Expert: Joe McSorley - 6/10/2003

Question
Hi Joe, I'm asking you this question as I am closer to being a Buddhist than anything else. My recent problem has been that, despite the positive aspects of Buddhism, it seems to be just another organ of social control (like other "religions"). I think it ignores the fact that we are simultaneously Animal and Human. Our animal self is easily stimulated by fear and we follow leaders (alpha-males) automatically as part of our Animal, not Human nature. I suppose my question is - why is this situation, central to our self-knowledge, never discussed? It leads me to believe that this info is suppressed to keep us controllable.

Answer
Hi Sharon,
  I don't know what sect of Buddhism you are looking at to come to your conclusions.  Perhaps Theravada or Tibetan Buddhism has this social control you are talking about but not Mahayana or Zen.  There is absolutely no denial in these that humans are what they are and are in no way superior to any other creature.  This is also true in Theravada and Tibetan, or at least should be.  I once said to a Tibetan monk who had commented that I might come back as a flea that I saw no problem in that since all things have Buddha nature.  This totally perplexed him for it destroyed his idea of a hierarchy.
  Now the problem I have with your point is that you have this distinction between the animal and human behavior, why?  What separates us from the animals?  Why isn't it human nature to follow alpha males?  We are nature like all other nature BUT we are somehow disconnected or broken from itself.  It should be the goal of Buddhism to see beyond human/animal nature and to realize a greater root of our being.
 Do you think that somewhere in some hidden room there are religious leaders of all sorts declaring that they have a truth they must hide from the masses?  This gets particularly specious when they don't agree with each other on basic tenets of faith anyway.  Did it  occur to you that they actually believe what they teach, no matter how ridiculous it sounds to you?  I think this is their problem.  They are hanging on to an old paradigm by their fingernails when under the cold light of day it seems all rather silly.  Religion is man's ignorance and fear in full blossom.  Sure there are control issues here and there's no doubt that man will use anything to enact his own agenda on the world.  This is not religion but all humans creating havoc in their blissful ignorance. Religion is just the tool in this arena.  Mao did it without religion.
 The adage the truth will set you free is a great one for if one truly seeks the truth, in spite of belief, then it can be revealed, however, when one clings to a faith and does not allow themselves to truly inquire as to their nature, there is no hope in overcoming our myopic, chauvinistic viewpoints.
  It can also be argued that it is better to keep things controllable.  Look what happen to Bosnia and Serbia after the Russians lost control and is now happening all over Africa.  People are not intrinsically nice to one another but rather savage.  As much as I am not a fan of the Catholic Church, being of Irish distraction, I have to admit that it united Ireland in its early history from a bunch of warring clans to a fairly united, civil country till the Brits came in.  So in that sense the social control could be argued to be a good thing even though there is still suffering that comes with it.  Simply put, it's not black and white.  
 Don't hesitate to ask further.  Take care,
             Joe

Why did God invent whiskey?  So the Irish wouldn't rule the world. : )