Bill Maher on Buddhism (and Christianity)

[Morning Star Dhamma]

Comedian Bill Maher has caught some flack for his comments about Buddhism in this blog entry over at The Huffington Post.

A few choice responses: here and here and (my own) here. It's surprising how many misconceptions continue to be advanced when it comes to Buddhism. Maher sums the entire path up as an outdated "life sucks and then you die" approach. Which ignores the most crucial parts of the teaching: that suffering has an end, and that there is a way leading to the end of suffering.

 

[Madasin]

Maher is just trying to make a living. I don't agree with his satirical view on anything but the guy is just trying to make a living. Hopefully he’ll have an awakening one day and have a few apologies of his own to make.

 

[Scarlett Wampus]

I think the Dharma will survive this cheekiness.

 

[Morning Star Dhamma]

I think the Dharma will survive this cheekiness.

:yes:

 

[Smoke]

I hope that an essay that says, "now we have medicine, and plenty of food, and iPhones, and James Cameron movies," as if half the world's population weren't going without those things, is meant humorously.

However, if I understood Buddhism as Bill Maher understands it, I'd probably despise Buddhism, too.

 

[Willamena]

only half?

 

[Smoke]

only half?

Probably more, but I don't like to be overconfident when I'm making up statistics.

 

[Sunstone]

I like Maher. But in the end, he deals in cartoons of Buddhism.

 

[YmirGF]

Maher sums the entire path up as an outdated "life sucks and then you die" approach. Which ignores the most crucial parts of the teaching: that suffering has an end, and that there is a way leading to the end of suffering.

Frankly, I am inclined to agree with Maher that Buddhism is an outdated model of reality, but not for the reasons he states.

I like Maher. But in the end, he deals in cartoons of Buddhism.

My perception is that people are suffering from grave delusions if they think the Buddhism of today is the same as what Buddha taught and in the sense, modern Buddhism is very much a caricature of its former glory.

 

[Marco19]

I think the problem is that he is wearing abrahimic glasses and criticizing absolutely different concepts, which requires another sort of glasses ... sure there is a blur, or misunderstanding!

 

[Morning Star Dhamma]

Frankly, I am inclined to agree with Maher that Buddhism is an outdated model of reality, but not for the reasons he states.

My perception is that people are suffering from grave delusions if they think the Buddhism of today is the same as what Buddha taught and in the sense, modern Buddhism is very much a caricature of its former glory.

Since "Buddhism" is a pretty big tent, I'm not in a position to agree or disagree with these sentiments.

In my personal experience, however, the handful of simsapa leaves that I have encountered have been extremely beneficial. Individual experiences may vary. With gratitude to Bill Maher for creating the circumstances for this discussion.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

Comedian Bill Maher has caught some flack for his comments about Buddhism in this blog entry over at The Huffington Post.

A few choice responses: here and here and (my own) here. It's surprising how many misconceptions continue to be advanced when it comes to Buddhism. Maher sums the entire path up as an outdated "life sucks and then you die" approach. Which ignores the most crucial parts of the teaching: that suffering has an end, and that there is a way leading to the end of suffering.

Actually? I thought the blog entry was pretty funny.

The last paragraph got me chuckling the most. Royal poop and all that.

Westerners are usually so misinformed of what Buddhism is and what it isn't that it's refreshing for me to see it in comedic style.

 

[Smoke]

Actually? I thought the blog entry was pretty funny.

Didn't have me chuckling, but I didn't think it was offensive, either.

 

[Morning Star Dhamma]

Westerners are usually so misinformed of what Buddhism is and what it isn't that it's refreshing for me to see it in comedic style.

It would be easier to chuckle if Mr. Maher were parodying the misinformation rather than participating in it. As presented, his words are just sad. If we chuckle, we're laughing at him, not with him. That's not something I choose to do.

Didn't have me chuckling, but I didn't think it was offensive, either.

I didn't find it offensive either. As I wrote, may Bill Maher be happy ...

‘Brethren, if outsiders should speak against me, or against my teaching, or against my disciples, you should not on that account either bear malice, or suffer heart-burning, or feel ill-will. If you, on that account, should be angry and hurt, that would stand in the way of your own self-conquest. If, when others speak against us, you feel angry at that, and displeased, would you then be able to judge how far that speech of theirs is well said or ill?’
‘That would not be so, Sir.’
‘But when outsiders speak in dispraise of me, or of my teaching, or of my disciples, you should unravel what is false and point it out as wrong, saying: “For this or that reason this is not the fact, that is not so, such a thing is not found among us, is not in us.”
- DN 1 (Brahmajala Sutta)

 

[Mr Cheese]

For you I shall wait above in the chariot of water,
on the moon, my resting place until the world is saved,
and always send down help to you.
Whoever strikes you, do not strike back`.
Whoever hates you, do not hate back.
Whoever envies you, do not envy again.
Whoever strikes you with anger, always return him with kindness,
and what you deplore in others do not yourself do.
No, you must endure insults and abuses
from those of higher station, from equals and those below,
because you who are devout and endure will not waver.
If someone throws flowers against an elephant,
these flowers cannot smash an elephant.
If raindrops fall on a stone,
these raindrops cannot melt the stone.
So insults and abuses can in no way make the devout
and of good endurance waver.

—Mani

 

[MysticSang'ha]

It would be easier to chuckle if Mr. Maher were parodying the misinformation rather than participating in it. As presented, his words are just sad. If we chuckle, we're laughing at him, not with him. That's not something I choose to do.

I didn't find it offensive either. As I wrote, may Bill Maher be happy ...

That's cool. Whatever floats your boat.

I laugh at people all the time, including myself. I just think people are funny.

 

[sonofskeptish]

Maher sums the entire path up as an outdated "life sucks and then you die" approach.

But we do die, and for some, life really does suck. But for others it doesn't, yet instead of enjoying the short, precious time we've got, they waste their entire existence on trying to get tickets to the next (imaginary) show. I like Bill... calls it like he sees it, regardless of if it's politically correct.

 

[Sunstone]

I think Maher misunderstands what dukkha is. He seems to think it is adequately translated as "suffering". I don't know about that. To understand what dukkha might mean, I prefer to start by going back to it's root meaning -- dukkha refered to a dislocated bone -- such as a dislocated shoulder. And it refered to a loose fit between axel and wheel, such that the wheel wobbled. Those senses of the word don't readily translate into "suffering". So I prefer to think of dukkha as meaning something closer to "out of jointedness", than to "suffering" -- although, to be sure, suffering can be caused or prolonged by out of jointedness.

I could go on -- I think there's more to dukkha than I mention here -- but you get the idea: Maher's criticism of Buddhism seems to ultimately rest on his understanding that dukkha means suffering. But I think that understanding is superficial.

All life is dukkha. All life is out of jointedness.

I can believe that, based on my experience of life.

 

[Sunstone]

I believe the reason dukkha often gets translated as suffering is because dukkha causes and prolongs a lot of suffering.

 

[Morning Star Dhamma]

Some excellent post in here! Thanks, Mr. Cheese, for the Mani quote.

And good points on Dukkha, Sunstone. Your observations go to the heart of the matter. Dukkha is one of those Pali words for which there is no adequate English translation. "Suffering" is the most common translation, but it's not perfect by any means. I've also seen "stress" used. I believe "dukkha" also can be used in the field of pottery, to describe the situation when a lump of clay is not centered on its spinning wheel. It gets wobbly and out of balance. That's dukkha, too. Dukkha is one of those words, like "dhamma," that can have different shades of meaning depending on the context.

The Buddha tells us that birth is dukkha, sickness is dukkha, aging is dukkha, death is dukkha. The Buddha summarizes his entire teaching by saying that he teaches only dukkha and the end of dukkha. When misunderstood, it's easy to see how Mr. Maher or others might interpret this as a teaching that "life sucks and then you die." But a jewel in the teaching is the way to the end of suffering. In my opinion, it's an amazingly positive and directly beneficial teaching that Mr. Maher unfortunately has not yet encountered and understood.