Is the Dalai Lama a Crunchy Con?

By Mitchell

Over at Bettnet, Dom posts a series of excerpts from comments made by the Dalai Lama in a recent interview. All the usual disclaimers apply here; the fact that I happen to agree with the Dalai Lama in this case does not mean I'm a Buddhist, etc., etc. But I still find this comment fascinating, as he speaks of the West's consumerism. And as the debate continues to rage within conservative circles about "crunchy cons," I think this is as good a synopisis of the problem as I've read:

“It is fascinating,” he says, speaking in slightly stilted English. “In the West, you have bigger homes, yet smaller families; you have endless conveniences - yet you never seem to have any time. You can travel anywhere in the world, yet you don’t bother to cross the road to meet your neighbours; you have more food than you could possibly eat, yet that makes women like Heidi miserable.”

The West’s big problem, he believes, is that people have become too self-absorbed. “I don’t think people have become more selfish, but their lives have become easier and that has spoilt them. They have less resilience, they expect more, they constantly compare themselves to others and they have too much choice - which brings no real freedom.”

The Dalai Lama also speaks on homosexuality, marriage and other interesting topics guaranteed to surprise (and perhaps dismay) his trendy supporters here in the West. Read more excerpts by Dom here, and follow his link to the entire story.