Selling Enlightenment
Dear Reader,
I heard the phrase “If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!” while listening to the podcast POOG. The phrase is attributed to Linji, who was a prominent zen master and Tang dynasty Chinese monk who died in 866 AD. The idea behind the phrase is that if you come across someone who boasts having the answers, knowing the way, reaching nirvana, and in that way calling themselves a “Buddha”, you should run the other way. The real Buddha would never try to prove their enlightenment, so you’ll know this one is a fake that should be “killed”. I’ve turned this phrase over in mind consistently ever since. Thinking of people I’ve known who I should have “killed” rather than trusted their guidance. Thinking of Tarot Cards for sale on the side tables at Urban Outfitters. Shein Yoga mats. Prison labor produced meditation journals sold at my go to big-box store. There are millions of fake Buddha’s all around us selling us Enlightenment for just $29.99.
These swirling thoughts lead me down a rabbit hole exploring the social contexts that shaped the Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries and what a real religious teacher should look like, if they exist at all.
xoxoxo,
glo
The Enlightenment is a Mirror
Thoughts and Research on Enlightenment as a Commodity
Historian David A. Bell published his extensively researched essay “For a New Social History of the Enlightenment” back in 2022 where he pieced through various historical interpretations of The Enlightenment, poked holes where he saw fit, and introduced his own understanding of the era. Specifically, he talks about capitalism. He opens his essay saying that he aims to make the case that “the Enlightenment, as it developed within Europe and European overseas possessions, (was) to the advance of commercial capitalism” (Bell, 2022).
To back up to high school history class, the Enlightenment broadly was a time in Europe where intellectuals and the public studied and sought to engage in “collective human self-improvement” (Bell, 2022). The origins of this movement are varied depending on who you ask, but are generally accepted to be connected to rising religious dissent, rapid scientific advancement, and increased access to books, pamphlets, and other writing which led to a rise in public literacy and the ability to participate in this movement more widely. “Many ideas of the Enlightenment were brought out of authors through their relationship with the public reception of their work, an ebb and flow, one informing the other” (Bell, 2022). Other noted factors include political stability, a rise in travel, expanding global trade, increased agricultural productivity, and steady economic growth.
This time is widely regarded as a golden age for all the reasons listed above. But Bell argues that narrative that this was a time of European enlightenment because of one pretty glaring issue that is commonly overlooked:
“The terrible irony is that this liberatory project could only take place in large part because of an economic expansion fueled by another social system that was anything but liberatory: the system of brutal enslavement practiced in European overseas colonies, and especially in the hells on earth that were the Caribbean sugar colonies. As many recent critics have pointed out, the century of European light was the century of African blood … the ideal of collective human self-improvement could easily serve a terribly exclusionary purpose: self-improvement for the elect few, servitude and subordination for the rest” (Bell, 2022).
And it’s here that we see the roots of capitalism and a mirror to the enlightenment of today. The yoga clothes made of plastic. The meditation journals made with sweatshop labor. Self improvement for some and subordination for the rest.
The worst part is that it’s all inescapable. Can we really be at fault when corporations don’t disclose information about how their products are made and employees are treated? Can we be at fault when the options are all different forms of evil? God forbid I buy the yoga mat I can afford?
German Philosopher Ernst Cassirer famously called the Enlightenment a “bright, clear mirror” where Europeans see their best selves reflected. Bell turned this phrase on it’s head saying that “the Enlightenment is, inescapably, a mirror—in our origins we see ourselves—we have to recognize that what it shows is as inescapably complex as any human society. Western modernity has many facets, and the Enlightenment reflects many of them back to us.” (Bell, 2022).
In the time since the Enlightenment, all the factors that led to its inception have only increased. More globalization, more travel, more religious dissent, more scientific and agricultural innovations. But the mirror remains unchanged. Reflecting back the joys, horrors, and complexity of the world back to those who choose to peer into it.
On Reflections
Looking for God in my Instagram Explore Page
My social media feeds are filled with people inviting me in on the breakthrough thing that changed their life. A serum of the gods. An exercise routine that will change your body in 3 months. A morning routine from the clean girl of your dreams. All with a link to the products that made it happen. And they are on sale! Now! But won’t be for much longer!
Pseudo-Buddha’s clouding my screen telling me everything that I need to achieve the life of my dreams.
This grift is nothing new. “Every year people spend billions of dollars buying the books, CDs, and self-help programs offered by such teachers” (Luthar, 2013).
Putting these so-called teachers up against Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Ramana, Saints of India, who wouldn’t so much as touch money, the difference is quite stark.
But must a person go to such lengths as those saints for their word to be respected? I don’t know.
I remember in college attending a new church for the first time. I don’t remember the context of the sermon, but I do remember the pastor having some very choice words about C.S. Lewis. I remember thinking, though I respect the work and point of view of Lewis and disagreed with the pastor, it was bold of him to so publicly go against him, since Lewis is so widely respected. I didn’t agree with him, but I respected his honesty. Until I exited to the lobby after service and saw a stand with books for sale, including multiple copies of many of Lewis’s books.
I never returned.
And more and more, I found that the teachers in my life were only Buddha’s on the road. I made the mistake of listening to their pitch, believing their point of view. I fell down and crawled my way out of their rabbit holes. I now know to travel with a knife in my pocket should we meet again.
Works Cited:
For a New Social History of the Enlightenment: Authors, Readers, and Commercial Capitalism
David A. Bell
The Enlightenment Business: Wisdom for Sale
Dr. Harsh K. Luthar
2013
https://luthar.com/2013/06/07/the-guru-business-wisdom-for-sale/