Last week, at the weekly meditation group I help lead, I spoke about A Pragmatic Approach to Dharma Practice. I found it really fun to do some research on the history of the pragmatist movement in Western philosophy, and see how much it overlaps with the Pragmatic (or Hardcore) Dharma movement that I’ve been involved with.
It also helped me see some of the assumptions behind the Pragmatic Dharma movement, some of which I don’t think are commonly questioned in these circles. One thing I found particularly interesting is how pragmatism, in Western Philosophy, is considered a thoroughly modern philosophy. Post-modern philosophers have many interesting, and relevant, critiques of pragmatism, and my sense is that there’s something to these critiques. My hope is that by exploring further the potential, and limits, of such an approach, that something novel might emerge.
Anyway, go check out the talk, if you’re interested. ;-D
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