Oprah

Invincible_summer

I was never a huge fan of Oprah. I generally know her story and (apparently) how inspiring she is to many people, but her frequent endorsement of diet/spiritual/health fads and her self-indulgent "favourite things" segments usually make me roll my eyes.

She came into town this past week, and so the local paper has been publishing a few articles about her. One particularly caught my interest. It was a bunch of quotes from her. Here's a sample:

“I know for sure that what we dwell on is who we become.”

“My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.”

“So go ahead. Fall down. The world looks different from the ground.”



I couldn't help but notice how some of the quotes are more or less paraphrasing Buddhist teachings. It may not be so surprising since she rubs shoulders with people from all sorts of spiritual backgrounds, but it was a bit of a "maybe she's not so bad after all" moment reading that article.

Thoughts?

vinlyn

While I'm not a big fan of Oprah and rarely watch her shows, I think she is a relatively sensitive person.

To be honest, I don't see those quotes as being particularly Buddhist in nature.

karasti

I have to agree with Vinlyn a bit. While I can read her quotes and see Buddhism in them, I can turn it around and see Buddhism in almost any positive or self-help type of quote. Though Oprah, if I recall, has interviewed Thich Nhat Hahn and Eckart Tolle, and I believe she is part of the reason Tolle became so popular. Anything Oprah touches turns to gold, and boy when she gets screwed over is she unhappy about it, lol.

I think that overall, Oprah is a good influence. I think she brings a more positive message than most things on TV these days. She got people reading, got them interested in, and experiencing things they maybe never would have otherwise. She's ok. You just have to do with her programming as with all things-take what you can use, leave the rest and always use moderation.

I do find it interesting that you decided she might be ok because she sounded like she was speaking Buddhist language, so to speak. Nothing she said is any different from the hundreds of of FB memes that come through my newsfeed every day.

Bunks

She strikes me as a compassionate person who tries to help others by using the power she has.

Pity there aren't more people in powerful positions like her I reckon.

Invincible_summer

vinlyn said:

While I'm not a big fan of Oprah and rarely watch her shows, I think she is a relatively sensitive person.

To be honest, I don't see those quotes as being particularly Buddhist in nature.

The first quote reminded me of karma - how our actions, conditions, ethics, intentions, etc can affect us/our life.

The second quote is almost verbatim an explanation I've heard and read about moment-to-moment rebirth in Buddhism.

The last one is I suppose not strictly Buddhist, but it does echo the idea that, by giving up our expectations, attachments, and letting go of our egos a bit, we can learn a lot from life and be more at peace.

karasti said:

I have to agree with Vinlyn a bit. While I can read her quotes and see Buddhism in them, I can turn it around and see Buddhism in almost any positive or self-help type of quote. Though Oprah, if I recall, has interviewed Thich Nhat Hahn and Eckart Tolle, and I believe she is part of the reason Tolle became so popular. Anything Oprah touches turns to gold, and boy when she gets screwed over is she unhappy about it, lol.

I think that overall, Oprah is a good influence. I think she brings a more positive message than most things on TV these days. She got people reading, got them interested in, and experiencing things they maybe never would have otherwise. She's ok. You just have to do with her programming as with all things-take what you can use, leave the rest and always use moderation.

I do find it interesting that you decided she might be ok because she sounded like she was speaking Buddhist language, so to speak. Nothing she said is any different from the hundreds of of FB memes that come through my newsfeed every day.

I think the reason that many positive/self-help type messages can be construed as remotely Buddhist could be partially due to the watering-down/commercialization/whatever you want to call it of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Eastern spirituality that's been growing since the '60s and '70s. The feel-good, positive aspects of these philosophies (because who wants to hear about the cosmological, mythological, culturally/temporally irrelevant stuff) have been taken and stripped of any religious aspect, so it can appeal to a broader range of people.

I have qualms about this, but I suppose whatever helps people...

Also, I'm not saying Oprah is a Buddhist or that I'm a fan of her now because she's got some pseudo-Buddhist quotes. It's just that I've personally never really seen much from her other than self-indulgent commercialism and fad-flogging, so even to get a glimpse of how she may be (unknowingly) disseminating the dharma is quite interesting to me.

Even here on NB, I've seen people say "Oh you don't have to label yourself as a Buddhist, just live in a certain way" or "You can still be a (religious group) and a Buddhist" and stuff like that. If the dharma is so flexible, then what *is* Buddhism anymore?

If the dharma can be found in a watered-down version in secular self-help quotes, is that a victory for Buddhism, or is it problematic since people aren't realizing it's Buddhism (and what other morals/ethics/etc comes with the philosophy behind the self-help advice)?

vinlyn

You'll note that I said I didn't feel the quotes were particularly Buddhist. Do they echo Buddhist sentiments? Yes. But I've heard Robert Schuller and Norman Vincent Peale preach the same sort of things.

Bunks

@invincible_summer

You obviously haven't watched her show too often so perhaps best to reserve judgement on her

Invincible_summer

vinlyn said:

You'll note that I said I didn't feel the quotes were particularly Buddhist. Do they echo Buddhist sentiments? Yes. But I've heard Robert Schuller and Norman Vincent Peale preach the same sort of things.

What would you say draws the line between a "Buddhist quote" and something that simply "echoes Buddhist sentiments?"

Never really thought about that before.

Bunks said:

@invincible_summer

You obviously haven't watched her show too often so perhaps best to reserve judgement on her

What do you mean by that? But you're right, I shouldn't be too judgmental.

vinlyn

Invincible_summer said:

vinlyn said:

You'll note that I said I didn't feel the quotes were particularly Buddhist. Do they echo Buddhist sentiments? Yes. But I've heard Robert Schuller and Norman Vincent Peale preach the same sort of things.

What would you say draws the line between a "Buddhist quote" and something that simply "echoes Buddhist sentiments?"

Never really thought about that before.

Something that is exclusively Buddhist.

Dakini

I've been a fan of Oprah's. Generally, I skip the fad-flogging and celebrity-chasing shows, and watch the more "compassion"-oriented topics, like when she helps people in some way, or when political questions, racial or women's issues, or social change are discussed.

Oprah was the first regularly-scheduled talk show host to get away from a purely gossip and sensationalist format and cultivate inspirational themes. She started that "Angel Network", which inspired people to help others and work to make the world a better place. I think she deserves credit for that. Some of her topics are pure fluff, because that's what it takes to keep a broad audience, and maintain ratings. But she's also gone out on a limb by including acts of charity and spiritual themes, which was an innovative thing to do when she first started doing that.

And wow, talk about "everything she touches turns to gold"! I've always felt that if Oprah hadn't made such a big deal over Barack Obama's speech at the Democratic Convention whenever it was--8 years ago or so, history would have turned out quite differently. For better or for worse, but she really kicked his career into high gear.

I haven't seen her shows since she got her own channel. Is she still doing her shows? I thought she'd quit.

Bunks

Dakini said:

I've been a fan of Oprah's. Generally, I skip the fad-flogging and celebrity-chasing shows, and watch the more "compassion"-oriented topics, like when she helps people in some way, or when political questions, racial or women's issues, or social change are discussed.

Oprah was the first regularly-scheduled talk show host to get away from a purely gossip and sensationalist format and cultivate inspirational themes. She started that "Angel Network", which inspired people to help others and work to make the world a better place. I think she deserves credit for that. Some of her topics are pure fluff, because that's what it takes to keep a broad audience, and maintain ratings. But she's also gone out on a limb by including acts of charity and spiritual themes, which was an innovative thing to do when she first started doing that.

And wow, talk about "everything she touches turns to gold"! I've always felt that if Oprah hadn't made such a big deal over Barack Obama's speech at the Democratic Convention whenever it was--8 years ago or so, history would have turned out quite differently. For better or for worse, but she really kicked his career into high gear.

I haven't seen her shows since she got her own channel. Is she still doing her shows? I thought she'd quit.

Hi @invincible_summer. Apologies if my one-liner was a bit harsh. It wasn't supposed to be.

@Dakini summed up exactly what I like about Oprah. She made a decision to change her program from pure gossip in the early days (dreadful!) to a program that tried to help people and make positive social changes. Granted, at times it was still a bit fluffy and cheesey but I think she is genuinely a compassionate person and wants to help people.

I remember one program in particular where she had men who had been sexually abused talking openly about it. I don't know about the USA so much but this is still a topic that people aren't comfortable with in macho Australia.

That's why I like her...

lobster

She is canny and a force for good. :clap:
The integrity to present ideas and people that other interests are trying very hard to silence. Some of us are living without Oprah or Opera on our screens. We need Sky. I will check if my sister has it . . .
Finding what we like, dislike, resonate with, are opposed to etc. offers great insight into ourself . . .

incidentally for UK viewers, the excellent, 'After Dark' debates are on 4OD
this was an often 3 hour on a sofa debate with experts, interested and interesting people . . .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/After_Dark_(TV_series)
. . . maybe there is an Internet version now?