Barackface: Buddhism

Showing posts with label Buddhism. Show all posts

Friday, April 05, 2024

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

The Major Religions

Tuesday, March 01, 2016

Metal, Glass And India

Women belonging to the aristocractic Nair caste of Kerala ,India (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The caste system is like this dark, opaque metal that hammers away at the Buddhist egalitarian glass of social equality. The glass has broken so far in India. The metal has broken India’s backbone. There is no internal unity, no internal cohesion, no internal strength, and the caste system is to blame. A conscious effort has to be made to create a casteless Hinduism in India. And then in India the metal becomes transparent. You end up transparent like glass and strong like metal. And then India becomes strong.

This is not an argument against cultural diversity, only against inequality.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Kathmandu And Jerusalem

Kathmandu And Jerusalem

Jerusalem is where three major world religions meet: Judaism, Islam, Christianity. A lot of people don’t see it that way, but Kathmandu is its own kind of Jerusalem. Two major world religions meet in Kathmandu. Buddhism and Hinduism. Jerusalem is also easier to understand because people not getting along is as obvious as can be. In Kathmandu outwardly Hinduism and Buddhism co-exist like no two religions anywhere on the planet. But do they really? Buddhism is an egalitarian religion. All human beings are not only equal, there is no other way possible. Hinduism and its caste system are not one and the same, but by now who can tell the difference? They co-exist like meat and bone. The caste hierarchy is like a body organ to a Bramhin. Preaching egalitarian thoughts is quite literally blasphemy. What makes things more complicated is the agitating Madhesis did not become Buddhist just like Jews did not become Christian, although Buddha was born one of their own. The agitating Madhesis are caste people and the top leaders of the movement don’t get along because they are from different caste backgrounds. Otherwise the political agenda is the same, and there are not really any major personality clashes. So the Brahmins in Kathmandu say, if I don’t have to even explain this to you, since you are big on caste yourself, how hard is it for you to understand that I have decided upon a second class citizenship for you? How is that any different from the caste system both you and I agree with anyways? Not only two major world religions meet in Kathmandu, two other are right at the heels. Islam is not small in the Madhesh, and Christianity is the fastest growing religion in Nepal, giving the Brahmins nightmares, like Islam is the fastest growing religion in America, and for the same reason. The oppressed are walking out in both places.

Kathmandu is home to two major world religions who are at peace but can not really be because the two social structures are like metal and glass. And Kathmandu, or rather Nepal, is a confluence of five major world civilizations. That there is no civil war is a miracle. The religions might take some of the credit. Because it’s not literacy, it’s not the per capita income, it’s not roads, it’s not bridges.

Maybe there will be peace in Kathmandu, and the same peace template can then be taken over to Jerusalem. Via Kashmir.

For now the question circulating around in Kathmandu is, if the Madhesis don’t have problems with the caste system, why do they have problems with being second class citizens?

India and China have both avoided micro interferences in Nepal not because they fear Nepal -- it is a small country -- but because they fear Jerusalem. Every major power in modern history has thrown the kitchen sink at Jerusalem, and it has stayed intractable. Both India and China stay informed, but the level of micro management that Delhi gets accused of in Kathmandu, if there is truth to it, Delhi has the most efficient bureaucracy on the planet.

The Muslims Did Not Invade India

The Muslims Did Not Invade India

The Hindus, or some of them, broke the Hindu society through a forceful imposition of the caste system. They did such a thorough job for a few hundred years, that they were basically begging to be invaded. There was nothing to invade. You just had to walk in. The Hindu society was so broken up.

The caste system is still intact today. The Hindus could still get invaded by the Americans and the Chinese. Only the creation of a casteless Hinduism will give India the backbone to stand firm. The creation of a casteless Hinduism should be the top project of the RSS. Hire a hundred poets to come up with Bachchan like last names. And “convert.” Get people to adopt these new last names.

Otherwise FlipKart is already owned 80% by non Indian investors. That is the new East India Company knocking at the door. It is already inside the house. The Americans and the Chinese are just waiting to swoop in through the digital doors. You could keep your borders and your army and still get hollowed out. So dangerous is the Hindu caste system. Buddhism is egalitarian. Mass conversion to Buddhism might be another option.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Black Resurgence

I believe Barack Obama has done some concrete work on things like education, health, and more recently, criminal justice reform. The black community stands to benefit for the next generation. The positive impact will be felt. But there is something blacks will have to do on their own. Come together and weld a rich, healthy black identity through use of, exchange of spoken words.

Slavery and segregation were crimes. They are not heritage. They were somebody else's wrongs. Black folks have to go further back into the past all the way back to Africa for positive reinforcements of the black identity. There are languages, and cultures, and festivals and rituals.

Another possible movement is horizontal. Adopt Islam and become one with the Muslims on the Indian subcontinent. Islam is a religion of peace. Islam is a religion of much clarity. Islam has created a large global community. Anybody who says Indians are a minority doesn't know arithmetic.

Dalits in India and blacks in America have to cross that bridge onto another religion for fundamental liberation. For Dalits it might be Buddhism. Or Islam.

Sitting around the proverbial fire and exchanging word on experiences and just coming together to build community is a great thing. It leads to strength.

Swimmer Michael Phelps had to win a whole bunch of gold medals to achieve fame and heights where oxygen is less. And he resorted to smoking pot. It is a thin air thing. A whole bunch of young black men hit that thin air at the sea level itself. Why? Why is the emotional infrastructure so weak? The system has waged relentless attacks on the black family. But the pendulum is about to swing. The black person, the black identity, the black family, the black community can now peacefully assemble and gather strength and wealth and become whole. The continent of Africa itself is also slowly but surely gathering pace. India is the next China and Africa is the next India. The central continent is on its way to occupying a central place in the scheme of things down the decades.

The history of solar power in this country is Barack Obama talked about it a lot on the campaign trail in 2007, and today solar has achieved grid parity, it will meet 100% of the needs by 2030. There is solar power and there is black power. Similarly black folks should engage in conversation. There is power in simply talking. Black folks should talk to each other.