A Match Made in . . . . This World

Pico Iyer's The Open Road: The Global Journeyof the Fourteenth Dalai Lama (2008) (252 p.) proved itself the ideal read following the Jaipur Literature Festival. As readers will know from either this blog or Iowa Guru's, these two individuals were both favorites in our family. The combination of subject and author didn't disappoint. 

Pico Iyer was a teenager when his parents drug him to Dharmasala, India to meet with the Dalai Lama, at that time a young and virtually unknown figure. The Dalai Lama had fled from the Chinese occupiers of Tibet in the late 1950's, and he'd taken with him a remnant of the nation and culture that was Tibet. Iyer's early introduction to this unique personage allowed Iyer access to the Dalai Lama and his community that few in the world can match. The even better news, however, isn't just Iyer's access, but his attitude. This is not an exercise in hagiography; instead, it’s a frank treatment of the many worlds in which this ordinary, extraordinary person lives. The extraordinary aspect of the DL's life arises from the requirement of fate (or karma?) that he must exist in multiple worlds at one time. The DL is political leader of the Tibetan people (although he's attempted—unsuccessfully—to slough off this burden), while at the same time, he serves as a global figure for peace and justice, as recognized by his Nobel Peace Prize. Even as a representative for Buddhism, he must occupy two positions simultaneously. As a representative for the values of Buddhism around the world, he emphasizes our common humanity and the universal concerns that Buddhism addresses to the world at large, including those of different religions or no religion at all. On the other hand, as a leading figure of the unique tradition of Buddhism that came from Tibet, he heads a practice that maintains shamanistic and ritual elements that are truly esoteric to most people, rather bizarre. Indeed, the Tibetan Buddhist tradition splits between the shamanistic rituals that seek to probe the interior world and another aspect of the tradition that emphasizes a highly developed philosophy that thrives on language and argumentation. Imagine the DL sitting pensively (as happens) as a young monk enters into argumentation with him and steps forward in a loud voice clapping his hands in the face of this revered figure to make a point. (Check out this video, which seems tame compared to a demonstration that I saw in Macbride Hall at the UI. Iyer notes that they trash talk playing b-ball, too.)

These and the many other dualities (or multiple realities) mark the DL's existence and create and define him. Arising at 3:30 every morning and meditating for four hours, he then enters into discussions and debates with scientists, religious leaders, and ordinary people (as he did at the Jaipur Literature Festival). When one contemplates this performance, it becomes truly mind-boggling. An ordinary peasant boy becomes a world-historical figure, coming out of one of the most remote and forbidding places in the world, but a country with a culture that is deeply rich in learning and art. 

Given his own multi-polarities, I can't imagine anyone more qualified to write this book than Pico Iyer. As a global wanderer and the product of multiple cultures, Iyer appears to gain some additional insight into this extraordinary man that I wouldn’t expect from others. Iyer understands and appreciates the ordinariness of him that complement his extraordinary performances. Iyer also describes the places, persons, and issues that surround the DL in a way that deepens and situates his observations of the man himself. 

For anyone interested in the Dalai Lama, Buddhism, Tibet, or, more widely, the challenges of how someone with deep moral convictions attempts to navigate this all-too cruel world, I can't recommend this book too highly.   

Cross-blogged in Steve's View from Abroad

11/20: The Spectrum of Consciousness by Ken Wilber

  

  

   The Spectrum of Consciousness by Ken Wilber (1973). I’ve read an awfully lot by Ken Wilber, and it wasn’t easy to pick a favorite, so I went with his first book (Spectrum) rather than his magnum opus, the very large tome Sex, Ecology & Sprituality. Given that Wilber is nothing if not comprehensive, SES might have gotten the nod, but in Spectrum I encountered for the first time someone who had read just about everything that I would every want to read (and still haven’t) and who then makes some sense of it all. Although Wilber has refined and revised his perspectives , you get a sense of his youthful exuberance in writing this book. Wilber reports that he was a (typical?) Duke undergrad when he was struck by a “what’s the meaning of all this?” moment and went off in search of answers. While earning an ABD in biochemistry he ranged over thought from East and West to make some sense of it all, and this book represents his first draft. It’s really quite amazing, and it’s kept me following his work for about three decades now.

10/20: On Violence by Hannah Arendt

 

On Violence by Hannah Arendt (1968). Arendt gets a second listing in this short book. In it, Arendt further updates her unique ideas about politics and challenges Mao Zedong: political power doesn’t flow from the barrel of a gun, but from persuasion. Guns are the mark of force; politics the realm of speech. Mao is right about the role of force and coercion in our lives, but I think that Arendt right about politics. Speech is the mark of democracy and reason.

Poupouri

Good quote from Keynes courtesy of Corey Robin: 

“The study of economics does not seem to require any specialised gifts of an unusually high order. Is it not, intellectually regarded, a very easy subject compared with the higher branches of philosophy and pure science? Yet good, or even competent, economists are the rarest of birds. An easy subject, at which very few excel! The paradox finds its explanation, perhaps, in that the master-economist must possess a rare combination  of gifts. He must reach a high standard in several different directions and must combine talents not often found together. He must be mathematician, historian, statesman, philosopher—in some degree. He must understand symbols and speak in words. He must contemplate the particular in terms of the general, and touch abstract and concrete in the same flight of thought. He must study the present in the light of the past for the purposes of the future. No part of man’s nature or his institutions must lie entirely outside his regard. He must be purposeful and disinterested in a simultaneous mood; as aloof and incorruptible as an artist, yet sometimes as near the earth as a politician.”

—John Maynard Keynes, “Alfred Marshall,” in Essays in Biography (New York: Norton, 1963), pp. 140-141.

 Probably true of a lot of callings. 

Checking out a new blog (to me) from a Nichiren Buddhist physician Alex Likerman, who practices at the University of Chicago. What do we think? I think that David Reynolds of Playing Ball on Running Water fame came out of the tradition as well, if I recall correctly. It originates from Japan.

 I read this (quote below) on the most recent post from Ken Wilber's blogsite, which would be good news indeed. After writing an incredible amount, Wilber seemed to have stopped and concentrated on getting his message out through other media. When it comes to understanding and synthesizing vast amounts of deep thinking over distances of disciplines, eras, practices, and so on, no one beats this master of bringing it all together to make some sense of it. Anyway, here's what he wrote: 

The following are two long endnotes, and one excerpt, from my recently finished book, Sex, Karma, Creativity, which is volume 2 of the Kosmos Trilogy, whose first volume is Sex, Ecology, Spirituality.  

At this point, however, I don't see anything on Amazon. 

9/20 The Double Vision by Northrup Frye

The Double Vision: Language and Meaning in Religion by Northrup Frye (1991). Frye was one of the outstanding literary critics and scholars of the 20^th century, and he published a large number of works, including The Anatomy of Criticism, The Great Code, and Fearful Symmetry, his fascinating study of William Blake, each of which I’ve read with great pleasure and reward. However, this small book really captures what for me is most intriguing about his work, this sense of “double vision”. It’s hard to describe, but the book holds many rewards for those who plunge in to it.

Richard Nixon's 100th Birthday

One of David Levine's famous Nixon caricatures from NYRB

I just learned that we passed the 100th anniversary of the birth of Richard Nixon on January 9th. I need to remark on this. Some preliminaries: 

In 1960, I endorsed Richard Nixon for president. I was in the 2nd grade. 

In 1968, I attended the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach that nominated Richard Nixon, and I supported him that fall agains HHH. I was 15 years old and a sophomore in high school. 

In 1972 I was a sophmore in college at the University of Iowa. I could finally vote, but I couldn't vote for Richard Nixon, although an overwhelming majority of Americans did so. 

In August 1974, I married the Iowa Guru and Richard Nixon resigned the presidency in disgrace. 

I've had occasion to read about him and consider him for a long time now. He is a perplexing and almost frightening character. Along with Lyndon Johnson, he was the dominant political figure in the post-WWII era. Ronald Reagan was Nixon's political child, not his superior. 

Yet for all his Shakespearean flaws, Nixon could have been a great president. Perhaps because of, perhaps in spite of, his titanic resentments and drive to get ahead, he thought strategically. He had a tremendous political intelligence; warped, but if you look at things that he did or wanted to do, especially domestically, like a welfare reform, environmental protection, health insurance, and so on. He looks like a flaming liberal by the standards of today. But yet again, he was indifferent to many of these innovative policies. He would sacrifice about anything to keep political advantage, including principles. 

His forte, and yet the arena that brought out the worst in him, was international affairs. Viet Nam, of course. Think of the opening to China, detente with the Soviet Union, arms limitation treaties, Chile. So much, so Machiavellian. 

Two books stand out in my mind about Nixon. One that I listened to just this year and that I enjoyed immensely, Nixonland by Rick Perlstein, which uses Nixon as the lens to look at the American political, social, and cultural scene from the mid-60's to the time of Nixon's re-election in 1972. Perlstein gives us a sense of the roaring resentments that motivated Nixon, and how he played his political hand to keep arising from the political ashes to ascend to the apex that he enjoyed in 1972.    

The other book is, of course, Nixon Agonistes: The Crisis of the Self-Made Man by Garry Wills. This is Wills as a young man who was a working journalist as well as classics scholar in the 1960's. He'd been plucked from obscurity by William F. Buckley and trained by the the regulars at the National Review. Nixon Agonistes got Wills booted from Buckley's good graces and those of the National Review faithful, but it was worth it. The insights of Wills are amazing, as is his writing. His journalism, which he's pretty much left behind, combined with his literary knowledge, made this an exciting read when I first read it in the summer of 1975. It's still a great treatise on American politics and this amazing character of Richard Nixon. 

Happy birthday, Dick, where ever you are! 

8/20 Favorites: The Future of History by John Lukacs

 
 
The Future of History by John Lukacs (2008). Lukacs is a relatively recent discovery, but what a discovery he’s been! Like Arendt, he’s a refugee from Europe, although he’s younger, coming after the Second World War from Hungry. Like Arendt, his thinking can prove a bit obscure to me at times, but I think it because he's just a whole lot smarter than I am. His range intrigues me, from Five Days in London: May 1940 to the whole calling of history as a human endeavor and way of knowing. His thoughts about history as a calling have proven most insightful and unique. Lukacs argues, in my paraphrase, that all knowledge is history and therefore history is the master trope of knowledge and scholarship. These insights are fascinating. He’s a bit of well-kept secret, but any of his books proves worthwhile. Even though English is not his native tongue, he’s a master stylist who can write with the grace and skill of a novelist.

When Twitter Isn't Enough--A Potpourri

Sometimes our comments and citations need more than 140 characters. I've been using Twitter to comment very briefly on some blog posts, but sometimes you just can't say enough. Thus, an occasional round-up seems in order to comment on various items I've read around the Net that have captured my fancy or items that riff on some reading topic. 

Marx? As the Inscrutable Panda has reminded me, he's still around and still "relevant" (what a 60's word). I think that's correct. Add to that fact the recent death of the prolific historian (and Marxist) Eric Hobsbawm, and you have something worth reading (also it's by well-known critic Terry Eagleton). In fact, truth be told, from my freshman intro to political theory course, I found ol' Karl pretty interesting. Wrong in many ways, but still insightful. Is that still true? Well, we're not in utopia, and we do have some groups of people (shall we say "classes"?) who don't treat other groups fairly. Yes, that still happens, Virginia. So, have a dose of Marx: https://www.readability.com/articles/itwou8az.

Tom Friedman hits on a double note: climate and debt. On climate, I think that we've got our heads up our [you know what] and things will only get worse. On the debt, I'm not quite so sure. Long term, yes; short term, don't shoot the dog. He needs to come to grips with Krugman, whom he obliquely digs by saying that things could change quickly on interest rates, whereas Krugman has pointed out that they haven't, all the Casandras notwithstanding. Before going all Niall Fergusson on us, Friedman needs to do some economic persuading before I'll get too fired up about this. And as Krugman regularly agrees, we do need to address debt issues, certainly; we just don't need to drink the austerity kool-aid now. Friedman's take: https://www.readability.com/articles/pmvybfkl 

Rick Perlstein's Nixonland was an amazingly good book. Here he states why he is a "liberal". Put simply, "freedom plus groceries". I might say freedom plus dignity, which to my mind entails some economic security and fairness, but I quibble. I think he's got it mostly right. A sound introduction to this line of thinking that's even in short supply in the Obama era. https://www.readability.com/articles/oqgosxot

Fareed Zarkaria adds his voice to the chorus about gun violence and gives a plain message. It sounds like Obama is hedging, which I suppose I understand, but I agree 100% with Zarkaria based on the evidence, the way to reduce gun violence is to reduce access to guns. Thanks, Fareed, for pointing out the obvious, but we need it. 
https://www.readability.com/articles/pnxodyrz

Tom Barnett weighs in with some timely thoughts on women and violence in India. While he's an IR guy essentially, he tracks the world in terms of whose those who are in the "gap"; i.e., lagging connections to the more developed world. Anyway, his take merits consideration. Excess young men used to go war to have their numbers reduced, but this is no longer an attractive option. So, instead, we have a de facto war on women. An interesting hypothesis. https://www.readability.com/articles/bvh8hdq0
 
 Naomi Wolf on "India's rape culture" and similar problems in the U.S. and Europe as well. https://www.readability.com/articles/jgqqiu0b

 

 

Favorites 6/20: Bhagavad Gita translated by Stephen Mitchell

 

Bhagavad-Gita. I recently reviewed a new translation that I’d read of this, so I won’t say too much more. I’m not including classics on this list (well, before Moby Dick), so I omit a lot of religious or classical writing, but this is one exception. I make in this exception in part because I only read it first as an adult and because I’ve read different translations now. It still resonates.