karmic thermals

The culture of Triratna doesn't talk too much about karma, samsara and nirvana, attachments, and a lot of other probably unhelpful Buddhist buzzwords. I found being grounded in the sangha, I have adopted the distaste for these vague words that certain people who aren't really interested use to play around. I'm thinking about writing a post about questions I dislike on Reddit r/Buddhism. Instead usually I just skip on by and say, "philosophical quibbling without practice." I have an intellectual approach to Buddhism, but I don't think that is the best door to go through without meditation, sangha and retreats. 

I was rewatching Inherent Vice (2014) for the 3rd time, and I came across the phrase "karmic thermals". I do like that phrase. The kid who's killed by a stray bullet didn't deserve it, but got caught in the karmic thermals of others. We're caught up in the karmic thermals of right wing christofascist here in America. 

Mostly conditionality is what is to be talked about, but the 12 nidanas is a teaching, and just observing conditions isn't easy. It's hard to talk about conditions, consequences and courses of actions, because in the USA we've become hyper partisan, and there is no objective reality any more. Women can't get abortions for life threatening conditions because doctors are afraid of breaking the law, losing their license, or otherwise rocking the powers that be. Meanwhile republican politicians are breaking the law all over the place like they're some weird anti-woke woke contradiction of living their best selves by destroying the country's democracy out of spite.

I'm not saying you can't have the personality that wishes for conservative approach to politics. That's not what causes and conditions is all about. I'm talking about the norm breaking, the rule breaking, the law breaking power grabs and hate mongering going on. Power built on racism and anti-democratic sore losing is not power at all, and history will look unkindly on them.

The karmic thermals of the USA are quite heinous for 10 year old incest victims, women who have to carry dead babies because abortion is no longer legal. The imposition of traveling to another state is the penalty, and of course the poor suffer more, not the rich. Politicians are openly questioning the founding fathers ideas of separation of church and state. Either some people didn't go to school and learn about America, or they just want their way no matter how they get it, forget American ideas of separation of church and state. Let's empower the American taliban, the Christofascist. /s

When you adopt the love mode over the power mode in the spiritual life, you can't steamroll people. In fact you focus on your own spiritual life. You consider others subjectivity, what they want. I would never impose the Buddhist text that you don't get an abortion onto people who were not Buddhist, not is it clear to me that you can't support a secular state beyond specific religions. So don't get an abortion, but don't impose your idea of religion on others. That's not American unless you're an asshole. And the amount of assholes in America seems to be going up. Karmic thermals, wish they were blowing down.

I have to keep reminding myself. This isn't happening to my male body, but I'm interconnected to everyone else, so it is happening to me. But to maintain equanimity to focus on what is in front of me, I allow myself to forget how interconnected I am to cope with the karmic thermals of America. 

McMann has an interesting essay about the modern conceptions of self in Secularizing Buddhism, referencing Gergen's Saturated Self.

Taylor Swift's plane taking 171 flights. The poor will bear the brunt of the climate change crisis that the rich bring about with their selfish ways. Time for some more vigorous class war in this country. For a fraction of Bezos' wealth he could save and improve a lot of lives. Musk joked about curing hunger if someone could show him a good plan, but if course he didn't pay enough attention to really find one he liked, his attention wandered. He needs all his money to pay for the children he's having. Meanwhile his father says he doesn't like him, he's fat, and his father is having children with his stepdaughter. Quality family. Perhaps it's gossip I've descended into in the culture wars, but these cases exemplify what is going on and the karmic thermals. "We should have met cute, but we met squalid." Hope Harlingen in Inherent Vice movie.