Dharma Combat
Where Spiritual Giants Go To Duke It Out
"A very popular error -
having the courage of one's convictions:
Rather it is a matter of having the courage
for an attack upon one's conviction."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Dharma Combat is the ancient art of testing your knowledge of Reality against someone else's...
- sometimes while wearing very tight tights.
So, what happens when "Spiritual Giants" don't exactly see eye to eye?
Or maybe a better question: do "Spiritual Giants" ever see eye to eye?
We're starting to wonder.
After all, you'd think that if two folks both have a direct experience of Ultimate Reality, they'd, well, probably be at least somewhat able to agree on at least some things.
But apparently not. At least not as much as might think.
But the way we see it, we can use this to our advantage.
How? Well, the way we see it, in an area like this where egomaniacs and delusions can sometimes run rampant and unchecked...a little peer review, a checks-and-balance system, even a little peer pressure, can sometimes be a good thing along the lines of keeping each other honest.
And it's also fun.
Is there really a detailed, blow-by-blow takedown of Eckhart Tolle? Does Nisargadatta Maharaj really get called out by Sam Harris? (Yes.) Does Sam Harris get called out by anybody else? (Also Yes). Does anybody take on the real heavyweights, like Ramana Maharshi? (Maybe. We can't give you all the answers here. But...Yes.)
...and so on. When Spiritual Giants collide...we win.
We "win" by these folks keeping each other honest, pointing out flaws and sloppy thinking when adoring disciples tend not to, and having various "Giants" hopefully improve each other through a bit of free and healthy competition (instead of the pampered, sheltered, insulated, environments where they might enjoy virtual monopolies of the soul.)
It's not polite. It's not socially graceful. It's not always hilarious; only sometimes.
But if you're interested in the truth of what some of these folks have to say, it's always pretty interesting.
The ancient tradition of Dharma Combat still lives. May the most truthful survive!