Ours is a peaceful mission - sort of!
Some people ask me "Why gossip?" Well no, but I like to imagine what I'd say if anyone actually did. The fact is that we all love a little. As Mozart said "Who wouldn't rather hear the gossip of their hairdresser than hear about Hercules and Theseus; persons so remote from humanity that they might as well shit marble?" In a strange way entertainment gossip reflects the human condition in a way that real news can't. We have the whole absurd soap opera laid about before us with it's usual characteristics: pride, nemesis, hope, self delusions, etc. We see our fondest dreams for beauty, youth, and unbridled success played out tot their ridiculous conclusions. For instance what do you give the person who has everything? What about 90 days in rehab? Lindsay Lohan a Mischa Barton seem to confirm for us that you can be too rich, too thin, too young, and too damned fast for your own good. Sow e heave a little secret sign of relief as we think "Thanks God our own foolish dreams never came true, and our teen aged ambitions were nipped in the bud. Or else it might be our own faces on the cover of The National Enquirer, mascara running down both cheeks, behind the banner headline "5150 - guess who just got carted off to the nut house?"
no one's immune to the lowest common denominator
Gossip speaks to us on a basic level. Perhaps that explains it's overwhelming appeal to so many people. It's not just house wives at supermarket check outs either. Even the most serious and high minded folk gt interested. Take Buddhist for instance. It may surprise you to know that this little blog is becoming popular, or at least infamous, among the dharma crowd. In fact many are taking time out from what ever dharma they might practice to obsess on Lindsay, Britney, Mischa, and all those other young ladies careening out of control. So much so that Wondertrash is becoming a hot topic of conversation, and foul language unbecoming the Buddha, on many Buddhist forums - like this one!
Holy dharma Batman! - madder than Bjork when she's sees a flashbulb!
If you hit that link then you'll have read for your self some of the very unspiritual language used to describe this very blog. Now I am familiar with the teachings of the Buddha - even his "avoid idle talk" precept in the 8 Fold Path. Whether or not you consider Wondertrash as idle talk with a high minded purpose (Like success ain't what it's cracked up to be, and especially when Twitter is involved!), I'm not sure how these venerable folk would excuse their own bickering and complaining. Most of that talk would be out of place in a school yard play ground or public washroom!
Bogus dharma
No too be fair, in as much as a celebrity gossip blogger is capable of being fair, most of the brouhaha concerns another little blog I do called Bogus Zen. I've posted some Dorje Shugden stuff on that and that's what's raised their ire. For those who think that Buddhism is incapable of the same sectarian dissent as say Christianity hears a newsflash: Tibetan Buddhism is currently in the idle of a vicious dispute. it involves the practice of Dorje Shugden worship. Dorje Shugden was a Tibetan monk who as legend has it was murdered, and who's ghost became a powerful dharma protector. he was worshiped by common people in Tibet for years. His oracle was the one who got the Dali Lama out of Tibet days before the Chinese invaded. HRH was so pleased that he personally has written hymns of praise to Dorje Shugden.
more of the shame - that's change for you!
However as time passed there was some dissent with in the Tibetan community. Some folk wanted Dorje Shugden practice abolished. So they called Dorje a demon, and another bad names. They also wanted his followers bullied and persecuted into giving the practice up. It's the old "Beatings will continue until moral improves" approach. That's the same old enlightened approach that has been filling up history books and keeping school boys booked up with essay assignments since the invention of writing!
dharma trolls
Apparently Dorje opponents troll the net looking for anything remotely Dorje related so that they can have the shameful satisfaction of working themselves into a snit about it - much the way that pornography opponents will attend adult moves so that they can later tell their friends how awful such stuff is. They still enjoy the porno, just in a much more neurotic way than your average middle aged sales man with a hard on. We take our pleasures as best we can.
what you can learn through celebrity gossip blogs!
So for the record, neither I nor this blog are associated with NKT - the 'outlaw' sect of Tibetan Buddhism that continues with Dorje practice. I have studied about Dorje, and am fascinated, but any involvement is purely personal. Dorje Shugden has the reputation of being Tibetan Buddhism's St Jude - a kick ass dharma protector who comes through when the chips are down. So naturally he's attractive to many people when they learn more about him. If you want to learn more about him here's a little documentary - the samer one that started me off - on Dorje Shugden and the whole can of worms that got opened up in the Tibetan community. The doc is highly politicized, as everything concern Dorje Shugden is these days, but it will give you the basic facts and cover the controversy within the Tibetan Buddhist community.
Ever Wonder
So that's what the fuss is about. It's so much of a fuss that some how Lindsay, Britney, & Wondertrash have gotten mixed up in the middle of it! Now not even Perez Hilton can claim to have the one and only blog that pisses off Buddhists! The constant bickering, insults, etc might come as a disappointment for those who expected more from non Christian traditions, but I prefer to think that it depends on how you look at it. It's reassuring that the dharma crowd aren't all nirvana, mediation, and "Live long & prosper" spiritual platitudes; but can come down to Earth and play in the mud like the rest of us. I guess that Wonder is where ever you find her, after all!
Now here's something else freaky!
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