McMindfulness: When Capitalism Goes Buddhist

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Күн бұрын

Buddhism is sometimes charged as the ideal religion for upholding unfair systems, encouraging practitioners to meditate ostensibly without acting on injustice. But is there more beneath the surface of Buddhism as taught to us under capitalism? And is this quality of "mindfulness" being, in fact, misused by neoliberals to continue exploitative economic systems?
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edited by danae o.!
Bibliography
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Ronald E. Purser (2019). “McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality”.
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Richard K. Payne, Fabio Rambelli (2022). “Buddhism Under Capitalism”.
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Libor Bednarik
• Free Stock footage - S...
Pexbell
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• Muay Thai and Buddhism...
The first clip of a Muay Thai fighter performing the Wai Khru Ram Muay is mislabeled. Only the second one is by Love & Fear on Koh Phangan; the first one is by Champions Gym. Wai Khru Ram Muay (Full Version) | Champions Gym Fight Team
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00:00 introduction
03:22 co-optation
10:05 contradiction
18:53 compromise
26:20 conclusion: collectivization

Пікірлер: 1 300

@JordanSullivanadventures Жыл бұрын

I really hate the trend of corporations going in hard for mental health for the express purpose of increasing worker productivity. Like at first you think, "oh that's nice, supporting workers and helping them deal with stress," and then you start to notice this insidious idea popping up all throughout the "mental health resources" that the only reason you should try to improve your mental health or take breaks or be compassion toward yourself is to get you back to work faster.

@SantaFishes101 Жыл бұрын

I've been struggling with this for years... it's really dehumanizing.

@kongking6860 Жыл бұрын

It’s literally to try and turn us into robots, as they don’t get tired and can keep working, they want humans to get more work done in less time while on minimum pay.

@jonigarciajg Жыл бұрын

I'm a therapist and I share your thoughts on this. I try to help clients give themselves permission to do less.

@VOLightPortal Жыл бұрын

I guess better than being chained and whipped.

@timgwallis Жыл бұрын

I don’t see a problem with that. We stumbled into a situation where the incentives for both employer and employee are aligned. That seems like a good thing to me.

@MrTooEarnestOnline Жыл бұрын

You know I used to hate Buddhism because I felt like it fit so neatly into an introspective capitalist framework that was uninterested in changing the world around it. It’s also what we come away with when we learn the public school version of Siddhartha’s story. I always felt like his story was one of a rich guy learning to be at peace with the suffering of others. I’m humbled to learn that I was wrong

@jerujedesu Жыл бұрын

Siddhartha leaving his wife and kids to live at the woods really was a bro moment ngl. You should read "Siddhartha" by Herman Hesse. I read it once and I never stopped thinking about it honestly. Such a powerful story.

@Call_Upon_YAH Жыл бұрын

Be it known: Through the Holy Spirit, God has put it on me to preach to those lost in the devil's deceit! I tell ye, truly, Jesus of Nazareth is the propitiation for the whole world's sins. He is the anointed one, for he is, Jesus Christ. God the Father has raised him from the dead; who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God! Angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father, but by him. They who believe and are baptized with the Holy Spirit shall be saved; but they who believe not shall be damned. For they who believe not on him, shall die in their sins! I tell ye now to repent of your sins, accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit upon asking the Father! There are *NO* sub-divisions of Christianity. You're either a disciple of Christ or not. A Christian is someone who follows God's word, not a religion. Who obey the Father and follow his will; not man's nor their own heart's. Unless you keep Jesus' commandments, think not the Holy Spirit will dwell within you! They who heed this message and did what was stated with an open heart to God... Read the Holy Bible (KJV) daily and every time before you read, pray to the Father and ask: "Lord I ask that you give me understanding of your word, that I interpret it the way you want me to, and none of my own. I ask you in Jesus' name, amen." 1 John 2:2 KJV 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Acts 13:26-33 KJV 26 Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, *and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.* 27 *For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.* 28 And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. 29 *And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.* 30 *But God raised him from the dead:* 31 And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. 32 *And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,* 33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. 1 Peter 3:22 KJV 22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. John 14:6 KJV 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Mark 16:16 KJV 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. John 8:24 KJV 24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. Acts 2:38 KJV 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Luke 11:13 KJV 13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? John 14:21-24 KJV 21 *He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.* 22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, *If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.* 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and *the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.*

@sloanekuria3249 Жыл бұрын

@@Call_Upon_YAH imagine reading the king james new testament and concluding jeepers believed in this intrusive display of evangelism. Truly, evangelists are simply not Christian, since they don't follow the precepts of the Jesus figure in any way.

@milascave2 Жыл бұрын

@@obrotherwhereartliam You are wrong. He and his monks defied the caste system by treating untouchables just like they treated everybody else. That was a radical move. He told his monks that they could eat meat if they wanted to, but only if they were sure that it was table scraps and the animal was not killed for their benefits. He prohibited his followers from practice animal sacrifice, which was the norm at the time. He even did actual civil disobedience by sitting between two armies that were about to fight. He did this twice. There have been so many instances of Buddhist monks who have done political activism that I was able to give a rather long talk on the subject.

@MusicMissionary Жыл бұрын

@@Call_Upon_YAH So Jesus is a bot now...

@OurLadyLaLa Жыл бұрын

When I was in medical school we were required to do multiple mindfulness exercises but were never taught about wisdom or ethics. We ended up just being very mindful of all the issues at the hospital system and school we were in 😂

@j.2512 Жыл бұрын

the wisdom and ethics are pretty garbage too, Yoga is actually less garbage without it.

@RadioPsychicAstrologyByPepper Жыл бұрын

My daughter is a Lauren Ashley and in the healthcare field (she’s a gerontology psych nurse) . Thank you for your often under appreciated overworked contribution to the world.❤

@thatdaniperson Жыл бұрын

@@j.2512 How

@briancrawford8751 Жыл бұрын

@@j.2512 Medical ethics isn't garbage.

@blacklotus108 11 ай бұрын

@@j.2512ah yes wisdom and ethics are garbage 😂

@thecolorjune Жыл бұрын

THIS! I was told “be mindful of how you’re feeling” in therapy but was given NO guidance of what to do next. I have sensory issues and it was excruciating to be mentally present in overwhelming situations so I would dissociate. Being mindful was not the solution, learning to leave or modify bad environments was what I desperately needed. Mindfulness is dangerous when used lazily as a solution, instead of a tool.

@keren4602 11 ай бұрын

Omg I agree w this!!!! It reminds me of a couple sessions where I remember explicitly asking my therapist "what can I do to feel better" because even though it felt nice to get it out and we talked through understanding and feeling my emotions thoroughly together, it sometimes felt like reopening a wound (that I later on didn't know how to close back up) so I ended having some spill over irl

@anitat9727 11 ай бұрын

Exactly

@crstph Жыл бұрын

“if a fascist mediates they’ll come to peace with the concept of eugenics.” this is such a great example of the danger of adopting these practices to make them fit our own worldview without actually learning about them

@mtrisi Жыл бұрын

😂😂😂😂

@SBCBears Жыл бұрын

The Buddha referred to his teaching as dhamma-vinaya, not just dhamma. Dhamma is the body of his spiritual teaching, vinaya is the training. He said vinaya is not dhamma, but there is no dhamma without vinaya. You can see how this is generally ignored today. Modern "mindfulness" teaching is a prime example.

@qjtvaddict Жыл бұрын

In all fairness eugenics is not limited to fascism

@riveteye93 Жыл бұрын

Coming to peace with concepts that are dangerous and bad is the only way to change Just like an alcoholic has to come to peace with the concept of him being addicted to move forward and change his life, same can be said about any "evil" in our lives

@No1WillMakeItOutAlive Жыл бұрын

@@skymanifest8339 🤓

@meowing_wolf Жыл бұрын

A bit relieved that my growing unease with mindfulness rhetoric isn't unfounded. I was thinking I was overreacting to nothing.

@moethemoon Жыл бұрын

Same here

@H3XED_OwO Жыл бұрын

There are more things … likely to frighten us than there are to crush us; we suffer more often in imagination than in reality. - Seneca

@Ninja1Ninja2 Жыл бұрын

you are right its basically society wide manipulation to create a new culture that corporations can profit off of

@j.2512 Жыл бұрын

I wouldn't trust anything from a culture were people still shit on the streets

@paulwolstenholme1673 Жыл бұрын

Same

@dcb289 Жыл бұрын

as a buddhist leftist and follower of Thích Nhất Hạnh, this video is so important. especially during the last part, you beautifully captured the core idea that we are all interrelated on the basis of our collective suffering… and it saddens me to see mindfulness being co-opted and separated from that core idea, to see non-buddhist working class people be manipulated to dissociate from their own exploitation. there’s still much work to be done but I am grateful that this topic is gaining more attention. thank you for your eloquence and contributions to our enlightenment.

@aldenahbasaka5796 9 ай бұрын

lol

@codydagg2259 9 ай бұрын

I mean, you nailed it. Manipulated to dissociate from their own exploitation/reaility.

@chonkychinchilla Жыл бұрын

Not sure if it was done intentionally, but you posted this video on the week of Vesak Day which falls on 5th May this year, where we celebrate the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha. It couldn't have been more timely 😊

@littlewillowlinda Жыл бұрын

:0 may 5 is "my" bday, i didn't know about this! Awesome 😊

@Az-mm2yy Жыл бұрын

@@littlewillowlinda its different every year 😅

@JustWojtek Жыл бұрын

that's some decent timing

@theeccentric7263 Жыл бұрын

In middle school, we had a mindfulness week before standardized state testing to try to relax us. Because we were so stressed out that kids were vomiting and opting out en masse. It didn’t help btw.

@jermfanaccount Жыл бұрын

my school does similar things and literally none of it has extinguished any sort of anxiety i have,, i think school IS the reason i have anxiety :(

@bake-io1cf Жыл бұрын

I've seen standarized test for the younger generation. The tests are the easiest they have ever been with the most ammount of time and resources to study the subjects. Its just that the kids are so fried by social media and so entitled that any modicum of inconvenience and challenge instantly makes them crumble and fall to pieces. Its a mind broken generation that won't ammount to anything, the world is fucked in the next few decades when they are the main market and labour force.

@michigandersea3485 11 ай бұрын

If there can be right mindfulness, then there can be wrong mindfulness. And that's wrong mindfulness. The purpose of mindfulness meditation is to be conscious and present and let go of other overaching objectives. Correct me if I'm wrong; I've learned from Theravada monks and am not very well versed in Buddhism overall.

@MastaGambit 11 ай бұрын

@@bake-io1cf Okay, boomer. You obviously don't understand these kids and/or have zero desire TO understand them in actuality, so it's pretty disingenuous of you to speak about them as if you do.

@theeccentric7263 10 ай бұрын

@@bake-io1cf I wish it was as simple as that.

@endoakira Жыл бұрын

as a Buddhist i didn't have the vocabulary to describe what i saw in capitalist (mainly Western) countries of this bastardisation of my religion, mcmindfulness is the perfect description and i'll go read that book. thank you!

@asuka_the_void_witch Жыл бұрын

isn't it wrong to call buddhism a religion in the first place tho?

@endoakira Жыл бұрын

@@asuka_the_void_witch no, it’s considered a religion with denominations

@chadkline4268 Жыл бұрын

The problem I see is that the goal is not seen as serious as it properly should be. Whether society or monasteries, the seriousness of the situation and effort required is not understood. Little benefits of meditation are irrelevant to Buddhist practice. Trivial. The goal of Buddhism is not compatible with societies rooted in lust+greed. It is originally designed for agrarian supported monastic societies. Societies of peace+concentration where gain is a result of strong arms and sweat, not investments and money scams.

@j.2512 Жыл бұрын

As if asian corporations don't indoctrinate employees with zen buddhism

@xiaonanw6374 Жыл бұрын

@@chadkline4268 goal 😂 , it was a release from the burdens of that agricultural whatever lifestyle... what is needed for today is not written yet

@elizabethduffy2145 Жыл бұрын

I’m not a buddist, but this breakdown touches on a lot of what has pissed me off about the way a lot of jobs tackle mental health. When I’ve heard ‘mindfulness’ touted in work it’s been a way to shift blame for stress and drops in productivity to workers. They take no account of the fact people are overworked, underpaid and burned out because of systematic failings from management, it’s just the workers didn’t do mindfulness correctly. Before mindfulness was the buzzword we were told to be ‘resilient’, to get better at ‘multi-tasking and time management’. It’s always cheaper and easier to make a person blame themselves for crumbling under pressures they have no realistic way to change.

@lowrodrigo47 9 ай бұрын

Correct. I've also worked for companies that promote talking directly with employees about discrimination instead of going to HR.... Therefore relieving them of any responsibility to the employees whatsoever

@emilyfishie Жыл бұрын

This stripped down meditation discussion reminds me of how yoga has been a practice that got stripped of its spirituality and philosophy and other practice components to make it marketable to the “that girl” girlies. Similar, also, to how the maslow’s hierarchy of needs model was taken from indigenous culture and misappropriated, with parts of the pyramid left off and/or re-ordered… so now it says you must secure shelter & food & financial security before pursuing your identity, meaning, purpose, etc. (which was not the case in the original indigenous teachings)

@moethemoon Жыл бұрын

Do you have more information on the original indigenous teachings? I’m interested but don’t know where to look

@emilyfishie Жыл бұрын

@@moethemoon look up “Before Maslow’s Hierarchy: The Whitewashing of Indigenous Knowledge” there’s nuance there if you dig into other articles on this topic. some people feel like maslow did a neutral/scientific thing. for another perspective, you can read “The Blackfoot Origins of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”

@j.2512 Жыл бұрын

yoga is cult indoctrination. Its garbage either way , same with Kung Fu

@rodrigodias3000 Жыл бұрын

@@emilyfishie Very interesting! Thank you for the links!

@MyTimelord11 Жыл бұрын

Oh I did t know that! That honestly makes so much sense! Because if you were put in a survival situation and had to find water and shelter you'd first need to have a reason or purpose for wanting to go on and live. Otherwise you'd just lay there till you died with no purpose.

@Millenimorphose Жыл бұрын

I went to a lunchtime mindfulness webinar at my former employer, and the presenter literally said, “We’ve known how great meditation is for the last decade.” *stares in the entire history of Buddhism*

@tjenadonn6158 Жыл бұрын

That right there is the single most "Out of touch white guy tech sector management" sentence ever uttered. Like it's something you'd expect to hear on an episode of Silicon Valley.

@Millenimorphose Жыл бұрын

@@tjenadonn6158 It was brutal. My last straw at that company was when, during COVID, the disability diversity and inclusion group invited one of the board members of Autism Speaks to talk about strategies to deal with autistic kids during lockdown, for Autism Awareness month.

@tjenadonn6158 Жыл бұрын

@@Millenimorphose Trust me, as an autistic woman who's been working with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network since she was in eighth grade I'd be doing some very unmonetizable things to whoever brought Autism $peaks on board. It's like bringing in KFC's board of directors for advice on how to keep pet chickens.

@Millenimorphose Жыл бұрын

@@tjenadonn6158 Self-identified autistic enby here. I literally called them out on the company forums for (a) inviting a h8 group to talk about the subject and (b) not following the format of literally every DE&I event I had seen advertised in five years at the company, which is, “Employee(s) who belong to a group/community discuss culturally relevant topic.” This was an aerospace company with tens of thousands of employees in the region, full of engineers and people who clearly have had special interest: airplane since the day the were born, and they didn’t think they would find a single autistic employee who would want to share. Telling.

@ealusaid Жыл бұрын

This was totally awesome! I used to be a psychologist, and although there's a lot of benefit to mindfulness, there are all these problems you pointed to! We have studies literally saying that for people with extreme depression, mindfulness-based approaches SHOULD NOT be used, because... yeah. It's like locking a kid in a room with their bully to "resolve their differences." And the mental health industry has SO many problems that basically amount to, "Which side are we on?" I've worked for organizations that made me feel like the ringside medic at a boxing match. People would come to me, get their wounds patched up and bruises iced, and then sent back into the ring to get beaten up even more. Corporations don't actually care about the mental health of their workers; they just like mental health techniques that make workers shut up. If they actually cared, there'd be way more talking about reasonable accommodations for mental health issues the same there are for physically disabled workers. But no, they use mindfulness so that when workers express anger, discomfort, or unhappiness, they can blame the worker's own inability/unwillingness to "be mindful" and "not focus on the emotion." I absolutely loved all your dives into the history of Buddhist scholarship, the broad range of belief systems, the ethics of it all, and how Buddhism intertwines with 20th and 21st century history. Great stuff.

@anitat9727 11 ай бұрын

Wait. I had therapists blame me when mindfulness didn't work for extreme depression. Tbh, they also are attempting to say mindfulness now can overcome physical disabilities. Apparently I should just mindfully turn away from spinal bone tumor pain and I'll suddenly be abled

@belleleona7843 8 ай бұрын

Thank you for pointing this out! I've tried to meditate and do breathwork when I'm in a depressive mood, and I honestly felt worse. I'm glad I'm not an anomaly. Not to mention the way people sometimes suggest that meditation should replace my medication or that a routine of simple breathwork can suddenly empower me to be a more stable human (when I also have trauma and trigger attacks, social anxiety, and ADHD and occasional depression to deal with internally). I like to meditate and be mindful, primarily for spiritual reasons, but it can never replace therapy and meds in my life, and it bothers me when people suggest it be used as this fail proof panacea.

@Dasamael 8 ай бұрын

Thank you for writing this. It made me think about a lot of stuff. Thank you

@Tyedyeshyguy Жыл бұрын

People misunderstand religion on purpose sometimes so they can cognitive dissonance themselves away from their own hypocritical behaviors.

@careforjusticealways 10 ай бұрын

narcissists commonly do this

@genericytprofile852 Жыл бұрын

I always felt like something was missing with all these "self help" and "mindfulness and meditation" advice apps/programs. Like sure, being able to understand yourself and meditate on things is a really important skill to have in life. You're better able to understand and communicate what you really feel, but it always felt like half of the process. When this philosophy is limited to only personal changes and self improvement, you will find that there are alot of problems we face that cannot be solved by just improving one's self. This hyperindividualistic attitude is what drove me away from alot of this stuff. But recently now, I've been discovering that this isn't what the original philosophy was about at all. Really good deep dive into the corporatization of buddhism and philosophies like it. Couldn't really articulate what was so off putting about it until now.

@Darkloid21 Жыл бұрын

I think a lot of our problems do resolve upon self improvement and personal changes. I mean the common denominator in all our interactions is us, and by changing how you react to and view things you end up solving a lot. Too much is based on fixing what is outside rather than inside, though both are still important.

@danieneit6830 Жыл бұрын

@Ian Corral there is definitely a balance that must be struck between introspection and outward action. It reminds me a lot of the more recent Philosophy Tube video about Stoicism and what is missing from pop Stoicism when we exclude the spiritual/religious and (at that point in time) scientific aspect of the philosophy. If you liked this video, you might also like that one. It was pretty neat if I do say so myself.

@Darkloid21 Жыл бұрын

@@danieneit6830 I actually don’t like stoicism because it’s rife with contradictions

@danieneit6830 Жыл бұрын

@@Darkloid21 understandable. Have a nice day!

@Shirumoon Жыл бұрын

I don't know if you know the trauma researcher Gabor Maté but his newest book perfectly covers how individual efforts don't do shit. I mean they do but it is not enough, it can't be enough because we are mammals who thrive in groups and need a healthy social, economic and spiritual environment. Edit: Also "love" how not even buddhist monasteries, at least ones in Europe, are not committed to creating community. They don't allow you in if you have mental health issues (who hasn't in today's day and age?) and if you are disabled and not able to work for them for free, you are also not welcome.

@helinr Жыл бұрын

Wonderful video! I’ve spent a number of years practicing Buddhist meditation and many of my best friends are cognitive scientists so I felt like leaving a comment from my own experience with McBuddhism. In 2019 I was working a lower level job in a tech company that really focused on productivity. In March 2020, we started working from home and sensing that sh*t is gonna get real, I applied for and got a lead position that came up because I didn’t fully trust the higher ups to consider the needs of my colleagues during this time. Well… turns out I was right because during the following year, the demands of productivity just got worse and worse basically because “data shows that it can be done comfortably so let’s challenge ourselves for the sake of our customers”. While my knowledge of meditation and Buddhist thought enabled me to give some coping tips, what helped my team the most was my ability to just listen to them. Not me teaching them how to focus more. At the same time, hearing how higher ups were actually talking about the people they are supposed to guide and take care of, really taught me that in a corporate structure (even tho we were assured it’s a flat hierarchy lol) the people doing the majority of the work are really just seen as numbers. During official sessions they were using this corporate mindfulness speak but in private group conversations the same people outright said that others are just lazy and they need to get it together while most of the issues we were having were caused by the higher ups not understanding what the work we were doing actually was but still making decisions about it. And this is common in most tech companies (not my first rodeo and I have many friends now working in AI etc). But surprise surprise: this does not fix issues on the long term. People were so stressed out (I talked way too many people down from anxiety attacks and had too many myself even though I had years of mindfulness practice under my belt), they became distrustful of the decisions of higher ups so it became harder to actually fix issues and our employee retention also went down (when I started working most people had been there for 3-4 years and in the span of 2 years, we were averaging about a year of working before they applied for positions in other departments. And this was a job that required a minimum of a year to train). I ended up leaving the company because I couldn’t morally justify how employees were being treated and saw there was little that I could actually change. So long story short: only using the band aid of mindless mindfulness to get your workers to comply long term will actually end up costing the company more in the end.

@asuka_the_void_witch Жыл бұрын

well hey there, voidgirl, our paths again cross.

@helinr Жыл бұрын

@@asuka_the_void_witch hahaha incredible. I must say, you have great taste!

@asuka_the_void_witch Жыл бұрын

@@helinr I do, I do.

@Ninja1Ninja2 Жыл бұрын

i think also theres an aspect of 1) changing how people think about how they think, when everything is mindfulness and kindness then theres no excuse for failure and enforces that workers are just another number 2) de-americanizing american workers by replacing every possible christian value 3) making the ceo of your company into a psuedo spiritual figure

@helinr Жыл бұрын

@@SugarCrazedInsomniac yes and also lol my example has nothing to do with America at all. wild to think capitalism can affect workers outside the us as well

@notoriousnitram3996 Жыл бұрын

In my therapy sessions ny whole life, I was presented with mindfulness. It can be like, kinda helpful, but it was a bandaid so the people who had any ability to help me out of abuse as a kid didn't have to actually do anything helpful. It was more important to teach me to "breathe" than get an abused kid out of an awful situation.

@jan-bean Жыл бұрын

I recently saw an article about how work is taking the place of religion. Now work is starting to teach about mindfulness, etc because religion is being replaced and many people are no longer having the time to actually go to religious centers or spend time in their communities. As a result workplaces are “replacing” this need. Also as someone who practices Buddhism, a huge problem with the mindfulness thing is that it’s separate from the context of all the other things that make mindfulness actually enriching. I once saw a post that said “ if you are meditating for yourself then you are doing it wrong “ and I found this very true. Buddhism is huge on cultivating virtues like generosity, wisdom, honesty, good-will, among many others. It’s often said that true mindfulness can’t even be achieved until you are far enough in your practice with obtaining the “perfections” and mindfulness has to be understood through this lens for it to be truly understood.

@RayneNikole Жыл бұрын

Despite being atheist it's disturbing to me how true this is. Religion gives community, mutual aid, faith, mindfulness. Corporate culture takes all of these beautiful and human traits to use them for profit instead of fulfillment. I've literally had to convince my friends that mindfulness and religion are fulfilling when they're not being puppeted by corporations or politicians.

@kujo369 Жыл бұрын

But to let go of thoughts removes the you and I and the separation of this and that. Shedding our layers is different for everyone, if we say there’s a right way of doing Buddhism or spiritually we’d already be caught in dualistic thinking. We are allowed to have opinions towards this and that but letting it go also happens. Why should we worry about how the next person approaches the gate when the noticing of that distinction creates turmoil for our own spirituality already by the separation we create in our minds?

@TheZatzman Жыл бұрын

Great insight into Buddhism. Loved your nuanced approach to the subject. I think there’s a lot to learn when you examine these doctrines/teachings beyond what is typically sold and commodified by the mainstream.

@Danae_O Жыл бұрын

Thank you for your voice over work! It was great!

@TheZatzman Жыл бұрын

@@Danae_O Yours was great too!

@AnRel Жыл бұрын

24:51: “Compromise is a part of functioning…I-really, I lost part of my soul saying that. Because I am very stubborn.” IT’S NOT SELF-DEPRECATION IF YOU CALL ME OUT BY NAME & ADDRESS Jokes mostly aside this was a brilliant video from start to finish. Everyone should listen to Elliot always, at all times, without exception.

@DarkHarpuia Жыл бұрын

That anecdote about the homeless man, in the wake of Jordan Neely's death is just... holy shit man. Some people really do believe that when homeless people become upset or act hostile, that makes them "less worthy" or something, that they all must be meek and "know their place." Of course they'll lash out, they're in the worst possible position they could possibly be in, and everyone else is too caught up in their own shit to help the dude! Anybody with any rational thought would be upset to be in that situation.

@hagoryopi2101 Жыл бұрын

Violence is dangerous, no matter how "reasonable" it might seem. If someone is lashing out towards random innocent people in a public area, that needs to be stopped.

@DarkHarpuia Жыл бұрын

@@hagoryopi2101 Very cool that your reaction to a homeless man going through the lowest point of his whole life is "well he was dangerous and had to be stopped", despite the fact he did not actually physically touch anybody. Fuck off.

@dinguscollective1872 11 ай бұрын

@@hagoryopi2101 Holding a chokehold for fifteen minutes is not a "reasonable" way to help the innocent either

@michigandersea3485 11 ай бұрын

One might hope a society that sincerely embraced tenets of Buddhism would have far fewer homeless people.

@abdelilhmanflores Жыл бұрын

I’m so glad this video was made. Really sad to see what capitalism has done to my spiritual practice

@Call_Upon_YAH Жыл бұрын

@hellolithy Жыл бұрын

@@Call_Upon_YAH Did you just respond to a post about capitalism covering up Buddhism with a post totally off topic, covering up Buddhism?

@abdelilhmanflores Жыл бұрын

@@Call_Upon_YAH that’s pretty cool. But I’m not reading all of that 😎. Also King James Version isn’t the real bible

@christiangreen2324 Жыл бұрын

@@abdelilhmanflores glad at least someone knows

@smlanka4u Жыл бұрын

Theravada Buddhism teaches ultimate truths called Paramartha Dhamma. Those teachings are the fundamental teachings in Buddhism. The stories in Sutta teachings are not enough to understand the nature of reality as it is.

@weirdrabbitgirl Жыл бұрын

My partner of 6 years is a dedicated Chan Buddhist who volunteers with a local Order, and it’s been so fascinating for me to try and learn from him from the outside in. I think it’s very fitting that he never evangelizes or quotes parables or ever tried to push the beliefs on me, I’ve always had to ask him to share more with me. But I quickly learned how extremely limited and filtered my understanding of Buddhism had been as a white American. I’d read up on it a little bit out of curiosity, but being raised as a Christian, I’d made the incorrect assumption that Buddhism must have a big core of beliefs that they all had to adhere to, the way that denominations of Christianity have lots of disagreements but all essentially prioritize the same core tenets. I hope this video does well. I feel like I still know so little, and I’d love to hear you talk more on Buddhist theory in the future, or even on how different schools of ethics can be skewed and perverted by capitalism and those in power, vs the historical context and how they were practiced by their originators. Thank you for making this.

@DancerVeiled Жыл бұрын

Everyone's understanding of spirituality is different, because our viewpoint to perceive from is equally different. Even if our goal is the same place, a person cannot give you a doctrine to follow rigidly and without question and expect you to find your way. That is why one must give such teachings great and well-considered thought. You cannot give someone their spiritual relationship with a religion, you can only give them the tools with which to find it.

@efreetheawesome Жыл бұрын

I'm going to out myself right now as a "white man looking into Eastern religion" and say that I went into this video with a considerable level of fear that I was going to be called out and that my healing journey was going to be described as fake and shallow cultural appropriation. I was very relieved to listen and realize the problems you describe are the most basic obstacles anyone could see coming if they actually cared about the world and others.

@realleon2328 Жыл бұрын

Buddhism is a spirituality that has been adopted by very wide range of different cultures over centuries, adopting it for yourself is nothing new. As with everything, just invest yourself into the learning process with a beginner's mind.

@michigandersea3485 11 ай бұрын

I'm also a white guy who has been helped by the teachings of certain Theravada Buddhist monks for several years now. "My healing journey was going to be described as fake and shallow cultural appropriation." Well, people do have the tendency to be unreasonable in that way, and it might hurt us. And we have to accept that hurt and feel it, but not be swayed by it in our actions. If the teachings of Buddhism are healing to you, then you should take them unapologetically. But you should of course keep trying to learn more about Buddhism. I still know very little but I keep learning.

@commenteroftruth9790 11 ай бұрын

damn thats pathetic. so much posturing.

@efreetheawesome 11 ай бұрын

@@commenteroftruth9790

@commenteroftruth9790 11 ай бұрын

@@efreetheawesome

@Theballonist Жыл бұрын

11:37 "A cost effective tool to sow seeds of servility and discipline in workers" ... You hit the nail right on the head with this one. Damn.

@kyattogallery Жыл бұрын

I’m glad you made this video. As someone who specialized in Buddhist philosophical traditions and is in the psychological research field, I’ve strongly felt a strange hollowness in places mindfulness appears within American space. There are two major issues I observe in my problem with mindfulness in American culture. The first point goes along with what you say in this video about the absence of the philosophy that roots the practice of mindfulness. To me, spirituality that roots Buddhist mindset (as well as a lot of religious experiences) holds a level of awe in it and that awe is what allows for that transcendental experience you feel when you actually engage with the dharma. You are taking the practice based on centuries of philosophical discourse that creates meaning to the practice and the mythology that creates the sense of awe which leaves the experience of spiritual self-transcendence experience entirely empty. (Though perhaps in a sense that critique itself is entirely Buddhist 😂) The second problem is that Buddhist practice is a discipline that takes a long time to build. But in a lot of modern American places I see it in, it feels like it’s used as instant gratification to solve issues in the immediate when that’s not the purpose of it in its basis. But things that take a long time to cultivate is not as marketable because it is much less addictive. You don’t have the immediate hit of reward and then stagnation to drive a desire for another hit that would lead to capital gain if you were trying to market the practice.

@StAmander Жыл бұрын

I am glad KZbin suggested this. I’m a Quaker, so we are spiritual cousins of sorts. I also liked how you used various aspects of Christianity as an analogy to specific ideas. The concept of McMindfulness is kind of similar to how various critics (myself included) of a specific denomination (that ironically calls themselves non denominational) within Evangelical Christianity call that denomination “Fast Food Salvation” among others. The concept is that you just go there to satiate your hunger without any nutritional (spiritual) value. That it’s a quick and fulfilling in the moment only to be forgotten later on.

@Makofueled Жыл бұрын

Quaker gang rise up

@LowestofheDead Жыл бұрын

Amazing video. McMindfulness always leaves out the "Non-Self"/"Anatta"/emotional attachment... when that's the whole point of real Mindfulness. I feel that the problems with a 'Self' (in Buddhism) are made even worse by unjust societies. For example: - In ultra-nationalism and caste systems, the government enforces a permanent ethnic identity which most people become emotionally-attached to. - Everyone's financially-attached to huge debts just to afford housing or education, because the economy depends on it. - The justice system attaches blame to individuals, when many crimes are really caused by systemic issues. - Rich individuals are credited and rewarded for success, which was actually generated by society and other people's work. I can't really explain it. But it feels like a lot of emotional-attachment is forced onto you in unjust societies. And it hijacks our ideas of identity, property, and responsibility.

@pepperspray9036 Жыл бұрын

Exactly!

@LowestofheDead Жыл бұрын

@@SBCBears Could you elaborate? If the Buddha already talked about this topic then I'm interested to know more

@SBCBears Жыл бұрын

@@LowestofheDead I must apologize. I did not fully follow all the implications of your post as I was speedreading thru the thread. I'll delete my first reply to your post as it is erroneous, non-specific and clutters the thread. However, I would caution readers about the dedicating themselves to social causes. Remember that there is a flip side to the four social conditions you mention. Good deeds are fine, but the mental activity and focus required for dedicating oneself to a "cause" diverts the mind from the Buddhist path. For lay persons, the training would start with the 5 Precepts to the 8 Precepts and on from there. It is notable that the Tathagata did not teach meditation to lay persons. Perhaps that was necessary at the early stages, but the application of mindfulness a la mode is evidence of the problem he sought to avoid-- disordered training (vinaya). He taught Right Mindfulness, not mere mindfulness. One cannot have Right Mindfulness without Right View. He described the path to stream entry and beyond. If you enter the stream, you will save a being countless lifetimes of suffering. Your post points out the modern problem of cherry picking a practice, mindfulness in this case, without adequate regard for the gradual training for lay persons and monks set out by the Tathagata.

@morighani Жыл бұрын

yes, this is what all the quacks mean when they talk about how the population is being forced down. it’s impossible to gain enlightenment or spiritual progression in our modern first world society, it was designed that way. it’s hard to detach when you’re drowned in debt and taking care of children with no help, being abused by the system.

@Ayesha_F Жыл бұрын

100%

@chante41 Жыл бұрын

as a buddhist, i'm super excited for this video

@Call_Upon_YAH Жыл бұрын

@hellolithy Жыл бұрын

@@Call_Upon_YAH So is Jesus. He agrees on how people completely separating and warping the meaning of a text can be detrimental to how others see it.

@chante41 Жыл бұрын

@@Call_Upon_YAH i ain't reading allat

@rikubear6549 Жыл бұрын

Wow. You simply tell a pwrsonal story about how you experience buddhism in your life snd you get some christian evangelist nut Job word vomitting on you people like that give christians a bad name. Hi Chante. I agree americans do receive a watered down version of buddhism AND most americans try to look analyze it through a christian lens. that cannont and will not work. I am still new to buddhism and i admit i dont practice. However, as someone with a christian background i found it helpful to focus on enlightenment, the four noble truths and the eightfold path as guideposts. The quest for enlightenmwnt has really helped me alot in my life. Goos luck.

@chante41 Жыл бұрын

@@rikubear6549 aw your reply is very kind ! good luck on your journey as well

@ernststravoblofeld Жыл бұрын

I feel the same about McMindfulness as I do about Stoicism for Salesmen.

@iachtulhu1420 Жыл бұрын

Yeah, this dreaded Broicism

@LowestofheDead Жыл бұрын

Brodhisattvas

@k.umquat8604 Жыл бұрын

what an oxymoron!

@ernststravoblofeld Жыл бұрын

@@LowestofheDead I'll be stealing that. 😀

@thetwelfth9987 Жыл бұрын

I still don’t know a lot about Bhuddism, I’ll be honest, but I find it so funny that capitalism equates meditation with being sedated. If anything, taking time to slow down to be aware of yourself and the space you’re in *in silence* makes you feel more connected to this one being called the Universe. Surprisingly, one of the reasons capitalism has such a stronghold of us is because it keeps rushing and distracting us with noise and work so we don’t poke holes in its stupid ‘logic’. I’ve always been weary about the West’s sudden adoption of Eastern religions/philosophy, I’m glad someone else here felt the same.

@j.2512 Жыл бұрын

Everything i don't like is capitalism. The Zoomer guide for political discussion

@KnzoVortex Жыл бұрын

@@j.2512 Dang that’s a real substantive argument you got there. The comment above definitely alluded to poor treatment of workers broadly and consumerism, are you trying to tell me those are not greatly fueled by capitalism?

@welpppppppppppppp Жыл бұрын

i'm what we call "culturally buddhist" like a western christian who grew up with church but doesn't go, so thank you for such a nuanced overview! i think most people don't even have a basic understanding of buddhist history or teachings and even all the different perspectives it contains. incredible work!

@pei7550 Жыл бұрын

As someone who's raised a Theravada Buddhist and continues to practice it, this was a really refreshing video that not only showcases a thoughtful and nuanced take on Buddhism that furthers my own engagement with the practice, but also addresses some of my frustrations of how its teachings have been stripped of its context and translated as a means to and end for Capitalism. (I can also rant all day about how much I hate seeing Buddhist imagery being commoditized in the west, but I won't clog your comment section with that lol.) Great job.

@joshjonson2368 Жыл бұрын

Western kind doesn't take kindly to pacifist ideals that theravada pushes for, they are funfamentally Nietzschean and only ideals that obliges its code of conduct such as shinto Buddhism can ever thrive.

@j.2512 Жыл бұрын

So you were raised in a cult.

@KnzoVortex Жыл бұрын

Do clog are comments section with that (if you don’t mind), it increases engagement for the video feeding the all powerful algorithm, and also sounds interesting and would contribute all of the discussion already happening down here

@maxdewaele9660 Жыл бұрын

@@KnzoVortex I see it all the time with "health food" marketed to new agey ppl. There's a popular coconut water brand for example that has "Buddha" in the name and even the whole "Buddha bowl" trend is disheartening. Anything with value is appropriated by capital, and that includes belief systems, especially ones that are unknown to the largely white consumers of these products. The irony is unreal that people are appropriating imagery of somebody who renounced wealth (in favor of greater purposes) for profit. But also it's super sad cause I think people then take Buddhism less seriously because they see it as this stereotyped image

@KnzoVortex Жыл бұрын

@@maxdewaele9660 Yeah tbh it kinda pisses me off how gutturally antagonistic a lot of people’s reactions are to “spirituality” broadly. I feel like it is in part due to this gross appropriation of every marketable part of it into consumable forms, on top of appropriation by conspiracy brained or politically reactionary people to make them seem more aesthetically pleasant, on top of this general hippie kind of obnoxious “just relax and have a good time” kind of philosophy which also appropriated Indian spiritual culture for themselves. People broadly hate or have problems with every one of these things but instead of just disliking these things and recognizing that they are bastardizing Indian spirituality for their own aims they just harbor a resentment for Indian spirituality in general. I personally find many of the ideas of Indian spirituality to be some of the most powerful things humanity has come up with, honestly Western philosophy doesn’t even hold a candle to it in terms of the mind boggling sophistication of some of their concepts, in fact, my biggest quarrel with Indian spirituality in general is that so much of it is so lofty and advanced it’s kind of hard to apply a lot of it to the average struggling working person today. But people have all the respect in the world for Western Philosophy, which is great and all of course, because people value the power of thinking, but the immense value for humanity of Indian spirituality is utterly overlooked. And by Indian spirituality to be clear I mean the various “religions” or “philosophies” which have been developed in India since millennia ago, Buddhism, the many branches of Hinduism (Yoga, Vaisheshika, Vedanta) etc. There’s just so much valuable stuff all of these traditions have to offer the world but because when people think “spirituality” they think the crazy conspiracy brained KZbinr who wants to sell you crystals, or the annoying hippie person you know, or worst of all McMindfulness itself, people just don’t want to even hear it.

@kimberlycarrigan8824 Жыл бұрын

I'm bipolar, so I use mindfulness to make sure I'm not acting too manic or depressive. It really helps. It evens me out.

@holysandwich4075 11 ай бұрын

Save me from depression. It is useful but it becomes meaningful with ethics and wisdom.

@kimberlycarrigan8824 11 ай бұрын

@holysandwich4075 there is nothing useful about depression. It's really annoying. It makes it hard to do anything.

@holysandwich4075 11 ай бұрын

@@kimberlycarrigan8824 I am talking about usefulness of mindfulness if it is combined together with ethics and wisdom. Of coz no depression is useful.

@wang_xian Жыл бұрын

Thank u for always notifying us when there are ad breaks. I brace myself for them and it s much less disturbing than just randomly being interrupted so suddenly

@Aranock Жыл бұрын

Loved this one, as always great work covering the topic with nuance and not looking for any simple answers. I really hope people take away that element of how capitalism hollows things out to remove them from their ethical and moral contexts and how ideologies are used by people. 💜

@TheOuroborosisbroken Жыл бұрын

27:28 it warms the cockles of my heart to hear that liberation theology has not been forgotten and there are still people talking about it. My parents raised me under those values, modelling after Carlos Mugica and with its flaws I still think I got the best possible set of values within Christianity.

@Noname72105 Жыл бұрын

There's no liberation as long as there is a theology. Gods are the ultimate oppressors.

@sallyannabazelais2666 Жыл бұрын

I’m so glad you’re reviewing this topic and using a great resource!!!

@merchantofvenice7156 Жыл бұрын

thank you for being so considerate and kind towards everyone and everything you talk about. i am so grateful for finding your channel. i genuinely think you are a good person. love you.

@MsBlackIntrovert Жыл бұрын

When I was younger I read Buddhist books and was really interested in following the eight fold path. As an adult I’ve forgotten most of what I learned but this video has reinvigorated my want to learn further

@KnzoVortex Жыл бұрын

There is really no greater fruit, no higher goal, no stronger joy in the universe than spiritual progress, but man is it difficult to commit to sometimes.

@NgawangLobsang-nm4fx Жыл бұрын

Be a compassion and love toward every living being.and once you able to sence the pain of other.Nature power will lead you a happy life with wisdom.

@luvsuneja 8 ай бұрын

Man go for it. I read my first Buddhist book in my early 20s. Have been practising away ever since.

@spinninstareyes Жыл бұрын

one of the most thoughtful & thought provoking videos i’ve watched in a while. thanks for sharing

@salemdion1504 Жыл бұрын

man that last line was so good. love discovering small viddeoessayists, so many new insights. keep it up!!

@saradeemon Жыл бұрын

This was exactly what I needed to watch at exactly the right time. Appreciate you and looking forward to delving into your channel and what you have coming. Thanks!

@JuriAmari Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for this Elliot! I studied with a couple of Buddhist teachers through my grad school program and it confirmed what was missing in a lot of the modern programs I came across. Buddhism does have a strong community orientation (as shown by the story of Kuan Yin) as well as calls for social change where necessary (Prajapati - the Buddha’s aunt & Tara). Mcmindfulness hyperfixates on individuality for the sake of productivity rather than for the well-being of self and the community all around you. Of course, not every system is perfect, as you showed with the military example. There is also always going to be the balance of our attention between society and ourselves. The big issue of Mcmindfulness is not acknowledging the source and thinking about its intentions (or as my teacher would put it, using unskillful means - something that happens way too often in the West.

@Spottedleaf14 Жыл бұрын

I'm a white Canadian raised Buddhist, and this video is so spot on! I can recognize a lot of effects of this co-option in how my mom relates to the world, stress, and capitalism, and it's making me think more deeply about my own relationship to Buddhism. plus, your sense of comedic timing and editing is great lol. subbed!!

@phaeriestud 8 ай бұрын

Well thought and cogent. Thank you 🙏🏼 I appreciated hearing your discernment of the variables present in this discussion. I enjoyed the breaks and many of your background effects.

@goodgrief888 Жыл бұрын

Yep, a startup I worked at had forced 20 minute mindfulness sessions in order to get people to focus and be more productive. I hated seeing my coworkers fooled into believe that the firm cared about them. The game room, the fully stocked kitchen and bar, the catered lunches - these were all ways to keep people in the office instead of taking breaks. Same with the mindfulness sessions.

@MyTimelord11 Жыл бұрын

But what would be better?

@nm541 Жыл бұрын

@@MyTimelord11better pay, good vacation, good sick time, hiring enough staff so 1 person isn’t doing the job of 3, etc

@Uarehere Жыл бұрын

So the benefits you gain from mindfulness are bad because they also help the company? I'm afraid you may be missing the point, dearie.

@guabirualado2726 Жыл бұрын

@@Uarehere . Really though, there are a lot of stuff to criticize in this merchant controlled materialist world, but complain about stuff that's objectively good for you and your employee is beyond stupid

@goodgrief888 11 ай бұрын

@@Uarehere I’m afraid YOU’RE missing the point, dearie. Having 20 minute mindfulness exercises forced on one because it’s going to make you possibly “more productive” for the companies bottom line to be able to force you to stay at work longer is not good for us in the long run. It puts a bandaid over labor exploitation. And in the long run employees need time off, time with their loved ones, and not to be told to engage in eastern spirituality for the good of the company’s profits. One should be able to choose what they do - be it prayer, or yoga, or meditation, with their minds

@christinamaste666 Жыл бұрын

This is a perfect summary of the inner debate I've been having in my own brain for the last 3+ years.. Thanks for this it's amazing and love your vid essays! This is prob my fav one so far

@victoriastanton576 Жыл бұрын

I don't think you need to be insecure - you smoothly said shit I laboriously spent several years shakily putting together myself, and that ofc felt incredible to witness. Very excited to watch the rest of your videos!

@Alex-xf4ju Жыл бұрын

The announcement of the ad break is so helpful !!! 33:23 . I did the opposite of wanting to run. This has been a really insightful video 💜💫🌸

@AngDevigne Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for bringing this up!! 🙏 I've been having the same types of conversations for almost a decade now about yoga and how it's an entire spiritual pursuit not an exercise program.

@general3978 Жыл бұрын

What mindfulness does when you do it truly, without constructing a self to become mindful, without considering yourself "a meditator" strengthened by "meditating", is not disengage from the reality around you but instead *completely* engage totally and swiftly, without hesitation or attachment. If you have lied, you immediately confess, not toil it over. It is the ending of psychological time.

@Umbrellagasm Жыл бұрын

Sounds like somebody drank a wee bit too much power of now cool-aid

@general3978 Жыл бұрын

@@Umbrellagasm 私はあなたを沸騰させます

@ebrennie Жыл бұрын

Mindfulness saved my life in very real ways. SAVED my life. But I made the mistake of sharing my story with a boss. Boss turned mindfulness into a profit stream, despite my protests. She charges more per hour than a private yoga teacher. And completely overlooks the philosophy. I just quit that job because I could not accept the way mindfulness was being used to line pockets. I feel totally abused and disgusted. For me, this is a spiritual practice. Using it for profit feels wrong down to my bones. There’s a name for this that Chogyam Trungpa coined, I believe: spiritual materialism. There’s no ethics and feigned compassion. i There’s also too much toxic positivity in the west’s version of mindfulness. They are obsessed with happiness. It’s really deplorable how much people are charged. You want to teach meditation? Get ready to shell out thousands. You want to learn mindfulness with a private teacher? Get ready to spend hundreds to thousands too. Don’t get me started on the psychics who advertise mindful readings and charge $400/hr. Just nuts.

@alexkelley5343 11 ай бұрын

Excellently put. I've been struggling for a long time to articulate these concerns, thank you for creating this

@Bugneedfix Жыл бұрын

That Lupe line at the end drifted in my mind while listening and the fact that you finished off with it??? You are my new favorite KZbinr

@stephenbrain3620 Жыл бұрын

I think you're making a great point here and I am going to think about what you have presented long after the video is over. Very balanced and thoughtful!

@dydx_ Жыл бұрын

Very good analysis. I was very surprised to hear the name of Kan'non-sama appear in the middle of your video, you truly have done plenty of research into this subject and greatly summarized the most important historically events in relevance to the current phenomena without resorting to any form of mysticism. Well done.

@paavohirn3728 9 ай бұрын

I really appreciate this video! You touch on a lot of troubling trends and ideas bringing important insight into them as well as hinting at a path forward. Thank you!

@meditationforhumanswithpro4893 Жыл бұрын

So much respect for tackling this topic!

@darthszarych5588 Жыл бұрын

Great video! One thing I want to mention is that meditation and mindfulness are not unique to buddhism or even the dahrmic religions for that matter. Christianity also has it's own history of meditation practices which go back at least to the middle ages in which practitioners focus their minds on an aspect of God. My grandma does this every morning. I thought it's worth mentioning because you used the phrase "saffron washing" and I believe that painting mindfulness as an exclusively Buddhist or eastern practice is an aspect of saffron washing (especially since the mindfulness practices they sell have so little to do with buddhism). Midevil christian practices are not as marketable to the mainstream secular people who want to be "spiritual" and above all else productive since most of those people think that they dislike "organized" religions. This is another aspect of both orientalizing and secularizing. Since they seem to think Buddhism is both more spiritual and more secular than other religions even though it's a religion like any other. It's got it's own benefits and shortcomings just like all religions. I also find it funny that a lot of westerners who claim to dislike "organized" religion seem to love buddhism. This is also a form of orientalizing as well as playing into the "Nobel savage" trope because a lot of forms of buddhism are highly organized! Some sects have leaders like the Dahli Lama and in some parts of Asia, they have the infrastructure to support monasteries, which not even most protestant sects of christianity can support! They have doctrine and dogma just as much as the christian sects that these secular people seem to dislike and are highly organized. But most of these western people are not aware of this because the dont have as much interaction with buddhism as they do with christianity so they dont see many of its negative aspects or dont experience them as directly. Therefore, they are able to believe it's a more secular, more spiritual, less organized, more liberating religious philosophy (and not a religion). While ignoring the fact that it has a lot in common with the religions that they have experience with and take issue with. Its not because they're bad people, but because they lack education. It just annoys me that McMindfulness tries to take advantage of this orientalism to sell people a secularized form of buddhism which is more marketable than any religion, but far less complete. I'm not saying this because I'm a christian (I'm not although I was raised catholic) or that i want to promote christianity, but I am generally pro-religion and even more pro religious education. I dont like to see people pushing an incomplete version of religious teachings that oversimplify and fetishize religious teachings and pretend that this one religious practice will "fix" you without even providing context for why it's really beneficial! That's how you get harmful dogmas and cult like behaviors.

@pulse3554 Жыл бұрын

"buddhism without the buddhism" LOL, classic west

@Cookiekeks Жыл бұрын

What's wrong with removing the whole religion BS wrong useful practises like mindfulness?

@j.2512 Жыл бұрын

without the religious crap is just a silly exercise, with it yoga is cult indoctrination. Surprise surprise, lots of coastal liberals end up in new age cults that way.

@haphuongnguyen3358 Жыл бұрын

@@Cookiekeks watch the video, edgelord

@emiliescorner2620 Жыл бұрын

I need to rewatch this after letting it sink in for a week. your level of insight, the complexity of your opinion is mind expanding honestly. you put words to ideas that I just feel, but can't explain

@kevin4840 Жыл бұрын

Killed it, Elliot! I appreciate you developing and sharing this video.

@prikas4313 Жыл бұрын

This was a breath of fresh air in a lot of mediocre video essays I've been watching recently. You brilliantly articulated a nagging feeling I had about the self-help mindfulness trend, and I came away with a lot of new questions and caveats to consider which I think is a sign of an important work.

@JordanSullivanadventures Жыл бұрын

I never knew about the other elements of Buddhism. Thanks for making this video.

@Mx.Monkey Жыл бұрын

thank u for shining light on this u do all of the world a huge service by posting

@mycosmenagerie Жыл бұрын

Fantastic as always, thank you for this resource! Your perspectives always get me thinking about something new.

@andedoesnthaveityet Жыл бұрын

This is a really lovely video, I’ve spent a lot of time in circles of individuals who co opt Eastern religion as an aesthetic and “lifestyle”. However they only practice preaching platitudes about peace and meditation, while being entirely individualistic and self absorbed in every aspect of their life. I remember one such individual decrying the homelessness epidemic in Seattle while we were there, but her main complaint was how bad she felt for a business storefront being “overrun” by the homeless. “They’re losing so much business because no one wants to wade through the bodies, how sad.” Many of these people are deeply inhumane and callous to all human life outside of their own.

@luigisingh8317 Жыл бұрын

On the matter of helping people that you alluded to, a very important eighth century Buddhist philosopher called Śāntideva had this to say: "I must combat others' suffering [simply] because it is suffering, just like mine. I must do good for others because they are living beings, just as I." - Bodhicaryāvatāra (Entry into the conduct of the Bodhisattva), VIII 94. That being said, what a wonderful video! I specialise in Indian Buddhist Philosophy and I just don't have the time nor the energy to engage with the flaming trash heap of conformist pro-capitalist propaganda that is "McMindfulness." So thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart ♥🙏 Your analysis of the whole phenomenon is really well thought out and I'm glad that something like this is now available for people to see. I was also glad to see you mention Kamalaśīla, what a surprise! I study one of his philosophical texts, but he actually authored three manuals on "meditation" which are very celebrated. For him buddhist practice is meant to be very analytical, a detail which gets periodically ignored by many.

@iachtulhu1420 Жыл бұрын

This is what I like about more ethical side of Buddhism, no matter if it's Vajrayana or Sutrayana or Mahayana... It's very dialectical and intuitive. Anatman really points to collective lack of fixed essence and thus a potential for collective action and compassion.

@scottgreen132 Жыл бұрын

Fantastic video. Thanks for the effort you put into making it

@cyan4167 Жыл бұрын

Wow, great video. Thanks for taking the time to make it. You’ve left me with so much to think about!!

@andreadox Жыл бұрын

Thank you 🙏🏼💖 This should be lesson 1 to every introduction to Buddhism in the West.

@petrapewpew Жыл бұрын

I hope that mindfulness is the ultimate downfall of captalism. You can't ask people to become more self-aware and observant and it not impact their perspective on self and others. Although Mindfulness asks you to detach from the suffering and let it go, it also asks of you to NOTICE it. You don't just ignore that, you note it so that you don't react mindlessly, you choose how you want to act and change course.

@44444LUNA 11 ай бұрын

This video is excellent! Well researched, very articulate and the visuals fit really well. Thank you.

@WithASideOfFries Жыл бұрын

Loved this video. Loved the sincerity, tone, pacing, and clarity of thought. Well done.

@maxattacks25 Жыл бұрын

I have to say, this vid was refreshing. Not only was it more level-headed than I expected (it’s a topic easy to be reactionary about), but it exposed some of my own hypocrisy. It was a bit uncomfortable, but very important. Thank you!

@eottoe2001 Жыл бұрын

Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, there were a lot of practitioners who took meditation to the corporate world with stripped-down versions without any religious or spiritual context. It was sold as an alternative to taking anxiety drugs or self-medicating with alcohol or marijuana. There were similar things with yoga that just became a physical workout and all the “spiritual” aspects were trimmed away. New Age came concurrently with Milton Friedman and the neoliberal revolution starting first with Thatcher, Carter, and Reagan. I felt at the time it was a replacement religion because the religions at the time were counter to Chicago School’s hegemonic aspirations of unregulated capitalism, It also struck me that New Age medicine was a poor man’s alternative to regular medicare that he or she would not be able to afford as the new capitalism evolved and created more poverty to sustain more consolidation of wealth. The idea was coping for coping sake. BTW, the New Age project was not as successful as hoped. It was the reason why so much effort and money were spent to transform protestant and traditional catholic religious values to fit the values of neoliberal economics and politics and reinforce the acceptance of wealth consolidation by the 1 percent. A lot of Calvinism was injected into evangelical christianity which was a big aspect of New Age philosophy if you recognize the ideas of predestination are both. The New Age is not gone and I see Jordan Peterson as a continuation of that project with the focus on the individual rather than on the toxic culture.

@smashingtwoscoops4999 Жыл бұрын

Great video and topic! You are gifted at communicating. You brought up some real good food for thought. 🙏

@Foxberryjammed Жыл бұрын

Thank you for a very thought-provoking video! ☺️ I’m planning an article on mindfulness practice and this really helped me cycle through my own thoughts about it in a new way. Definitely reading Purser’s McMindfulness next!

@collapsingwavefunction_.3356 Жыл бұрын

"Compromise is a part of functioning" "...I lost a part of my soul, saying that..." Yooooooo 😂 I FELT THIS TOO!

@Enkiaswad Жыл бұрын

I love the topic of this video. I have been on sick leave from work and now back half days. I was told to try a meditation app, for which we get a premium subscription. I mean that's neat and all, but I couldn't help but feel weird about my employer providing me with tools to better cope with problems they participate in creating. Although sure I started at the company "pre burnt out" from my previous job, and I am the only one who "broke" for now, but I can tell other people are very heavily flirting with burnout too, it's just a question of when. Long story short, I am definitely getting McMindfullness vibes and the impression that I just have to fix myself.

@natesamadhi33 Жыл бұрын

Anytime a job recommends its employees get a meditation app, i say you run far away. that usually means theyre gonna put you in toxic situations but do nothing themselves to ensure you're mentally protected.

@Sherryn_ne Жыл бұрын

As a buddhist myself, it really hurt for me to see people in the west trying to make money out of mindfulness and meditation by collecting money from monthly subscription to meditation app and some of the teachings in the app might not even accurate. In my country, people can learn meditation for free at buddhist temples no need to pay any money at all because Buddha’s teachings are supposed to be free and accessible by everyone else.

@GabrielleMarinArt Жыл бұрын

The way you laughed after the "none of which I did" was perfect, oh man. Just found your channel, immediately subscribed!

@flaviomasson Жыл бұрын

Brilliant. I loved listening to you peel off all these layers. You have a new subscriber.

@tylerwilliams7161 Жыл бұрын

Oooo this finna be interesting. Let’s get into manifestation fr. But alllsooo I hope u speak about ppl do other things like prayer and incantation which is like a non white version of manifesting

@akealsenpai2 Жыл бұрын

Wow! This was an exceptional video Eliot! As another practitioner of the dharma growing up in the West you definitely hit the nail on the head with a lot of the points you made. P.S- Also, a Dominican Buddhist? I'm definitely subbing! 😂

@GooeyGremlin Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for this vid. This has been a topic my head has been chewing on for a while, so this has really helped.

@heatherflowpow 11 ай бұрын

Immediately subbing. Love the content. Thanks for sharing

@danceofthedragonbydavidlee Жыл бұрын

I think that you have a great amount of insight and I want to thank you for presenting the Dharma in an accessible and engaging way. Coming to Buddhism in my 30s, about 40 years ago, I've been through a similar journey. People who are happy in their lives don't come to Dharma, especially if they were not born into it. Most of us come for self-help of sorts, and because we have not yet understood the "view," we adapt by process of what Trungpa Rinpoche called "spiritual materialism." Here we take on the external manifestations of Buddha Dharma because this is all we can understand. Now the trappings are gone, and meditation has become divorced from Buddha Dharma altogether. This McMindfulness is something that Dzongsar Khentse has described as using gold leaf to wipe your ass. Khentse Rinpoche turned down google because they didn't want him talking about "enlightenment". For some meditation will open a door to Dharma and they will see through the illusion of meditation as a capitalist tool. The amazing book Zen at War, describes the support of the Zen establishment during WW2, and remember that the Samurai tradition grew out of Buddhist training. Buddhism is as susceptible to being co-opted as any other religion. Some people will find their way through the obstacle to find liberation, but most unfortunately won't. The important thing for all of us to do is to see the illusion, and then continue to question. The danger is in thinking that we "know something". All of the wisdom is contained in not knowing, and finding kindness and compassion for all of the other idiots out there who think they know something. peace&love

@researchherpetology Жыл бұрын

I sent this video to everyone I know who I think would appreciate it lol, including my therapist who has shared a lot of really cool thoughts on this phenomenon while still incorporating mindfulness grounding techniques in my sessions :) this dude did NOT MISS ONCE!!! fr

@lalailm Жыл бұрын

This video was HONESTLY so good and well made. Congratulations, sir!! The reflections here are really going to stay with me and I am so happy I clicked on it. Thank you 🙏🏼

@elyon_moon Жыл бұрын

What a wonderful video! ❤ hope this reaches many people. Move algorithm move!

@samirasheed9486 Жыл бұрын

Wow this is eye opening, I used to be a fan of Zinn for some years until I had a realization meditating, that it was leading me nowhere. I felt like I was wasting my time and never figured out what was wrong until today, nearly 5 years removed from my daily hour long meditations. Thank you.

@NgawangLobsang-nm4fx Жыл бұрын

Its important to find a good teacher for beginners.

@Asbestoslover666 Жыл бұрын

I just got doing a literature review on this very topic actually, and you nailed it right on the head and are in line with the research! From my research, right mindfulness isn't even primarily about improving focus, which is what employers and ceo's keep drooling over- its about awareness and presence. and you aren't supposed to be "thoughts empty" and "still" during it, you're supposed to use mindful judgement to make ethical decisions, its a learning process. Even psychologists get this wrong and prescribe mcmindfulness often. CEO's use it to take cuts on actual mental health care while burning out their employees, while trying to make their employees even more focused and productive for their bottom line. From the research i've seen, right mindfulness is more focused on improving the resilience and ethics of the mind particularly to work towards helping the community. a far cry (almost opposite) from what ceo's use it for. great video!

@TheAbigailDee 29 күн бұрын

As soon as I heard you talk about your hesitation with mindfulness because of ADHD, I knew this video was going to be so perfectly welcome in my recommendations. Amazing video. Can't wait to watch your backlist

@DrawnByDandy Жыл бұрын

This is my first time seeing one of your videos and I really enjoyed it, glad it crossed my recommendeds, and looking forward to checking out more of your work :)

@96mrtimi Жыл бұрын

Thanks for this video Elliot, it always felt weird when corporations big and small co opt eastern spirituality, whether it be practices or imagery. I couldn’t put my finger on why but you laid it out really clearly.

@rikubear6549 Жыл бұрын

Such a great video thank you for emphasizing the teachings of buddhism at the end. Mindfulness without an ethical framework is just a baby in a crib. Helpless people flailing for some way to get out.

@vau_st Жыл бұрын

Wow! One of your (teams) best videos! Love it. Thanks a lot for your perspective

@diegocastaneda4325 Жыл бұрын

Great video dude, you touched on so many topics I've only recently been trying to untangle. I appreciate the perspectives you provide and you definitely gave me plenty to think about.