared to the normal psychological functioning of ‘two-dimensions’, etc. After clearing the mind of greed, hatred and delusion, and purging the opinion-capacity of false-thinking – then the human-mind functions at its optimum evolutionary output! Although some people, assisted by the power of the ruling class, have used their intellect to make tremendous strides in human-understanding, much of the time their developed knowledge remains obscure and difficult to access by the majority of human-beings who are part of the ‘oppressed’ class and who have no access to such empowering and progressive forces. Academic speciality tends to separate the workers from the bourgeois intellectuals but Buddhist meditation can serve as a self-administered programme of working-class ‘self-strengthening’ whereby the average worker can be transformed into an extra-ordinary thinker existing within typical proletariat conditions! Through ‘seeing beyond’ the oppressive conditions that define daily existence, the ‘enlightened’ worker can maximise the experience of life for him or herself and for everyone (and everything) living within the environment. This process can be used as part of the working-class self-organisation through unity toward Revolution and the transformation of society! Buddhist meditation gives the worker a means to transform their mind in their own time and outside of group activity or the daily grind of work. The average worker is conditioned as an individual and as a member of a class. Whereas joining the Communist Party and unionising to achieve class emancipation – the worker can sit and meditate in their own time to purposefully ‘uproot’ all historical conditioning from their own individual which has been implanted through family, community, education and employment, etc!
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AuthorAdrian Chan-Wyles PhD - Political Commissar and BMA (UK) Historian & Researcher. Archives
April 2024
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