Gentrifying the dharma: How the 1 percent is hijacking mindfulness | Hacker News Reader

Gentrifying the dharma: How the 1 percent is hijacking mindfulness

salon.com

13 pointsohjeez7 comments

The absurdity here is palpable. Setting aside the fact that it is impossible to "gentrify", "hijack", or otherwise get a corner on a spiritual/mental exercise, mindfulness is not Buddhism. The artcile sloppily conflates the two terms. Let's not kid ourselves here, Westerners aren't going to start adopting a Buddhist way of life (which goes far beyond casual mindfulness meditation) in droves... so why shouldn't they take something beneficial from the Buddhist tradition and apply it to their otherwise decadent/capitalistic/exploitive lives?

I say this is a generally pro-capitalist non-Buddhist who read the Sutra of Hui Neng in college.

I agree.

And I think you could argue the other way. That without more mindfulness of the 1%, you won't see any major changes in the world.

The more the wealthy realize that consumption, status, wealth and success doesn't equate to happiness, the better the world will be.

In other words, what's wrong with using Buddhism as a means to destroy the major tenets of Buddhism? I dunno. But I can see how people might get offended.

The article is not asserting that mindfulness is Buddhism. It assumes that people understand that mindfulness came from Buddhism, and makes the point that Buddhists are pissed off that one of the most important parts of their religion is being used to pacify people who are causing others harm (which Buddhists generally have a problem with).

I wonder if there were similar complaints when Buddhism entered China:

"Buddhism appealed to Chinese intellectuals and elites and the development of gentry Buddhism was sought as an alternative to Confucianism and Daoism, since Buddhism's emphasis on morality and ritual appealed to Confucianists and the desire to cultivate inner wisdom appealed to Daoists. Gentry Buddhism was a medium of introduction for the beginning of Buddhism in China, it gained imperial and courtly support."[1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Buddhism

Gentrify, 1 Percent... Just one more politically charged word in the title and you've got yourself enough clicks to fund your corporate bonuses, Salon.

News Flash: Dozens of protesters gathered at a Mountain View treatment plant to protest Googler's sewage as a threat to traditional California values.

Somebody who appeared to be the leader was quoted: "These capitalist pigs are dumping all their GMO feces into our taxpayer funded treatment plant." His solar-powered megaphone began to die out as a cloud passed over head, but that didn't keep him from starting a chant... "Hell no, you can't go! Hold it in till you're about to blow!"

... </satire>

seriously, if these guys get their way, Google won't be allowed to Carpool, Meditate, Recycle or anything else.

I am inclined to believe this is more tribal think than anything else. Group 'Y' does not like Group 'X'. If Group 'X' does anything or adopts Group 'Y' customs, Group 'Y' rejects it as false and offensive. This happens all the damn time.

The hypocrisy is that they complain about capitalism and it's consequences when they directly benefit from it. The irony is that the only reason they have any validity to NIMBYism is that land ownership is an axiom of capitalism.

Anyway, there are plenty of sects of Buddhism, molded for their era and circumstances (Zen Buddhism anyone?). The author would do well not romanticize Buddhism or the subjects as some sort of underdog religious crusaders. That they are not.

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