“There’s a lot more narcissism in the community than we would expect or hope,” he says. “It’s a bit paradoxical that in a philosophy emphasizing the transcendence of self, some people are very preoccupied with self.”

Online, as in the real world, this self-regard often seems to fuel unbridled aggression. Consider this exchange from James Ure’s The Buddhist Blog, in which a reader identified as Twisted Branch commented:

Your lack of knowledge of authentic Dhamma teaching is astounding. It’s amazing you even have the courage to call this the “Buddhist blog.” All this crap you ramble on about has absolutely nothing to do with Buddhism. Your blogs are far more offensive to Buddhist tradition than any off-hand use of the term Zen. Please study authentic Buddhist teachings before claiming knowledge of Buddhism.

Two hours later, Ure responded:

Twisted Branch: If you read in my profile I don’t claim to be a teacher. I’m just trying to make sense of things as best I can. I’m sorry that you find my blog offensive but I must say that you’re in the minority. Maybe you should use your blog to teach the Dhamma the way you understand it since you seem to know it all. Rather than come onto someone else’s blog and judge and insult them. Just a thought.

A few minutes later, Forest Wisdom chimed in:

Knowledge is one thing, and practice is wholly another. If someone who supposedly “knows” acts like a jerk, and someone who doesn’t “know” but makes every effort to practice responds with humbleness and respect (as I commend James for doing). . .Hmmmm, who are people going to listen to? I honestly and truly wish you peace, Twisted Branch, but please, get over yourself.

That afternoon, Twisted Branch was contrite.

Maybe I was a bit harsh, I am truly sorry for my offensive comments. Sometimes I get frustrated with the western understanding of Buddhism. I would use my blog to teach Dhamma, but it is not the place for teaching. I will no longer use this forum as a place to vent personal frustrations. Thanks also to forest wisdom for your wise perspective.

Twisted Branch had a point, though. In cyberspace, we can craft whatever persona we choose and call our blog whatever we want, and Buddhist bloggers often inflate their experience and understanding. Shinge Roko Sherry Chayat Roshi, a Zen teacher who serves as spiritual director of the Zen Center of Syracuse, likens this behavior to online personal ads, where people have been known to misrepresent themselves (to put it charitably).

“People who purportedly are teachers—whether they’ve been given transmission or not—are seen as Zen authorities online,” she says. “Sometimes students get swept into currents of basically malevolent speech. How can that be what the Buddha taught? I’m very concerned about it.”

“There’s something about the social distance that happens on the Web,” concurs James Ishmael Ford, a Zen teacher and blogger. “Anybody with a keyboard is instantly allowed to present whatever they’ve pulled out of their butt as if it were the dharma. There’s some ugly stuff out there. There’s massive misinformation, and there’s an amazing amount of ego wrapped in opinion.”

Not every Buddhist-themed website is a vehicle for vicious personal attacks, of course. Many teachers and sanghas have found the Internet to be an effective way to post text, video, or audio links to teachings that would otherwise be unavailable to people living far from practice centers. Examples include the online presence of John Daido Loori’s Mountains and Rivers Order; the pages of the Insight Meditation Society and the Spirit Rock Meditation Center; the Sravasti website of Venerable Thubten Chodron; and Shinge Roshi’s own Zen Center of Syracuse website. In most cases, these sites don’t solicit feedback, but when they do, participants more often see themselves as members of a community, and they may even know each other offline. The discourse accordingly tends to be civil and supportive.

Ken McLeod, a Los Angeles–based teacher, also manages to maintain a general sense of civility on the eight different websites connected with his Unfettered Mind organization, but he doesn’t overestimate the social potential of the Internet. “People don’t realize they’re relating to a machine,” says McLeod, who was one of the first to launch a social networking site for Buddhists. “Something pops up on their screen that offends them, and they scream at it.” He thinks people need to wake up and take charge of their interactions with a technology that can alienate as well as unite. “Use the tools that implement what we want them to do, not do what they want us to do,” McLeod urges.

• Login or register to post comments