[Mehntswx]

Do you feel confined to a dreary literalism, Lazy? Are you suggesting that "ancient times were better"? Probably they were better in some ways, worse in others. Our times are also a mixed bag.

I think many Western practitioners have a discomfort/aversion with what they regard as the superstitious elements in traditional/Asian Buddhism. And sure, those elements are there. But it's probably worth subjecting our unease to examination as well -- because this may be our particular prison.

The point isn't to stand inside a Western/modernist/rationalist box and point fingers at the silly traditional Buddhists in their silly superstitious box. That's cheap and easy, and where does it get us as far as our own liberation is concerned?

Buddhadasa was coming from a particular context. He was a Thai Buddhist who understood the morass his own cultural/religious tradition had fallen into, and provided an appropriate antidote. From the point of view of Theravada in Thailand, he was going against the grain. But when Westerners with modernist inclinations invoke Buddhadasa, are we going against the grain or simply reinforcing our predispositions?