Ken Wilber on BuddhaAtTheGasPump.
I have to start out by saying that I love Ken Wilber! And no, not in some *faggoty way but in a spiritual sense. I've never met him and like most humans, I do meet, I'd probably find that I don't like him so much:(
But, if there was such a thing as a Bodhisattva or an Avatar this guy might be it!
I ran into Wilber's writings in 2001...22-years into my quest or search into the nature of reality. I immediately understood his genius at grokking the big picture. I spent the last decade (2001/2009) reading his complete oeuvre and spent much time on the integral-post-metaphysical site on Ning and read many of his critics on Frank Visser's site IntegralWorld. So, that is some background.
There is so much where I agree with him but there are crucial areas of difference that are deep and profound. It's going to be easier to tackle this from where I disagree with him:
-consciousness is NOT evolving! Hell, we know so little about consciousness that to say anything about it definitively is frankly hubris. The fact of the matter is that a 10-year old child's consciousness probably wasn't much difference 1000-years ago, or, 10,000, or 100,000 years ago compared to a child today! What would be different are the inputs. Today's inputs into that 10-year old brain are screens and not robins or grass or straw huts. Technology has evolved but consciousness itself? That is sheer metaphysical speculation and it's unfounded and untenable.
-the assertion that one can see they were the original face of the big bang is sheer religion! Nice poetry but nothing more; moreover, it's a logical fallacy--an appeal to authority and also a popularity fallacy when he appeals to a community of the adequate as proof for his metaphysics. The fact of the matter is that any universal assertion about what we are and where we are premised solely on mind introspection can tell us nothing more than phenomenology and not much about larger ontological and metaphysical, or cosmological issues. The void or emptiness could be a chasm that 'guards' this dimension from higher dimensional planes. I talk about this issue in this post on the distinction between states and dimensions.
-Wilber, by and large, has chosen two schools of eastern philosophy to interpret his experiences: Vedic Advaita Vedanta and Mahayana Buddhism (or, maybe Vajrayana) I don't have a problem with either per se, but there are dualist schools like Dvaita Vedanta and Theravada Buddhism which argue for different conclusions about macro cosmological issues. THIS IS A CRUCIAL POINT AND GOES TO CHERRY PICKING CERTAIN SCHOOLS OF RELIGIOUS THOUGHT TO BACK UP A PRECONCEIVED AGENDA! The point is that all of this is speculative within a multiplicity of hundreds of thousands if not millions of spiritual assertions which span the millennia of human history. In light of that fact, anyone's assertions about greater macro cosmologies are entirely speculative and should be framed as such. It's here that Wilber transitions into a subtle dogmatism.
-Integral theory as espoused by Wilber has been co-opted by political elites who have implemented what is known as a third way politic. This is the NEOLIBERALISM of Blair, Bush., etc., and it's disastrous! Now, I'm not necessarily blaming Wilber for this but it's a sad state of affairs when obvious sociopaths and psychopaths can use the Integral brand to wreck their particular form of economics on the planet. It's also a type of cultural hubris and it isn't solving anything but is rather making things much worse, IMO. Any speculation on how this political-economic branch of capitalism used spirituality? As a means of making KA$H...HINT: The Neoliberal School of Spiritual Propaganda! And yes, this transitions into...
-sadly, this issue does involve the J.Q. and I'd rather not bring this into it but it needs to be mentioned especially from my dual gnostic point of view. Judaic control of Buddhism is no small issue and Wilber certainly has his share of Jewish vetting when it comes to his cosmological assertions. There is even a lawsuit involved when it comes to interpretation of Buddhist canon so not everyone is thrilled with his position ( the lawsuit doesn't involve the J.Q.) but in general, Jewish vetting of religion is an issue! Ask any dualist gnostic if they are at the wrong end of Jewish vetting when it comes to spiritual claims--I can assure you that we are and it's not a pleasant experience. But this gets into the issue of ALL religion being a machination of the demiurge. Wilber ain't going there!
Waking up, cleaning up and growing up? I pretty much agree with him on this but it comes down to definitions. I don't find the possibility of higher dimensional planes of existence childish. If the claim from Wilber's camp is that these possibilities are childish then it's another place I part ways with him. Moreover, if anyone's dualist metaphysical beliefs are treated as silly shadow issues then it's Integral Inc. that has the problem and the shadow, IMO.
Look, Wilber's work and project is so vast that it's incredibly difficult to assess. Much of what he teaches on smaller scale issues is right on the money and anyone would be the better for understanding these issues and becoming a fuller and deeper person because of them. Most of Wilber's critics come from the skeptical atheist community and I find much of the critique balanced and useful. Whether this is societal manipulation via dialectic is hard to say but it's consistent with the divide and conquer strategies of the El-ites. It would be nice if I was wrong about this but I'm not so sure that I am.
I've had a close friend of mine tell me that certain sects of Buddhism are the workings of extraterrestrial archons and that it's not for the betterment of humankind. I'm not going there as my experience and beliefs are predicated on celestial manipulations and not extraterrestrial, but I don't dismiss it outright...
Okay, then, that's all, for now, Kenny:D
NOTE*: this isn't blue projection! More like teal wiseass:)
And BTW: there is a real problem with spiritual philosophies which end up being co-opted by fascist regimes; this is true of Nietszche, too...My Gnostic Golden Rule version of spirituality is IMPOSSIBLE for fascists to co-opt. That makes it a better choice for humanity in the long run, IMO. Seriously though, the techno maoists have already co-opted Christian Social Credit (which although far from perfect was on the right track) and now Wilber's SDI will give them everything thing they need to rate and score your spiritual inclinations.
