Sunday
Is Knowledge Power?
by Larry Barnett
Having taken the Sakyong’s suggestion about becoming experts on society and understanding the nature of self, I’ve been immersed in re-reading Western philosophy and exploring the roots of our western conceptions about self and society. Accordingly, the shift towards a materialist view that took place alongside Europe’s Age of Enlightenment has largely defined the way western culture and society developed, and stands in contrast to many of our Shambhala teachings.
The defining character of the modern age is its relationship to acquiring knowledge: the idea that knowledge is power, specifically power over nature and others. This orientation distinguishes modernity from antiquity’s belief in knowledge as its own reward and wisdom ultimately found “in here” not “out there.”
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Author Archive
4 responses - Posted 08.03.13
Politics as Practice by Larry Barnett, Shambhala Director of Communications There is a yogic practice in Tibet that takes place in a charnel ground, or what we call a graveyard. Graveyards in Tibet, which is mostly rock, are not the neat and grassy parks we have here in ...continue
no responses - Posted 05.15.12
Migration of Sangha-Announce, Sangha-Talk and other Email lists to the Shambhala Network by Larry Barnett Director of Communications and Chair of the Communications and Technology Steering Committee Over the last two years the Shambhala team that provides us with our online communications services began developing a new email ...continue
no responses - Posted 02.20.09
Thirty-five years ago at the age of twenty-five, I attended the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa’s Black Hat [or Vajra Crown] ceremony in San Francisco at the invitation of a dear friend. This same friend also gave me a copy of Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, which I still ...continue
1 response - Posted 01.31.09
In the conventional world, generosity is the way that organizations express goodness. The Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club and other such groups repeatedly raise large sums of money and donate it to non-profits, schools and civic projects. They raffle off classic cars, vacations in Europe and other ...continue