Ideological wrangling

Ideological wrangling is often an emotional and counterproductive form of argument. Most of us are aware of it at some level. For example, those on the right insist that X is responsible for our current economic woes while those on the left insist it is Yand never the twain shall meet.

But ideological wrangling is not only in our political life, it is in Buddhism, also. One camp argues, for example, that there is no hardcore evidence that the Buddha categorically denied the atman or self. Another camp believes the Buddha did deny the atman. To give one more example, one camp argues that zazen, itself, or just sitting, is the royal road to Buddhahood while another camp claims that kensho or seeing into one's true nature is the right path.

The soil necessary for ideological wrangling, I am beginning to believe, depends upon a person's inability to distinguish the products of their imagination from the fact, itself. I may imagine, for example, that the Buddha was this cool dude who sat in the lotus posture much of the day taking everyone's suffering away with just a wave of his hand. However, the evidence presented in Buddhist literature does not corroborate this. It is purely an imaginary construct. I would go so far as to say that any 'concept' of Buddha, is the product of imagination. Buddha (awakened to Dharma) is transcendent so that this fact still remains to be realizednot imaginedwhich is the goal of the serious adept.

Ideological wrangling depends not only on our imagination but also depends upon the confusion between the imaginary fact and the real fact. This is a problem that has infested Western thought for ages especially when it comes to religion and religious gnosis. It is especially prevalent in Buddhism in which understanding (samj), which involves the imaginary fact, is confused with gnosis (jna), as if understanding the One Mind is the same as realizing it face to face (t! he real fact). In other words, understanding takes the imaginary fact as if it were the realized and true fact which occurs during gnosis. This as if-ing is the main element of our previously mentioned soil that is necessary for ideological wrangling. It is also the bane of religion that leads to the doctrinaire and the cult of personality which, to some extent, has taken over Buddhism.