"Sickest Buddhist" video spotlights spiritual hypocrisy

Oh, yeah, in my true believing days I knew people who were so damn proud of how humble they were. And who acted like jerks while preaching high-minded morality to others.

So I could relate to Arj Barker's slickly produced and smile inducing video where he raps out his claim to being the Sickest Buddhist. (embedded at end of this post)

You can read the lyrics if you can't understand all of them, thanks to YogaDork. Sample:

I’m the illest Buddhist you’ve seen
all the ladies wanna meditate with me
I look so serene when I bust a lotus
but i don’t have an ego so I wouldn’t even notice

I think of you before I think of myself
that’s probably why people think I’m so chill
But still I’m hell of intense
my clothes have little bells and they smell like incense

This stuff is funny. And also it isn't. Because it's so true.

I'm much more familiar with Eastern varieties of spiritual hypocrisy, because I was involved with organized yoga and meditation practice for about thirty-five years.

Now, I can understand the defense this Buddhist blogger offers up to the Sickest Buddhist video.

I want to say "Hey guys, did you read the paper today, the part where Goldman Sachs and Exxon screwed the entire planet 100 million times as badly as any confused Buddhist or yogi ever has? Did you hear the lyrics of the latest corporate rap song that reduces humanity to its most superficially glittering impulses for millions of young people to consume without a thought? Did you see how Republicans stonewalled on healthcare reform again? Then please stop talking about Buddhists and Yogis."

But the followers of any spiritual path or religion who can't laugh at its weirdnesses and excesses don't have a right to say, "please stop pointing those out to us." They should be the first to admit how bizarre dogmas, rituals, and such can be.

One of my prouder moments during my humble stage was helping a talented artist come up with Sant Mat cartoons that made gentle (or not-so-gentle, depending on one's sense of humor) fun of Radha Soami Satsang Beas devotees.

Buddhists should be thanking Arj Barker for bringing smiles to so many faces. Enjoy:

Sickest Buddhist from GenerateLA on Vimeo.

Comments

[JonathanElliot]

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