"I was fascinated to read how modern Buddhist movement in
India is so influenced by extreme rationalism, if you like Bertrand Russell,
and feels repelled by the polytheistic imagery it associates with
Hinduism. That’s such a contrast to
us. How western post-modern society is
moving in such a very different direction.
It seems that the west, that was cut off from it’s pagan past, is
captivated by the profusion of imagery coming out of it’s encounter with the
many cultures of third world. The
differences between the two cultures seem so profound. It seems essential that the new Western
Buddhism, as it comes together, and the revived Buddhism in India, as they come
together, they need to have a lot more dialogue."
This is from his talk, "The Nature and Value of Sadhana" on FBA, given Feb. 2011 at Padmaloka, on a men's order weekend. The talk refers to Subhuti's paper Re-imagining The Buddha.
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