Dan Rather Mind Science Report w/ Dalai Lama

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I am noting a lack of compassion and patience in your own responses. You are not very compassionate to people who do not follow along with your position. In this grain, you have degraded scientists and their "clumsy data" (in which course you have spoken for the Dalai Lama, going against positions that he has publicly stated about his serious interest in the good data that these studies produce and not just interested in placating scientists). Also, there is a vast number of people on this planet who could care less about Buddhism or the claims of some religious organization about practices that can make one nicer (especially when there are already other such techniques in other religions and secular understandings). So, scientific data can be very helpful in legitimizing the practice and showing that what is claimed is actually happening. You are right, of course, that those who have been doing such practices for a while are unlikely to need convincing, but that in no way downplays the significance of the scientific studies.

Secondly, I am afraid that you yourself are abiding under an apparent misunderstanding (from my perspective) on what "Buddhism" is. Despite your protests to the contrary, it is, in fact, you who are promoting the uncritical western view of Buddhism as a sort of pacifist group that has nothing to do with beliefs (if this was readily true then Stephen Batchelor wouldn't have had to come out and write a book called "Buddhism Beyond Beliefs" in which he tried to outline such a possible program. Your assertion couldn't be farther from the truth (though you can cerrtainly find various Buddhist groups and Buddhist aphorisms that might preach this ideal - for instance, the famous admonition to "Kill the Budhha!" - however, this is not always as common as you might think). Most Buddhists are sincerely devotional, faithful and fear to deviate from the "dogmas" of Buddhist textual orthodoxy. A prime example would be most groups of Pure Land Buddhists. They are intensely devotional and have a belief system very similar to Protestant Christianity (faith by grace alone). There is no way to work toward nirvana here; one must simply have faith in Amitabha Buddha and chant is name, and through his infinite compassion he will eventually take you to the Pure Lands, where you are guaranteed to enter nirvana. This is just ONE example of an endless variety of "Buddhisms" that require strict faith (in fact most of them do).

Now, Tibetan Buddhism (particularly the group that the Dalai Lama is the head - he is NOT the head of Tibetan Buddhism - just one group), does have a long line of critical introspection and logic, but the current Dalai Lama is a particularly exceptional example and, in fact, most of the history of Buddhism in Tibet is intensely devotional and faithful and still is. Just look at the way that some people treat the Dalai Lama - they really believe that he is a manifestation of Avalokitesvara. However, even the Dalai Lama's line is heavily imbedded with faith and strange beliefs (some of which become quite violent, like the murder of someone in the Dalai Lama's compound by ritual stabbing in the chakras to eliminate demonic presences in the person, who was supposed to have been subverting the true lineage).

Anyways, my major goal here is to point out that you are very 'forcefully' and 'aggressively' asserting that people should just be compassionate and just understand that compassion meditation works and just understand that Buddhism doesn't require faith, and you are, in the process, showing very little compassion and (in my opinion) very little actual understanding. I hope you recognize that I write this out of hopes for clarification and dialogue rather than 'retaliation' or 'attack'.

However, just because Buddhism has tended to have a lot of faith in it, doesn't mean that we can't, along the lines of Stephen Batchelor, try to create a Buddhism without a reliance on faith (and there is precedent). But, we must honestly look at the past and current history of Buddhism to do so, and not create a false Shangri-La that only exists in our minds.