Where do you go for buddhist commentary in the post-Trumpian age?
satcittananda
UK Veteran
I have noticed that the conversation stream on NB is now pretty much dictated by a few contributors, like Kerome and lobster and Kerome and lobster, to name but 2... Just look at the comments, and by whom. And it's the same old same old.
I stopped contributing some time ago, because I felt the site was becoming dominated by a few voices, but regularly I look in but over the last few years it has become Trumpian, and as a result the content of NB has become, stilted, directed and boring. That is just my view. Sure they post good stuff, but it's just' stuff' mostly.
If you are interested in buddhism, where do you go for debate and conversation, and insight. I go to my spiritual home \o/
Perhaps the commentators I have commentated on should practice (c not s) in silence ...lol... for a while so some new and undirected conversations can start up by people who are really contemplating what buddhism means for them, and not others...
Just saying! /o\
Comments
I don't usually think of questions to ask though I contribute quite a bit. I'm glad somebody asks questions though
because I do like to contribute and lurk.
@satcittananda
Welcome, Padma of Donald. Nothing like a finger wagging flame thread to show newcomers the truth, the light and the way to make NB great again.
Its like I always say, "if you want something done right, complain about it until someone else does it for you."
Fresh insight is always welcome, maybe start some threads of your own and help shape the direction of the site?
I must admit I only use NB in a social way these days.
I don’t consider myself a “new” Buddhist anymore.
I have my own teachers I connect with when I have questions about practice.
It is true that the person who contributes most to this forum (kerome) isn’t even a Buddhist! 😂😂😂
It has gone more social..... as opposed to learning Buddhist material...But I agree with Bunky, that its bec Im not a newbie anymore, but yet, we all need practical ways to practice. To keep things fresh and moving with the times, right? Kudos again to Brother @How for doing the zoom sit!!!! , and Lobsters humor always stumps me in a mind kind of way. He's my koan guy cod, hahaha…. And part of Sangha is the social aspect....so.... More middle way.
We " the establishment" can do better. I'll try.
I've long since lost my taste for debating people. I have my practice and experience and will share it where I think it's relevant, and sometimes that leads to discussions, but I don't seek out things to argue about. And I think most contributors active at the moment are of a similar mind and we tend to get along rather well. And people who come here to stir the pot are often disappointed with the responses and end up finding other places to get their adrenaline fix.
Like @Vastmind said, many of us aren't new anymore, and some aren't Buddhist per se. We're more like a community chatting in someone's living room than a typical forum. If members, both old and new, have something to contribute, they should feel free to do so. Ask a question. Share an experience. Start a debate. Whatever they're motivated to do. But others don't have to silence themselves for that to happen.
Is that you Mx-president trumpy?
Tell us where to go ... so we can avoid it ...
I for 1 welcome someone else providing fresh incite ...
... meanwhile I hope others will share their new go-to chat and Dharma recommendations
Good post, and something that’s dear to me, the future of the nb community. Would love to see more of a diversity of voices, nb a few years back had more different posters. My own range of contributions is limited, for which I make no apologies.
Tbh, a big part of my focus these days is on Pureland Buddhism which is virtually unknown outside of East Asia so any conversations on the topic I've tried to start on NB have been met with little or no interest.
Which is fine - I'd expect nothing different as it's of little interest to most Westerners.
So I'll stick to my tennis match with @Shoshin1 on "Word Association Game" and the odd post in "The Random and Useless Announcements Thread".
I quite enjoy your posts on pure land Buddhism @bunks. It’s something I don’t really have access to here in the Netherlands, there are not so many Buddhist centres here, but it’s really interesting to learn more about.
Is NB "Trumpian?" I just did a search for "Trump" and found a handful of criticisms of Trump. Is there a pro-Trump thread I'm not seeing?
I don’t even know what the expression means. But maybe it’s true.
Same in Australia kerome. The only Pureland centre near me does all their classes in Mandarin so not much point me turning up 😂
I am a member of a couple of very active FB / WeChat groups and we meet and chant regularly on Zoom (4 times a day).
Sounds like a bunch of fake news to me. lol
If one thinks about it, the posts/threads are all recycled Dharma stuff, same song slightly different tune, that's what makes the forum interesting and refreshing...constantly returning back to where it all began....at the beginning, which I guess makes for a beginner's mind.... so to speak...
My name is Shoshin and I'm a recycler...(Hmm well I guess it's better than hoarding)
To be frank I have to agree to a certain point, but again, as others have pointed out, you get out of it what you put into it. Sometimes.
My issue is less political than it is doctrinal. The Buddha taught non-attachment, which to my understanding should preclude political biases in lieu of compassion for ALL beings - regardless of political affiliation, TNH or no. My issue is asking questions and getting regurgitated Mahayana rhetoric for answers. Life is rarely as simple as bumper sticker philosophy, yet few want to put in the work to contemplate their own answers.
At the end of the day the forums are not mediated by monastics, if at all they're mediated by other laypeople who have no more of a clue than do you or I have. The Christ AND the Buddha referred to this as the blind leading the blind.
The thing is @Rob_V even if the forum was moderated by monastics, you might get a lot more doctrinal answers than you did before. It all depends on the brand of monastic.
Meh. Monastics can be just as blind as the rest of us. Buddhist AND Christians.
I don't buy that as a yardstick.
'Life is rarely as simple as bumper sticker philosophy, yet few want to put in the work to contemplate their own answers.'
That, I agree with.
Meditation reveals Buddhist commentary's where ever one looks
for they are simply those truths obscured
by our attachments to anything.
Here, wondering what commentary might be right for you
gets superseded by finding out that its always been
what you've been sitting on.
Thanks @how
Thanks for providing twice daily Zoom powered sits. I attend one of them
Others too have their practical actual life paths.
It was a good post @Rob_V ...
Certainly if you get involved and post things then there is more likelihood that the topics you want will get discussed. Standing back and thinking, ‘I hope someone brings up xyz’ rarely works. So in that way if you involve yourself you will get more out of it.
The mix of contributors coming up with original, contemplative answers was one of the main things that drew me to new buddhist to begin with. A few of those people have stopped posting or been banned, which is a pity. We don’t really have a lot of members who respond with sutra quotes, but even if we did some people would get something out of that.
The moderators don’t lead the discussions though. They are merely there to provide guidance for when things come off the rails or tempers flare too high. Yes, the kind of discussions we have are more about a general Buddhist perspective than specific guidance, but then NB is not populated by just Buddhist teachers.
I'm having a hard time thinking of how NB is Trumpian.
Hint: it's not.
The OP hasn’t bothered coming back to comment again so obviously not that interested.
As you were...
Seems the last few threads by the OP all take the same condescending tone as well shrugs
It is something to take seriously though. If we don’t want NB to become dominated by a few voices it is important that more people step forward to keep it alive.
That he hasn’t come back shows that he himself is not interested in taking an active stance on becoming a voice on the site.
It is not that one is new to Buddhism, (some are and some are most definitely not), so much as that Buddhism is always in itself, new. There is always something new to discover, always a new lamp in the hall. The footsteps and voices, even the familiar ones, are eve changing, ever in motion, ever new. Should you feel otherwise, open your ears to listen, open your eye to see. Reawaken your dulled senses. Dance the never ending dance of discovery, of life.
Peace to all
Same place I went in the pre-Trumpian age - inside.
Some years ago I watched in dismay as some of our more interesting, thought-provoking contributors were harassed away by the antagonistic moderating style (at that time; seems better now). I don't have numbers (nor do I want them) but I suspect that the people who now appear dominant in posts are simply less diluted than previously. They still seem like the same old highly enjoyable people to me. I still stop by fairly often just to read. I still enjoy it, though I usually don't sign in. To answer the original poster's question, I don't know where to go on the internet for Buddhist-inflected interesting spirited debate/conversation. Like Yagr, I go inside. Or read specific articles in a wide variety of places, rather than a group discussion on a forum.
Oh, and is NB "Trumpian" now? I suppose there's been a decrease in diversity of points of view and spirited intellectual discourse, so maybe there's an element that could be described that way. But it's a stretch, and a long one at that. The group that remains actively posting seems friendly, funny, tolerant, low-key, and still somewhat diverse. That is, about as nonTrumpian as could be. Fortunately.