Westerners like a "quick fix" in this
age of happy pills (like Ecstacy)
and vending machines and so many have merely transferred
their self-rightous Christian attitudes into New Age
(or New Wage) and Buddhism.

They vehemently insist that they do not follow religion
and yet their allegience to Buddhism is often blind to
the fact that it still has the heirarchy and sexism
of other religions and 
it cannot escape the corruption and suspicion
that plagues any organisation whether it be a religion,
government, green/activist collective.

The Buddha did not ask to be made into a hero
by way of his name in history or statues in his image.
Neither did Jesus actually.
At least Moslems have no images of Mohammed in their
places of worship and their religion is not named after
their founder.

The newly converted Buddhists often criticise
the history of violence and war in Christianity
yet are usually ignorant of the recent/current fighting 
going on between neighbouring Buddhist countries
Thailand, Burma and Laos.

The Dalai Llama professed passivity until outside aggression
arrived in *his* backyard. Now he is a political activist.
To his credit he at least keeps his agression to the barest minimum.
Buddhism is not *the* answer and it has many contradictions
(as you will hear in the Serpentine Monastery talks on this CD).
These contradictions become your reality 
when you do not live in a monastery. 

The MP3 talks are included on this CD to 
help us come to terms with our contradictions 
and to appreciate that life is 
full of *seeming* contradictions.
Such an appreciation may be all we can really aspire to 
in a philosophical sense.

Happiness is hard wrok!

prop.taz.net.au/inform