Pop culture is not the way

When I began to become interested in Zen in the early 1960s, at this time, I had no idea how much Western culture had been greatly injured and deceived by WWII especially, by communism.  After the war, with the sharp rise of consumer culture came also pop culture.  Looking back, from what I can tell pop culture overtime became gradually more nihilistic which is where we are today.  I hasten to add that this strong sense of nihilism from pop culture led me to Zen.

Pop culture is incapable of rising to a higher state of being.  It is certainly not interested in the rich stores of mysticism that Buddhism offers.  On the same score, this is not to imply Western culture is also nihilistic which includes its literature, music, art, law and science.  The two cultures are quite different and quite apart.  

If you watch the nihilist closely, he has no interest in true knowledge but, instead, wants its destruction. Already he is dehumanized and alienated. He is also a conformist.  He cannot tolerate those who want no part of his pop culture; who don’t find the disgust the nihilist finds with Western culture.

A nihilist is a man who bows down before the sensory world, especially, his own senses and desires; who does not take any principle on faith.  

Do not be deceived by him although it is easy to be deceived.  This is why a nihilist cannot become a Buddhist or a Zennist.  They have no faith in the transcendent.  They are only waiting for another sensual pleasure or another drug high.  And recently I discovered that very angry and often depressed.

 

Comments

[Avalon]

Your chosen response to my previous comment seems precipitated. Perhaps the second sentence in said comment should have been attended to more carefully before you continued reading the rest of it.

My response wasn't a reflection on your behavioral ethics, or thoughts concerning this encounter, but a reflection of the mind itself and the various paths it chooses at any given moment it dwells in a continuum of constant wave-interference.

[MStrinado]

BTW, Ol' Avie, your comment here strikes me as most strange given your own, "compassionate", Bodhisattva-like responses in the past under your plethora of sad aliases....

["Azanshi; What is your spiritual practice? What do you recommend to others?"

My practise is unworldly. Don ´t bother to ask how and where. It´s way over your head.

You know, Java Junkies hilarious comments about your deplorable lack of wisdom are quite entertaining. Sure made me laugh. Anyone who tries to distort the dharma as much as you do, Clyde-boy, is surely dumb. I mean dumb as the guy, who after having purchased a gun at the nearest shop, tried to shoot his shadow for pointing a gun at him! Now if that is not real dogen-zen, what is?"]

[The clye clown wrote;

"I believe it is well accepted that Ch’an/Zen was/is known as the “meditation school” and that zazen (“seated meditation”) is the primary (but not the only) practice."

For most spiritual bozos, ignorance is to a certain point, bliss. To you however you will soon find how painful it can really become. But smile, you can always see it as buddhist joko beck zen practise - a weird kind of western white boy testament, where a do not harm potsmoking hippie mind set can be as beneficial as the noble wisdom of a genuine zen sage-grins.

I will though continue kicking spoiled white boy one-thumb-in-mouth-other-on-blanket- weirdos, expecting to be served the same sweet cup of hot chocolate-buddhism as they are by their smooth talking "mommy" (read. buddhawannabe roshi) in the nearest feel good/don´t hurt my feelings zen center.]

Ever consider that this gentleman was just being sincere in his question and statements? Hypocrite!

[MStrinado]

Nice try ol' "Avalon" (Yeah, right!)...

Fail miserably on one forum and try to score points here--bravo! Nuthun doin! ;-)

[Avalon]

Interesting comment. The spatio-temporal mind is such an expert in making traps for itself, in a continuum generated by and for itself.

"sniffling-madly as they munched on their subs while one was incessantly on his smartphone reading about Trump, who they both were obsessed with. They also had a very pale complexion that is reminiscent of drug-addicts."

There are three possibilities of what actually took place;

Two sentient beings, with a beginningless backlog of suffering, expressed this"sniffling" act before you, and all you perceived was thus "two very angry and depressed beings reminiscent of drug-addicts",

or,

two bodhisattvas of superior noble wisdom performed a very good act of expedient means (upaya) and allowed your own mind to determine and assert its own level of self-deception; this based on its distorted perception of absolute reality contra an empty display of ever-changing conditions.

If the first possibility is true; did you share your good light of noble wisdom as to alleviate and perhaps allow them to change their path of suffering into a path of self-realization?

If the second possibility is true; did this nice little act of skillful means, and sharing the light of compassion, alleviate your own mind from the habit of constant discrimination between myriad conditions of what is not real, contra what is?

The nihilist, and even agnostic, would most certainly put weight on the first possibility and engage his mind in the events of said possibility.

The self-appointed monk, and aspiring bodhisattva would most certainly engage in the second possibility, as to recognize the errors of his mind and thus strive to fine tune his practice of distinguishing between the suchness of the real contra its self-empty waves of ever-changing conditions.

Then again, a real bodhisattva, of proper spiritual awakening, would just perceive the luminous pure essence of Mind Only, and as per ascending practise in its all-encompassing body, allow its mind to stay attuned to the reality of this jewel, without "counting" the incoming and outgoing waves, transfixing the senses of the ordinary worldlings.

If the third possibility is even remotely true, can such a "spiritual" being ever engage in a single exchange of genuine alleviating compassion with that which expresses suffering before it? If so, how? And if not here and now, where and when? ;)

[MStrinado]

You are describing the type of nihilist who is at the vanguard of the far-left which is presently afflicting much of the western world.

Synchronistically, I encountered two such gentlemen the other day at the sub shop. They were obviously "traveling on the road" (one asked me what my city was known for), sniffling-madly as they munched on their subs while one was incessantly on his smartphone reading about Trump, who they both were obsessed with. They also had a very pale complexion that is reminiscent of drug-addicts. Truly very angry and depressed, like you stated.