• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Modernity and Tradition

Nietzsche

The Last Prussian
Premium Member
As I was reading this, I began to notice something;

The author is regurgitating centuries, nay, millenniums-old complaints used by all generations on their way out when they feel that their progeny have somehow "lost touch" with the "good old days". It's nothing but an appeal to vague nostalgia. Like his(I assume he, forgive me if not) bit on how Individualism is somehow a problem and is leading to some creeping breakdown of society. Honestly, this is no different than your standard Republican Presidential Nominee campaign speech, or any other hardcore Conservative/Reactionary platform, just with a coat of Tibetan-Indian paint. It even has an anti-science section, how it has "lost its way", as if somehow discoveries that don't conform to ones' spiritual & theological views are inherently wrong and are to be ignored.
 

Riverwolf

Amateur Rambler / Proud Ergi
Premium Member
As I was reading this, I began to notice something;

The author is regurgitating centuries, nay, millenniums-old complaints used by all generations on their way out when they feel that their progeny have somehow "lost touch" with the "good old days". It's nothing but an appeal to vague nostalgia. Like his(I assume he, forgive me if not) bit on how Individualism is somehow a problem and is leading to some creeping breakdown of society. Honestly, this is no different than your standard Republican Presidential Nominee campaign speech, or any other hardcore Conservative/Reactionary platform, just with a coat of Tibetan-Indian paint. It even has an anti-science section, how it has "lost its way", as if somehow discoveries that don't conform to ones' spiritual & theological views are inherently wrong and are to be ignored.

Same.

I'm also reminded of some gamers who argue that all new games suck because they're not the good old games.

Thing is, sometimes I worry that when I get old, I'll develop this mindset, because I'm very nostalgia-influenced, myself, try as I may not to be to the point of automatically demonizing the new.

Modernity and tradition aren't really against each other at all. Traditions simply take on new looks.
 

Nicholas

Bodhicitta
Samdhong Rinpoche is a sage bodhisattva, not just a querulous old man. He thought much the same 40 years ago, I bet.

His first point is right on...

Society vs Individual: In tradition, society was considered more important than an individual. In tradition the accepted principles is that if required, in the interest of society, an individual should be willing to make sacrifices. In modern civilization norms, the individual has prime importance. In this world view, society is expected to suffer, if necessary, to protect the rights of individual.
 
Top