Buddhism and Evil

[tama]

9. Ah! Zerzan!

Language speaks, stillness listens.

I've listened carefully Zerzan's case against language, music, art, shamans, symbol, etc. It's a good challenge, a friend of mine wrote following article as response:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/19146075/Notes-on-Language-in-Zerzans-Primitivism-Vaden-Tere

And also I was inspired to write a response to Zerzan's challenge, article called 'Symbol, Shamanhood and Anarchy' (in Finnish).

Zerzan confuses symbol with old theory of representation between language and "real" world, but the original and real meaning of that Greek concept is relation of part to a whole. Humans are of course not only symbolic species, all animals have symbolic behavior e.g. when they learn by imitating. Or even more generally, sensing by sentient beings is a symbolic relation. Nihilistic purism by Zerzan and others is not Middle Way, but extreme reaction to the extreme objectification and alienation of European languages.

What is important (in Buddhism etc.) is compassion and compassionate assistance to modern civilization to heal itself.