American Buddhism: Nirvana EZ

"Earlier this year Tricycle, the Buddhist magazine, ran an article portraying Philip Marlowe as a "true American bodhisattva,", a "Zen Peacemaker seeing through the emptiness of surfaces - California, a perfect image for what the Buddhists might call samsara - one who, holding to no creed, ventures out into the dark to banish illusion...(one American Zen student I know wrote his master's thesis on Chandler's vision);"  
The Mystery of Influence
by Pico Iyer
from The Misread City,
Red Hen Press,2003 (Philip Marlowe is the character created by Raymond Chandler in his great stories) 
 

Recently there have been articles about Zen for the rich and how to become a bodhisattva in your spare time. I have seen pictures of Ch'an or Zen for the elite. I have not seen articles on Zen for the poor, but upon reflection, I never see any articles about the poor, excepting those articles which deal with them as being without money, without means, and without medical insurance.

The poor are of no interest other than as emblems of poverty.
The rich, however, are quite another thing.

If the Lord Buddha could have combined his family's wealth with his own path, he would still be boffo in India today. I recall a review of Sam Harris' recent rant againt religion. The review was in KtB ( Killing the Buddha) I think. The reviewer actually said that Mr. Harris said he held no religious opinions, but he did meditate...a la Buddha. And the review went on name dropping one name...Buddha, Buddha, Buddha.

Then the reviewer seemed to fawn over Mr. Harris, if not actually endorsing him. Since people say that Buddhism has no concept of the soul nor of God, it must be a form of Atheism, hence right up old Mr. Harris' decidedly dark alley. Consider these things. I offer no comment.
Dr. D. Suzuki ( The "D" is not for "David"), were he here, would be smacking students upside the head.

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