Quote
Stoic
suenam,
There is nothing more disempowering to the followers than a leader who dupes and manipulates them--in the guise of some higher spirituality--and leads them into ignorance and an indulgence of their basest impulses.
Good religion of whatever denomination attempts to lead mankind into some self-control over those base instincts, not give them a solid excuse to behave at their worst.
While personal philosophies, opinions, and value-judgments may be important, the focus of this thread is "Ole Nydahl and Diamond Way Buddhism", and as I and several others have written previously, it would appear that Ole Nydahl fully buys into his project, possibly a less cynical view, yet making the whole thing no less dangerous.
The mission statement of DWB was laid out in the presentation of the new Europe Center -
"Diamond Way Buddhism is built on an international network of friendship and idealism. We master the greatest challenges, because we: - all work together for the benefit of all beings; - make the best out of every situation, flexibly; - bear our responsibility, free from hierarchies."
Firstly, Ole freely admits that DWB is a meritocracy, which in itself is hierarchical, so this would suggest some idealogical confusion even at this basic level. Meritocracies have also been criticized as being myths which merely serve to justify the status quo - merit can always be defined as whatever results in success. Thus whoever is successful can be portrayed as deserving, rather than success being in fact predicated on rational, predetermined criteria of merit.
Secondly, the claim that they "all work together for the benefit of all beings" would seem to contradict the sectarian nature of DWB. This has been covered in detail in this thread - it is not only the anti-Islamic aspect involved here, but the promotion of a single lineage of Buddhism which holds itself above other traditions.
Thirdly, there seems to be a confusion between philosophical idealism - the idea that the ultimate nature of reality is based on the mind, and the idealistic identity which focuses not on what is, but on what could be or what ought to be.
I think that these confusions demonstrate both the seductive nature of DWB, and the points at which the enterprise takes a wrong turn.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2010 10:11AM by suenam.