/lit/ - Literature

>>16314653
No, this book argues that Buddhism is true because our evolutionary history means that we will always be unsatisfied with what we have. Contentment would lead to gaining fewer resources and propagating your genetics less. We live on a hedonic treadmill where we feel strong desires for things, but once we actually acquire them, our baseline mood returns, and we feel a strong desire for ever-new things. Meditation helps us recognize this evolved tendency of our mind and live in a way less controlled by it.

>>16314653
>meditation has benefits
Has been debunked multiple times.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2251840-mindfulness-and-meditation-can-worsen-depression-and-anxiety/

>>16314798
have you reached samadhi? no? okay babe tell me when you do ;^)

>>16314798
It's almost as if people that are making an extra effort to silence their thoughts have mental issues to begin with

Buddhism didn't come up with any of the ideas propagated here
Why is everyone so eager to attach everything to Buddhism?

>>16314737
>Buddhism is true because our evolutionary history means that we will always be unsatisfied with what we have
So basically Buddhism is true because it can make us into evolutionary dead ends?

>>16314805
Yeah, just brainwash yourself until there nothing left of you but perception.
How is this different from getting high and why is this considered to be a good thing?
I might sound ignorant but I just don't understand how Buddhism can help a person or humanity overall apart from it making zombies out of everyone and fullfiling the desire of hiding from the world and to just die (reach Nirvana).

>>16314737
For someone not mired in complacent slave morals, this would mean that Buddhism is a complete lie that totally contradicts the nature of life as it truly is.

>>16314863
The explanations for universal phenomena it provides is more comprehensive than most alternatives, so there's that.

Try and reach satori.
Here's a hint : Spacious, Radiant, Blissful, Peaceful, Content Mind.

>>16314855
>>16315008
Nice try guys

>>16314798
>mindfulness and meditation can worsen depression and anxiety don't think bro just take these pills and consooom the latest shit in the market that is the path to happiness

>>16315010
> The explanations for universal phenomena it provides is more comprehensive
such as?

>>16315008
t. masochist who likes being continually afflicted by your shifty mortal nature.

>>16314798
You have zero idea what you are talking about. It was never some mystery that meditation has harmful effects (although Western newage hippie faggots probably made it appear as such) - that is the direct result of the introspection meditation causes but it is overcome with doing it more often and further introspection; the more troubled you are the worst the effects.
Some schools in India make noob monks meditate with two different colours of a pile of pebbles and to toss one into a bowl when they experience a bad thought, and the other with good thoughts. The result initially is that there are more 'bad' pebbles in the bowls than the 'good' ones, but prolonged meditation will have the opposite effect eventually.
>>16314863
It very much has the same effect of LSD minus the hallucinations (although some claim to see shit when deep in it)

>>16314863
Or desires are brainwashing you to thinking that this material world is important. Where you get high off of having a body and all the natural chemicals and rushes it provides. Constantly focused on your next fix and how much you need something like a good friend or a lover. Buddhism is all about realizing life is a game and trying to take yourself out of that experience. You aren't trying to become some unflinching and unfeeling thing that just perceives shit at a wide scope. You're trying to shed the things that you truly do not need, which is difficult to do since finding the things you do not need and getting rid of them are both separate and difficult processes. Like with the desire of a good friend or a lover you must realize they are not necessary for you to be happy right now. You don't need them. And if they fall into your life enjoy it to the best of your ability.

>>16315040
The ones which are more comprehensive than most of the alternatives.

>>16315028
Implying that "mindfulness" is not advertised by the same people who sell you drugs.

>>16315051
Implying anything isn't advertised by advertisers

>>16315050
What does it offer that Taoism, the Greco-Roman lifestyle Trinity (Epicureanism, Stoicism and to a lesser extent Cyrenaicism), Upanishad centric Hinduism, Sufism or even Sikhism don't?

What school/lineage does /lit/ come from? I imagine most would be Theravadan. I myself am a dual cultivator of Chinese Chan/Pure Land.

>>16314863
> can help a person or humanity
What helps a person or humanity anyway? Sebding rockets to Mars to increase our material wealth (at the cost of much labor and suffering) which might makes us happier or better off but what's the point of that if we can be fullfilled right here and now?

>>16315044
>Or desires are brainwashing you to thinking that this material world is important.
Why isn't it though?
>Constantly focused on your next fix and how much you need something like a good friend or a lover.
It's one way to look at desires. But what if you have a desire to help your sick parents or try to make a decent person out of your child? Are those bad desires that you don't need too?
>Buddhism is all about realizing life is a game and trying to take yourself out of that experience.
I don't agree with that. Life as a test? Maybe, but definitely not a game. I believe that we are here for a reason. Everything around me has some kind of a reason for it's to be here, so the life itself must have a reason too.
>You're trying to shed the things that you truly do not need, which is dif.
So, in the end, as I understand, you are supposed to realize that you do not need anything or anyone apart from yourself, who is in turn everything because muh monism.
>Like with the desire of a good friend or a lover you must realize they are not necessary for you to be happy right now.
You don't need them. And if they fall into your life enjoy it to the best of your ability.
I think it sounds very self-centered. What if my desire is not to have a friend but to be a friend to someone who is in the need of one?

>>16314798
This reminds me of an article that was linked here a year or two ago. The title was something like "THE DARK AND WICKED SIDE OF MEDITATION...".

It's written by a girl who went to Asia, joined a nunnery, achieved mental clarity, true happiness, and then came back to the US and realized that Modernity is fucking garbage and poison to the soul.

>>16315089
It's pretty misleading to compare Taoism, Hinduism, Epicureanism, Stoicism, Hinduism, Sufism, and Sikhism as if they all agree on anything except the absolute most general things, which even then they don't.

Of all of those, the Buddhist philosophical system for explaining phenomena is the closest to how Physics (and neuroscience, when talking about the mind) explain phenomena. You seem like the kind of guy who would care about something like this, as your alternative to "actually work out your problems and grow as a human being" is to just jam pills down your throat.


This statement (that intellectual history advances on) will make the guy who read Aristotle's wikipedia page and now believes that electrons aren't real mad, but I really don't care.

>>16315160
I think he is viewing the teachings of Buddhism the wrong way. Buddhism is life affirming. Every action in this life is important, and benefiting others is the most important of all. The Mahayana in particular teaches that the highest aspiration is to become a Buddha or Bodhisattva to save countless sentient beings from suffering. In fact, Bodhisattvas choose not to go into a state of Nirvana in order to stay and help other beings.

Aside from that, even Arahants in the Theravadan tradition practice the highest forms of compassion and giving, even if they have only one life remaining to do so.

>>16315187
When did physics come in
We're talking about living here
And obviously they don't agree on everything or even most things
I just don't see what the Buddhist guide to Life offers that I wouldn't get by following any of the above
Also
>Neuroscience
Horseshit, nondualist theories are fantasy world building, the only sensible position based on current evidence is property dualism
>Physics
How?

>>16315158
>What helps a person or humanity anyway?
Well, how about a world centered around desires not of oneself but of other people? The world where everyone is willingly tries to love their neighbor as himself. The world like this won't be a Paradise because we still have physical entropy but I think it does worth a try anyway.
>rockets to Mars to increase our material wealth
Since you are on /lit/ , I think that you know that there is no happiness in wordly possessions. Not gonna lie though, having hot water is pretty cool.
>we can be fullfilled right here and now
Well, again, we can just put everyone on drugs 24/7. No more suffering, no more fighting for anything.

>>16315230
>what does this philosophy have to offer?
>it accurately describes the world and how to be happy
>wtf does accurately describing the world around us and being happy have to do with anything?
So what you really meant was "how does this philosophy increase the GDP". I'd explain further, but you're a dualist, so you don't actually have a soul, and you don't believe that you have one either, so there's zero point. Yeah, just go pack pills down your throat and play videogames all day, you aren't capable of living anyways.

>>16315230
>based on current evidence
that's why all neuroscientists are physicalists, right?

fucking npc moron

>>16314737
.. so like stoicism or epicureanism or any other number of self help philosophies? sounds less that buddhism is true and just like its one aspect of many.

>>16315265
You have no idea what Stoicism and Epicureanism are, so why are you comparing anything to them?

>>16315265
Well, the problem is friend you've read a rather poor but generally accurate description written by someone on 4chan instead of actually reading about yourself, perhaps if you were to get off this board and read some literature on the subject, you could come to your own conclusion.

>>16315191
>The Mahayana in particular teaches that the highest aspiration is to become a Buddha or Bodhisattva to save countless sentient beings from suffering. In fact, Bodhisattvas choose not to go into a state of Nirvana in order to stay and help other beings.
I am aware of Mahayana. On the surface It sounds a lot like Christianity only without Christ and sophisticated theology on top. But it's definetely not the kind of Buddhism that is shilled in the West and it has more of a, I guess, folklore nature about it. Again, might be wrong because the only thing I've read about Buddism is Evolas book.

>>16315288
Evola is not necessarily a great introduction to Buddhism, if you want I can give you a long list of resources to Buddhist websites and books on the subject.

>>16315245
See how the gautard can't actually answer questions and only deflects with insults
>Accurately describes the world
Again, how?
>How to be happy
How is it superior to any of the traditions I have proposed?
What does it offer towards happiness that they don't
>how does this philosophy increase the GDP".
Notice how none of the traditions I posed you have this as a goal
Even the closest to "hedonism", Cyrenaicism, doesn't strive towards that
So let's rephrase
Why should I follow Buddhism instead of any of those traditions?
Why do its ideas guarantee me happiness anymore or any better than the others?
Why should I pursue Sadhima based on one of the many, many schools of Buddhism instead of Ataraxia as Epicurus and to a much lesser extent Lucretius outlined
How does Buddhism even respond to Lucretius' btfoing of Samsara and related systems
>>16315255
See how the tard sees the word dualism and starts flinging bullshit around

>>16314863
It's literally the opposite.
Most of the time, especially in our modern life, we go around absent-minded, doing shit mainly out of habit and thinking about other stuff in the meantime, this makes you more and more self absorbed and prone to delusions and mental illnesses.
Meditation forces you to be more aware of what your are doing instead of constantly wondering off with your mind, it's literally just a brain exercise to teach you self control, it's kinda like running to keep yourself healthy.

>>16315288
Evola's characterization of Buddhism comes from his Traditionalist views, and shouldn't be taken as authoritative on Buddhism. He's only looking at Buddhism to find certain things he wants in it, his writing off of the Mahayana is completely wrongheaded when it comes to actually understanding Buddhism. The idea that Theravada is somehow "purer" than the Mahayana is just wrong. Scripturally, the Mahayana accept the Pali Canon, and the various Mahayana Canons (today these are the Chinese and Tibetan and translations of them, but historically there were others) contain most-if-not-all of the Pali Canon anyways. It is definitely true that the Theravada are aesthetically more conservative, using "aesthetics" in a looser sense such that morality and metaphysics can have an "aesthetic" to them.

The Mahayana Buddhism has not deviated in any way that actually matters (Monks in Hokkaido MUST dress and live differently than monks in Sri Lanka, or else they'll die in the winter). You're certainly right that the Bodhisattva has folk elements to it (where they're basically Gods), but it is wrong to think that the Bodhisattva are an "officialization" of folk beliefs. To put it another way, the Mahayana thinkers have spilled much ink defending Bodhisattvas, and the folk aspect comes from there. It would also be wrong to believe that Theravada Buddhism somehow has less folk-aspects to it, of course.

But yes, "McMindfulness" as opposed to Zen seems to have become the dominant form of Buddhism shilled in the West. I think this is because it's easier to deracinate the Mindfulness Movement than it is to deracinate Zen. You can't really divorce Zen from its Japanese background.

Great, a Buddhist thread. Now is the chance to spread Dharma!
Here are some websites that may provide useful for different vehicles.

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/
This is a website that contains suttas from the Pali Canon, or the Theravadan lineages key texts. It also has study guides and dharma talks from the great sages of the Thai Forest tradition.

http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/library.html
This is a Buddhist library with free pdf's many of which are very useful for understanding the history and philosophy of Buddhism. Has Theravadan and Mahayana texts.

http://seeingthroughthenet.net/books/
This has Theravadan books and texts that are useful for understanding the lineage.

https://www.dhammatalks.org/
This has many books and dharma talks in the Thai Forest tradition of Ajahn Chah and Bhikku Thanissaro. Great for an introduction to Theravadan thought. Has free physical books for shipping.

>>16315375
Now, on to Mahayana.
First we have
https://www.amitabha-gallery.org/
A site run by the Venerable Wuling, a Pure Land bhikkuni taught by Venerable Master Chin Kung. Is Chinese Pureland, and focuses on both Other and Self Power.
Has free books and dharma talks on the Pure Land school, as well as introductory books on Buddhism.

https://www.chanpureland.org/
Next, we have a sangha in the Chinese dual cultivation of Chan and Pureland teachings, it's current teacher is Master Yuanghua. Has dharma talks available.

https://zenstudiespodcast.com/
A podcast by Domyo Burke of the Soto Zen lineage. A good introduction to Soto Zen and basic Buddhist thought. Also has an online sangha you can join if you email her.

https://terebess.hu/zen/zen.html
Free Zen and Chan texts and commentaries!

http://cttbusa.org/fas1/fas_contents.asp
This is a sangha first founded by Venerable Master Hsuan Hua of the Pure Land and Chan lineage. Has free dharma talks, books, sutra translations, and commentaries on sutras by Master Hua, as well as physical books for purchase.

https://www.fgsitc.org/
Another Pure Land and Chan sangha, with free physical books (if you pay shipping), and free pdfs as well.

https://www.amitabhalibrary.org/index.htm
Free physical texts on Chan and Pure Land teachings, as well as altar screens which usually run about 25 to 35 dollars plus shipping.

http://www.amtb-usa.org/english_inception.html
Free physical books on the Pure Land and Chan school shipped to you!

>>16315389
Now to Tibetan Mahayana,

https://studybuddhism.com/
This has an introduction to Tibetan Buddhism that is worthwhile to look into.

https://www.lamayeshe.com/
This has free physical books for distribution in the Gelug tradition, as well as books for purchase.

https://www.dawnmountain.org/
This is a sangha that teaches all lineages of Tibetan Mahayana.

Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche
https://dharmasun.org/

Tsoknyi Rinpoche
https://tsoknyirinpoche.org/

Mingyur Rinpoche
https://tergar.org/

14th Dalai Lama
https://www.dalailama.com/

Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche
https://www.padmasambhava.org

Lama Lena
https://lamalenateachings.com/

Alan Wallace
http://www.alanwallace.org/

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
https://ligmincha.org/

James Low
https://www.simplybeing.co.uk/

Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo
http://tenzinpalmo.com/

Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche
https://www.mangalashribhuti.org/

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
https://khyentsefoundation.org/

Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche
http://www.ktgrinpoche.org/

Lama Yeshe & Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition
https://fpmt.org/

Thubten Chodron
http://thubtenchodron.org/

Thrangu Rinpoche
http://www.rinpoche.com/

Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
http://www.dpr.info/

17th Karmapa
https://kagyuoffice.org/

Samye Ling monastery
https://www.samyeling.org/

Sakya Trizin
http://hhsakyatrizin.net/

Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche
http://all-otr.org/

That is all. Finally we have:
http://www.buddhanet.net/
This has many pdfs and dharma talks on all three Vehicles.

https://dharmaseed.org/
Has many dharma talks on Theravadan and Mahayana traditions, as well as few on Tibetan Mahayana.

>>16315375
>>16315389
>>16315395
That's a lot.
What would be the first links to start with to get the gist of Theravadan vs Mahayana?

>>16315320
>Why do its ideas guarantee me happiness anymore or any better than the others?
The western tradition focuses more on the logic analysis of the world, it's really scientific in its method. Buddhism focuses more on introspection and self discovery, it guides you into reaching an intuition on the nature of the mind and the consciousness, Stoicism for example tries to give you a moral code based on the logic structures of the world.

>>16314737
I'd I ever actually achieved what I want I would be satisfied. There isnt anything more that I want.

>>16315426
They're both bullshit
>The traditional story of the Buddha, like those of most saints and heroes of ancient days, has suffered much at the hands of higher criticism. Hie story of his birth and early life appears only in the later books of the Buddhist Scriptures, and even some of the references to him in those parts of the canon which purport to give his teachings verbatim are by no means reliable. Even the "Sermon of the Turning of the Wheel of the Law", which is said to be the first sermon preached after the Buddha's enlightenment, and which is the basic teaching of all Buddhist sects, is of dubious authenticity, and in the form in which we have it is not among the earliest parts of the canon. Much doubt now exists as to the real doctrines of the historical Buddha, as distinct from those of Buddhism. One eminent authority suggested that they differed but little from the teachings of the Upanisadic sages,31 while another held that he rejected the doctrine of transmigration, and taught merely the almost self-evident truism that one generation is affected by the deeds of the preceding one.3
This was written in the sixties mind you and the notion that modern Buddhism has nothing to do with the Buddha has only further consolidated in favour of "Gautama the Upanishadist" view
Mind you this is actual historians who study the actual sources
>>16315441
What?
Which stoicist ever sought such a thing?
Seneca deliberately bashes on people who use "logical structures of the world" to seek happiness

You're thinking about it too much. Ignore your monkey mind and just breathe ;)

>>16315475
You have no idea what you're talking about. Why do you have opinions on subjects you've never looked into?

>>16315426
It's not really appropriate to view Mahayana as a single thing. You can't be a "Mahayana Buddhist", in truth. Rather, you are a practitioner of Zen, Pure Land, various Vajrayana schools, etc. Mahayana is an intellectual and historical term, but in terms of actually DOING stuff, it's rather pointless. It's like saying you're a "Western" Christian.

The single largest difference between the two is over the Bodhisattva vow. In essence, a Theravada Buddhist wants to become an Arahant, someone who, upon parinirvana (if you're enlightened you can't "die", as that implies you stay in Samsara, which you don't), will nirvana out. However, a Mahayana Buddhist wants to become a Bodhisattva, a Godlike being that goes on to help others achieve enlightenment. Mahayana believe that you can just do this by willing it at the time of death (assuming you've done the work to get there, of course), Theravada believe you can only pull this off if you do a special ritual with a Buddha (A Buddha is a being that has gotten enlightenment in their life, achieved nirvana, but come back). We haven't had one of those for 2,500 or so years.

This sort of colors the two: The Theravada are grounded and pragmatic, whereas the Mahayana take the "parable of the raft" to mean that they can make alterations to the raft as needed.

>>16315375
>>16315389
>>16315395
Based and enlightened

>>16315375
>>16315389
>>16315395
thanks for the advice whitiod

>>16315585
You're calling me uneducated but you've yet to address anything
You've talking in incoherent platitudes and spamming your folders but never actually addressed anything

>>16315625
You haven't said anything to address. You have no idea what you're talking about, and it shows. Go read a book.

Also, I'm not the guy who link-dumped, but thank you for doing so, anon.

>>16315141
Bodhidharma Chan

>>16315681
No problem anon, I was happy to help dump the links. You can further help by putting them in Buddhist threads on 4chan so others can learn the Dharma, or you can also help by adding more. The links are lacking in the Mahayana section, I need more for Korean and Japanese lineages.

>>16315614
What is wrong with adopting a religion not native to your ethnicity? Christians converted to non native ethnicities for centuries.

>>16314798
>About one in 12 people who try meditation experience an unwanted negative effect, usually a worsening in depression or anxiety, or even the onset of these conditions for the first time, according to the first systematic review of the evidence. “For most people it works fine but it has undoubtedly been overhyped and it’s not universally benevolent,” says Miguel Farias at Coventry University in the UK, one of the researchers behind the work.
So it's beneficial for most but not all.

>>16315426
Honestly, most links are going to have books or articles that go over the basics of their school of thought, as well as the basics of their lineages.
Theravadan lineages believe that Nibbana is achievable for only monks (or if it is the case that a layman achieves Nibbana, then they must become a monk or die in a short span of time). Layman may become stream enterers (the first stage of Arahantship), Once Returners (who only return to a human life once and then achieve Arahantship in the heavenly realms in the next lives), Non Returner (who go into the Pure Abodes where they achieve Nibbana. This is an influence on Pure Land schools in Tibetan and East Asian Mahayana.), And finally Arahants, who are perfectly enlightened. For core doctrinal issues, there is the concept of Dependent Co-Arising, the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, and the Five Aggregates and the Three Marks of Impermanence.

Those under the umbrella of Mahayana and Vajrayana believe in the Bodhisattva path, and for doctrinal issues there are the concepts of Emptiness (Sunyata) and the aspiration to become a Buddha for the sake of all sentient beings (Bodhicitta)

>>16315937
Furthermore, I agree with this anon >>16315585
that the two schools are umbrella terms for a very loose and often disorganized number of cooperative and rival lineages, each with their own patron Arahants, Bodhisattvas, and in the case of Mahayana, Buddhas and sutras as well.

>>16315681
You said
>Muh Buddhism explains the world best
With no justification
You've said that Buddhism outlines the best path to happiness and all I got was a horrific strawman against western schools of thought
If you're talking about the historicity of the Buddha
I'm sorry that's historical consensus, the book I listed is Basham on India in general
Skilton talks about the modern views on the topic in his concise history but they haven't actually changed much

why do white buddhists strip buddhism of any of the religious and spiritual elements that are essential to it in favour of a deracinated version?

>>16316017
It's pretty clear that you have no idea what you're talking about, and are just citing books you randomly googled.

Which just loops us back to the original question: Why do you hold opinions on topics you know nothing about?

>>16316144
They don't. You're confusing the general spread of Liberalism, which does this with literally everything, and White people interested in Buddhism.

>>16316144
because deep down they want to believe that both it and physicalism are true, despite this being impossible

>>16316144
because most "white buddhists" aren't actually buddhists and are just people aping aesthetics and using some meditation techniques
there are some actual white buddhists who become monks by joining a nearby monastery, but those are far fewer because it requires actual dedication instead of a shallow passing fancy

noooo you whitoids dont follow real buddhism you dont follow all my esoteric rules noooooo

>>16316144
The thing is that the western mind can only grasp religion and politics being mixed. This of course is the highest form of religion and spirituality so i'm not saying it in a negative way. Christianity slightly separated the two more so than the pre-Christian European religions but still it was far from a Buddhist conception of the religious. Buddhism have no political aspect and as such it must be rejected.

This is why Buddhism gets so embraced by sissified leftists. Part of their political belief structure is that they do not think they are political, "just basic compassion bro" and this to them makes Buddhism perfect.

if Europeans can't use this new weird eastern religion in zealous devotion, if it can't be used to justify a reemergent godking, if it can't topple regimes, and if it can't staunchly defend tradition then what good is it?

>>16316619
Technically westerners can't become Buddhists. Every Buddhist sect have developed over hundreds of years with the local native religions of that specific area. There is no Buddhism without native ethnic influences. Christianity destroyed all native European faiths so a true melding that is necessary for an authentic Buddhism is not possible.

All you're left with is the sort of barren sterilized rationalist western Buddhism completely devoid of any cultural or aesthetic value.

Unless there are a bunch of western Buddhist monks living deep in the asian jungles that spend their days striving for enlightenment, carving European pagan idols and composing divinely inspired poems and heroics, all of which they plan on diffusing through Europea in the future alpine mountaintop initiatory hermitage then I just don't see Buddhism ever becoming a thing in the west. It will be forever an inauthentic weeb imitation or a irreligious self-help for wine aunts.

That being said... you could be that monk!

>>16316805
>Technically westerners can't become Buddhists

Yes, they can, and have.

>Unless there are a bunch of western Buddhist monks living deep in the asian jungles that spend their days striving for enlightenment, carving European pagan idols and composing divinely inspired poems and heroics, all of which they plan on diffusing through Europea in the future alpine mountaintop initiatory hermitage then I just don't see Buddhism ever becoming a thing in the west. It will be forever an inauthentic weeb imitation or a irreligious self-help for wine aunts.

Forest Buddhism is one branch of Buddhism, but it's pretty niche. But, again: anyone, from any culture, can become an actual Buddhist.

>>16314653
https://discord.gg/rdzBstp

>>16316805
>Technically westerners can't become Buddhists
That's some load of patronising bullshit you have there. Yes, western mcbuddhists are not buddhists in any other but the most superficial sense, but anyone can take a real interest into the teachings, traditions and practices of the buddhists schools.

>>16316619
>>16316805
>become monks by joining a nearby monastery
that isn't the only way or proper way to be a buddhist. that's a very white, orientalist way of thinking about buddhism.