So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Casual conversation between friends. Anything goes (almost).
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Tilopa
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Re: So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Post by Tilopa »

himalayanspirit wrote: I guess all Buddhists should denounce drug abuse.
They do, or at least they should. The last of the 5 precepts is to abstain from intoxicants - including alcohol and drugs - which are said to cloud the mind, prevent the development of wisdom and give rise to inappropriate behaviour.
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Epistemes
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Re: So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Post by Epistemes »

I initially got attracted to Buddhism 12 years ago through my reading Kerouac. I was never much of a hippie, though. Just eccentric. Still am! :zzz:

I remember my senior year of high school. I was preaching Buddhism and Marxism. I believed on some level that the two were not only compatible but the basis of "The Golden Eternity" - Kerouac's phrase for the Pure Land. I still have my copy of Ludwig Feuerbach's "Essence of the Christian Religion" which is marked galore with my notes showing how Buddhism and Marxism could bring about Utopia.

Then I went to college, graduated, got a job, and got illusioned.
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Ogyen
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Re: So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Post by Ogyen »

Not an "old hippie", only 32.
Not into drugs, too many people I love are dead.
Not a new-ager, just a hardcore dhamma-chick. I live and breathe it. To the best of my ability.
Not going to give you advice on what you are seeking, that's what finding a teacher is for.

Everyone is suffering. Take it easy dude.

_/|\_
D. Ogyen.
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The Heart Drive - nosce te ipsum

"To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget." –Arundhati Roy
Rakz
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Re: So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Post by Rakz »

It's pretty strange buddhism has attracted a lot of hippies given its strong anti drug, anti "free love" stance.
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Tilopa
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Re: So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Post by Tilopa »

Not really. The 4 immeasurable thoughts basically reflect the hippie creed.

May all sentient beings have happiness and its causes

May all sentient beings be free of suffering and its causes

May all sentient beings never be separated from the bliss of liberation

May all sentient beings abide in perfect equanimity free of bias, attachment and anger
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Re: So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Post by Rakz »

"free love" meaning the sexual revolution. the gratification of lust
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KathyLauren
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Re: So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Post by KathyLauren »

Ryoto wrote:It's pretty strange buddhism has attracted a lot of hippies given its strong anti drug, anti "free love" stance.
Not strange at all, since those things were never what real hippies were about anyway. Tilopa's post above is right on the money.

Om mani padme hum
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LastLegend
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Re: So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Post by LastLegend »

Yes everything is good but the bong messes it up :rolling:
It’s eye blinking.
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Re: So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Post by Kyosan »

Ryoto wrote:It's pretty strange buddhism has attracted a lot of hippies given its strong anti drug, anti "free love" stance.
You are mischaracterizing hippies. Some hippies were/are into those things bit certainly not all of them. I think that the hippies were right about many things. They were right in their advocacy of peace and understanding between people. Many of their values were/are similar to Buddhist values so it's not surprising if many of them become Buddhists.

Buddhism is not for Buddhas. The whole purpose of Buddhism is to help those who have faults.
:namaste:
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Tilopa
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Re: So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Post by Tilopa »

LastLegend wrote:Yes everything is good but the bong messes it up :rolling:
Ah yes I remember well... sort of.
Those were the days. Bongs, chilums, mushrooms and best of all....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFDeJK5E ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVdTQ3OPtGY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpFE_1yzr7w" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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LastLegend
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Re: So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Post by LastLegend »

I was not born in the 60s or 70s so I don't know anything about hippies. But kids today like Greatful Dead and Fish.

I went to school in Vermont, USA and there are a lot of new age hippies there.
It’s eye blinking.
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Re: So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Post by KathyLauren »

As long as we are talking about hippies and Buddhism, I should mention my local Dharma centre.

It is significant to me (and to most of the other members) that our local Dharma centre is on the grounds of the former Greenpeace Experimental Farm, built in the 1970s by some of the original founders of Greenpeace. Those folks were the real hippies and moved "back to the land" to learn how to live sustainably. They published several books on ecologically sensitive construction and farming techniques, which can still be found on the Internet with a bit of searching. The kitchen and dining hall buildings at the centre are the original geodesic domes built by the Greenpeace people. They planted orchards of heritage apple and nut trees from which we still benefit today.

Clearly, the connection is lost on many, but it seems clear to our group's members that we Buddhists are continuing the same tradition that those hippies started.

Om mani padme hum
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Re: So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Post by Kyosan »

Here is a quote from Chapter 5 of the Lotus Sutra "Parable of the Herbs" that makes it clear that the Dharma is for everyone:
.....I am the World-honored One,
Who cannot be equaled.
To give peace to all creatures
I appear in the world,
And for the hosts of the living
Preach the Law, pure as sweet dew:
The one and only Law
Of emancipation and nirvana.'
With one transcendent voice
I proclaim this meaning,
Constantly taking the Great-vehicle
As my subject.
I look upon all [living beings]
Everywhere [with] equal [eyes],
Without distinction of persons,
Or mind of love or hate.
I have no predilections
Nor limitations [or partiality];
Ever to all [beings]
I preach the Law equally;
As to one person,
So to all.
Constantly I proclaim the Law,
Never occupied with aught else;
Going or coming, sitting or standing,
I never weary of
Pouring it abundantly upon the world,
Like the rain enriching universally.
Honored and humble, high and low,
Law-keepers and law-breakers,
Those of perfect character
And those of imperfect,
Orthodox and heterodox,
Quick-witted and dull-witted,
[With] equal [mind] I rain the rain of the Law
Unwearyingly.....
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Re: So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Post by himalayanspirit »

Okay, apologies to the hippies or former hippies.

I am 24 year old and was probably coloring my perception about drug-users through what I see here in India. Unlike in the west, here drugs are often only associated with anti-social elements of society, thugs, criminals and prostitutes. Although nowadays many rich kids of the prominent localities in various metropolitan cities are also known to be regular users of various kinds of drugs (just yesterday watched in news report how cobra's poison was being used as a drug in various parties in Mumbai). So basically, drug users are often associated with being "irreligious".

In the whole East in general, IMO, the people who often get attracted to religion, especially Buddhism, are often already "good citizens"(sorry again for associated "hippyism" as something bad) with good character. I know a case, through my friend, about how a former dacoit in one of the rural towns of Rajasthan is now a senior Vippassana teacher and organizer (and a respected teacher). But such cases are often rare.


It was because of this conditioning of my mind, that I was led to conclude that in the west, on the contrary, it is the "hippy" (who I associated with anti-social elements who are not really serious in life) who is more attracted to Buddhism (or any Eastern religion for that matter).

I guess taking drugs and psychedelics is pretty common in the west and almost every individual passes through a phase of life (usually college or high school) where he or she experiments with it; and criminals alone are not guilty of taking drugs there, I guess.

What I did not like is that the hippies take up Buddhism due to their drug experiences, and also go on to preach about how drugs could be beneficial for Buddhists. This is completely wrong.


PS- I know there are lot of Hindu Sadhus (Nagas) who smoke Hashish all day, but they are not really "respected" too much in India anyway; and are often only short of being considered criminals.
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Re: So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Post by Sönam »

so ... peace and love my dharma friend

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By understanding everything you perceive from the perspective of the view, you are freed from the constraints of philosophical beliefs.
By understanding that any and all mental activity is meditation, you are freed from arbitrary divisions between formal sessions and postmeditation activity.
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Tilopa
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Re: So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Post by Tilopa »

LastLegend wrote:I was not born in the 60s or 70s so I don't know anything about hippies. But kids today like Greatful Dead ......
Then there is still hope for the world.
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Re: So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Post by Grigoris »

Geez Tilopa, if liking the Grateful Dead is a sign of hope for the world then really I don't know what sort of world we are going to be living in!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56u6g0POvo0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
But these guys, now we're talking!
:tongue:
Last edited by Grigoris on Thu Oct 20, 2011 10:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Post by maybay »

People will know nothing and everything
Remember nothing and everything
Think nothing and everything
Do nothing and everything
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Re: So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Post by edearl »

himalayanspirit wrote:Okay, apologies to the hippies or former hippies.
What I did not like is that the hippies take up Buddhism due to their drug experiences, and also go on to preach about how drugs could be beneficial for Buddhists.
IMO, This idea is completely wrong. Buddhism discourages taking drugs; thus, there is no reason why someone taking drugs should become a Buddhist because of taking drugs.

Metta
HHDL: "My confidence in venturing into science lies in my basic belief that as in science so in Buddhism, understanding the nature of reality is pursued by means of critical investigation: if scientific analysis were conclusively to demonstrate certain claims in Buddhism to be false, then we must accept the findings of science and abandon those claims."
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Re: So this forum is comprised mostly of former New-Age hippies?

Post by padma norbu »

gregkavarnos wrote:Geez Tilopa, if liking the Grateful Dead is a sign of hope for the world then really I don't know what sort of world we are going to be living in!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56u6g0POvo0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
But these guys, now we're talking!
:tongue:
DEVO is about 100x more negative than the Grateful Dead. Their whole message is a non entirely sarcastic celebration of the de-evolution of man back to savage self-interest. I like DEVO, but anyone who doesn't like the Grateful Dead is suspect, imo.

Jerry had a lovely little elf voice and Hunter wrote some of the most beautiful lyrics...
"Use what seems like poison as medicine. We can use our personal suffering as the path to compassion for all beings." Pema Chodron
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