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Books Related to Orientalism and Religion Richard King - ISBN: 0415202582
Eurocentric Neo-Orientalism posing as deep understanding - Rated
Although this book is a mine of information on historical aspects of Neo-Hinduism and Neo-Buddhism it is a deeply misleading misrepresentation of Hindu-Buddhist understanding. King assumes his naive Western anti-essentialist Gadamerian social science ideology is superior to the phenomenological understanding of actual Hindus and Buddhists of the true nature of their traditions. The NeoHindu emphasis on Sankara is misleading as King notes but the NeoHindu understanding of Advaita (Nondualism) as the unifying philosophy behind the diverse traditions is correct as dualistic,theistic traditions are understood as based on incomplete mystic realisation failing to attain ego dissolution or the popular projection of anthropomorphic deities onto the Light of Godhead by the masses. The Upanishads themselves assert That Thou Art or I am Brahman (which imply Nondualistic Identity). King fails to appreciate that Sankara's Illusion Doctrine actually contradicts the Upanishadic teachings that Brahman is modified and the physical world is real(See Bowes' chapter in The Yogi and the Mystic)and Sankara's Rationalism appealed to Orientalists and Neo Hindus. Yogacara Buddhism influenced Sankara. In fact Nondualistic Kashmir Saivism's Doctrine of Vibration is far superior in regard to Creation but it is still Nondualism (Advaita).
King is totally wrong in dismissing NeoHindu claims that Buddhism and Brahmanism are deep down essentially the same citing the Middle Way which absolutely rejects a Ground of Being. Ninth Century Chinese Buddhist patriarch Tsung-Mi mocked those who think Nagarjuna's negative discourse is profound as they fail to actually realise the substantial reality of the Buddha Nature. Buddhist Alan Wallace questions if the Middle Way is incompatible with a Ground as the Dalai Lama's Dogzhen accepts a Universal Ground of Primordial Awareness and views Madhyamaka as compatible. King notes that D.T. Suzuki partially Vedanticized Zen and viewed Buddhism and Vedanta as compatible. American mathematician and mystic Franklin Merrell-Wolff argued that Sankara and Buddha's teachings should be compatible if deeper Insight were attained. Mathematical physicist and Sanskri/Pali literate mystic Micheal Whiteman asserted that the Buddha's teachings are essentially the same as the earlier Upanishads. The Yoga Sutras are written in Buddhist-hybrid-Sanskrit. Daniel Brown's study of Yoga Sutra, Vipassana and Mahamudra meditation phenomenology in Transformations of Consciousness show that all 3 follow essentially the same path to Basis Enlightenment (mystical union/ego dissolution). Finally, I have identified the physical correlate of the Divine Light of Pure Consciousness (Godhead, Atman, Buddha Nature, Al haqq etc.) with the brainwaves of the brainstem Reticular Activating System- this fits perfectly numerous pieces of authoritative Hindu and Buddhist knowledge of the Light from various traditions. Thus King's arguments are Neo-Orientalist views of naive Western postmodern sociologists thinking that they know better than actual Hindus and Buddhists! Anglo-Ceylonese A.K.Coomaraswamy (Hinduism and Buddhism)stated correctly that the deeper our understanding of Buddhism, the harder it is to tell apart from the Brahmanism from which it originated. King is like Richard Rorty reducing mysticism to Freudian myths of sublimation of the sex drive to appear more masculine than warriors. Never heard of Hildegard, Mechthild etc. I suppose.
Sutapas Bhattacharya
