How does Buddhism see postmodernism?

We all recall a time when in an unaware state of mind we stepped on some dog doo-doo and got it onto our carpet.  What gave it away was the smell at which point we looked at our shoes.  We didn't have to study the crap on the soles of our shoe.  The smell was enough to tell us this was dog doo-doo. 

With postmodernism, there is a certain smell which comes with it.  Read people like Derrida, Lacan, Foucault, Deleuze and Guatarri, or Kristeva.  It’s all directed against the logos (I have in mind Derrida’s term phallogocentrism) in favor of chaos or living a chaotic life of little or no worth.  Ironically, the postmodernist cannot adequately define logos which is a Greek word that is often used in a very technical, and specialized sense which is much like the Sanskrit word dharma.  We get a clue of this when Heraclitus treats it as the underlying organizational principle of the universe.  Plato also uses it in a variety of technical ways such as the opposition between mythos and logos in which the latter is the true.  Logos is used by Aristotle in the sense of reason in an ethical context.  It is used by the Stoics as the active force of the universe, etc.  The list goes on of the many uses of logos.  In the modern world its most common form is logic/being logical in the sense of something that convinces or proves. 

Postmodernism doesn’t care about any of this.  It’s mind is already made up; it is unconsciously set upon chaos, defined, generally, as a state of utter confusion completely wanting in order.  A fall into chaos is where Marxism’s ideology leads the masses.  Marx should be recognized as the progenitor of postmodernism that later will take up the communist banner but without the hammer and sickle.  Marx began by carefully and diabolically pitting the bourgeoisie against the proletariat which ultimately led to chaos.  The postmodernist diabolically pits the oppressor against the oppressed, and begets chaos. 

Through the degeneration of the Western university, which once represented the logos, it now, unconsciously, represents chaos in the example of the humanities and the social sciences which are almost entirely postmodern in their outlook. 

Today, the real picture is Western civilization and culture are fighting a war against a chaotic mob/group rule in which the latter are unaware of their malevolence; who would gladly see their opposition in a prison or destroyed in a war.

Buddhism, as we might expect, is not based on chaos but on logos or dharma.  Buddhist or Zennists who say otherwise have not read either the fundamental texts of Buddhism or studied the Lankavatara Sutra which is the basis of Zen Buddhism.  The failure of modern Buddhists and Zennists to see the logos/dharma in Buddhism is a testimony to how much they’re slouching towards chaos/adharma (irreligion, injustice, wickedness).  The fruits of their endeavor will only fill them with arrogant pride in the form of virtue signaling and resentment.  This is not dharma—not by a long shot.  At this point one is dealing with an irrational person who is incapable of having a civilized discussion of the issues at hand.  

Sadly, it is only a matter of time before violence erupts in Europe, something akin to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 which began as an uprising against the Hungarian secret police (Államvédelmi Hatóság or ÁVH). 

Let’s be honest, the underpinning of postmodernism is totally evil and chaotic.  And Marx, we should never forget, was a satanist (Richard Wurmbrand, Marx & Satan).  He wanted to draw all of mankind into the abyss and to follow them laughing.  But in the end, this will fail just as Marx's entire personal life was hypocritical and a failure.

 

 

Comments

[TheZennist]

Bill: Thanks for the response. Your story is tragic. I am of the belief that there are more like us out there who see something very out of kilter with today's Zen. But what can we do about it except to stop it from growing? It appears to be coming from postmodernism and all this term implies which is not good. In other blogs, I have mentioned that instead of people conforming to Zen Buddhism (not in an absolutely strict sense), Zen Buddhism has to conform to them. So they end up never really changing. It is as if they are saying "Please, no challenges. I don't have the time to change. Just show me how to do seated meditation." So it's something like a smorgasbord, pick what you want from Zen Buddhism. Leave the rest. In that regard, kenshō, seeing one's true nature, is almost a joke these days which happens to be the telos of Zen!

[Bill yoshin jordan , Roshi]

i appreciate the distinctions youve made here.
My background is I trained with Maizumi Roshi from the early seventies and was abbot and teacher of the Santa Monica Zen Center for 19 years.
Unfortunately in my experience Zen in the west has become a home for postmodernism. Wrapped in phony compassion and lacking a clear moral compass its become a left wing religion. Once the smell of the dog poop became obvious I mistakenly set out to put in correction I ultimately closed the Santa Monica Zen Center and left the White Plum asangha.
Like a cancerous limb postmodernism has to be cured or cut off. After failing to make any headway with a cure I opted to cut it off . Infecting others with postmodernism disguised as Zen was no longer a way forward.