Brian Ruhe and Representation

Exploring Theravāda's connections to other paths - what can we learn from other traditions, religions and philosophies?
User avatar
rowboat
Posts: 700
Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2010 5:31 am
Location: Brentwood Bay

Re: Brian Ruhe and Representation

Post by rowboat »

It appears that Brian Ruhe is in fact a Neo-Nazi. Here is Brian Ruhe's other Youtube channel, "The Truth Search Channel" where he has posted videos with titles like "The Messiah Adolf Hitler Led Us Into the Galaxy" and "Brian Ruhe Does The Protocols of Zion": https://www.youtube.com/user/TRUTHsearchCHANNEL/videos
Rain soddens what is covered up,
It does not sodden what is open.
Therefore uncover what is covered
That the rain will not sodden it.
Ud 5.5
User avatar
Sokehi
Posts: 405
Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2012 4:27 pm
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: Brian Ruhe and Representation

Post by Sokehi »

That's ... disappointing but not surprising :thinking:
Get the wanting out of waiting

What does womanhood matter at all, when the mind is concentrated well, when knowledge flows on steadily as one sees correctly into Dhamma. One to whom it might occur, ‘I am a woman’ or ‘I am a man’ or ‘I’m anything at all’ is fit for Mara to address. – SN 5.2

If they take what's yours, tell yourself that you're making it a gift.
Otherwise there will be no end to the animosity. - Ajahn Fuang Jotiko

https://www.youtube.com/user/Repeataarrr
daverupa
Posts: 5980
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2011 6:58 pm

Re: Brian Ruhe and Representation

Post by daverupa »

Review: Freeing the Buddha, by Brian Ruhe

http://buddhaspace.blogspot.com/2012/03 ... -ruhe.html
So far we have been examining the first part of Freeing the Buddha. This is the less controversial section of the book, and as such has little in it to object to, or though there are remarks on Mahayana Buddhism and Christianity, for example, that might raise a few eyebrows.

In the second part of the book, however, those eyebrows aren't merely raised, but they are burnt to a crisp as Ruhe addresses UFOs, Hitler, Mahayana Buddhism, and Jesus Christ. Let's start with Adolf Hitler. Ruhe states that many Buddhists believe that Hitler was a highly attained being that could raise up his people. Moreover, he believes that Hitler was the most powerful spiritual being of the 20th century, and this is why he could avoid the many assassination attempts allegedly made on him - unlike Mahatma Gandhi. Ruhe recognizes Hitler's evil, and even claims that the nazi leader was a satanist, but he also observes that his strength came from deep within himself, and that he invoked evil powers to assist him.
Brian Ruhe wrote:"The name Hitler is a conversation stopper and 25 million dead is an effective way to be remembered. Buddhism is still quite small in the West so it would be auspicious for Buddhism to gain some publicity. Hitler perverted higher realm powers by using them to magnetize millions of people in misleading way. The insight that Buddhism can shed upon Nazi practices will serve to demonstrate the validity of Buddhist claims about the seriousness of the powers of the higher realms. I was criticized the most for this chapter in previous editions of Feeing the Buddha but this is also the most popular chapter in the book since Hitler is such a powerful example to use!"
:?
  • "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

    "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
User avatar
Mkoll
Posts: 6590
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2012 6:55 pm
Location: USA

Re: Brian Ruhe and Representation

Post by Mkoll »

Sokehi wrote:That's ... disappointing but not surprising :thinking:
That sums up my thoughts pretty well.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
User avatar
Dan74
Posts: 4528
Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 11:12 pm
Location: Switzerland

Re: Brian Ruhe and Representation

Post by Dan74 »

rowboat wrote:It appears that Brian Ruhe is in fact a Neo-Nazi. Here is Brian Ruhe's other Youtube channel, "The Truth Search Channel" where he has posted videos with titles like "The Messiah Adolf Hitler Led Us Into the Galaxy" and "Brian Ruhe Does The Protocols of Zion": https://www.youtube.com/user/TRUTHsearchCHANNEL/videos
Watched the first five minutes of the first video and it is completely demented. Hitler nominated for Nobel Peace Prize because he was so great? Give me a break! It was a practical joke by a Swedish MP. Hitler threatened by the Zionists who were so powerful?? No, in fact the President of Deutsche Bank resigned as a protest against Hilter's antisemitic policies because he believe them not only to be discriminatory and barbaric but bad for German economy.

Ruhe's rewriting history to fit with his delusion but how many people bother to check the facts, I wonder?
_/|\_
User avatar
Viscid
Posts: 931
Joined: Fri Jul 09, 2010 8:55 pm
Location: Toronto, Canada
Contact:

Re: Brian Ruhe and Representation

Post by Viscid »

Dan74 wrote:Ruhe's rewriting history to fit with his delusion but how many people bother to check the facts, I wonder?
Confirmation bias is a very difficult thing to overcome, especially when you're the type of person who is convinced that your intuition is a revelation of fact. It takes a lot of conscious effort to look at the information at hand and from it infer without bias, especially when that information contradicts prior belief.
Last edited by Viscid on Thu Aug 07, 2014 5:27 pm, edited 2 times in total.
"What holds attention determines action." - William James
User avatar
gavesako
Posts: 1794
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2009 5:16 pm

Re: Brian Ruhe and Representation

Post by gavesako »

And especially don't believe the allied propaganda that eating carrots is good for your eyes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htH5f9zr3zs

:o
Bhikkhu Gavesako
Kiṃkusalagavesī anuttaraṃ santivarapadaṃ pariyesamāno... (MN 26)

Access to Insight - Theravada texts
Ancient Buddhist Texts - Translations and history of Pali texts
Dhammatalks.org - Sutta translations
jan fessel
Posts: 68
Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2010 12:24 am

Re: Brian Ruhe and Representation

Post by jan fessel »

Why do I think of a wolf pack hunting down the Ugly duckling, reading this tread ?

How about some metta for the poor sinner ?

I agree with many of Brian views on buddhism and its just so refreshing to see someone who dare speak their mind about Mahayana.

Fact is that a lot of Mahayana teachings is not original buddhism.

If he is SO bad for some mistaken views about Hitler then what about buddhists who team up as a wolf pack ?

Do not forget Metta friends.

Here I am sorry but I must give my :anjali: to Brian. :-)
User avatar
Mr Man
Posts: 4016
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2011 8:42 am

Re: Brian Ruhe and Representation

Post by Mr Man »

jan fessel wrote:
Here I am sorry but I must give my :anjali: to Brian. :-)
For which part of Brian Ruhe do you give your Anjali?
jan fessel
Posts: 68
Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2010 12:24 am

Re: Brian Ruhe and Representation

Post by jan fessel »

Mr Mann wrote :
For which part of Brian Ruhe do you give your Anjali?
I give Brian my respect for having said on the net that Mahayana is not the pure teaching of the historical Buddha.

And I give him my sympathy for having been the victim of men on a buddhist forum, with the merciless behavior of a wolf pack.

If I was a Christian I would say, may God have mercy on us all.

:anjali:
User avatar
Mr Man
Posts: 4016
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2011 8:42 am

Re: Brian Ruhe and Representation

Post by Mr Man »

jan fessel wrote:
And I give him my sympathy for having been the victim of men on a buddhist forum, with the merciless behavior of a wolf pack.

I think you are being rather overdramatic.

Do you think Mahayana is Marayana?

What do you think of his views on Hitler etc?
User avatar
Anagarika
Posts: 915
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2011 11:25 pm

Re: Brian Ruhe and Representation

Post by Anagarika »

If he is SO bad for some mistaken views about Hitler then what about buddhists who team up as a wolf pack ?
I had commented negatively on Mr. Ruhe's views, but I don't believe there was a "wolf pack" mentality behind the negative comments from many on this forum. There will always be a wide latitude of perspectives within Theravada, and thanks to DW, we have a forum to share those perspectives and interact among others. My take on Mr. Ruhe is that he shares that he is a former Theravada monk, and that he now teaches Buddhism to students at a community college. He is less a gadfly, and more someone who has marketed himself as a voice for Theravada on youtube and through his community college.

I have found many aspects of his presentation peculiar, and regret that he is the face of Theravada for so many, at least for his students at the college. Further than regret, I abhor his views on Jews, Jewish history, and the history of Hitler and the Nazi Party. The fact that someone who claims to have been in robes, who claims to be an "expert" on the Dhamma to the point that he teaches, and who concurrently embraces neo-Nazi ideology, is just wrong, offensive and inappropriate. He needs to be called out and openly criticzed, insofar as one cannot sit by and let a Ruhe, or a Wirathu (he calls himself the "Burmese Bin Laden"), stoke hatred and fan the flames of anti-Semitism and hatred.

It is our job to be mindful, kind, tolerant of views, and welcoming to others. It's not our job, IMO, to sit idly by and read or hear hate-filled or deluded views being broadcast by one who claims to be a voice for Theravada Buddhism. The fact that Mr. Ruhe has placed himself in the public eye by his teaching and youtube campaign (part Buddhist, part Hitler fanboy, part Nazi revisionist) now leaves him open for fair criticism. He can't have it both ways; he can't market himself as an expert and derive income from teaching Buddhism, and not be subject to issue specific criticism by those that revere and respect the Dhamma.
User avatar
Mkoll
Posts: 6590
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2012 6:55 pm
Location: USA

Re: Brian Ruhe and Representation

Post by Mkoll »

Mr Man wrote:
jan fessel wrote:
And I give him my sympathy for having been the victim of men on a buddhist forum, with the merciless behavior of a wolf pack.

I think you are being rather overdramatic.
Yes, that's quite exaggerated.

And what's your beef with Mahayana? They are Buddhists too. :group:
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
jan fessel
Posts: 68
Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2010 12:24 am

Re: Brian Ruhe and Representation

Post by jan fessel »

I do find several basic Mahayana teachings to be the product of defilement.

I do not have any special sympathy for Hitler.

Maybe you should consider that a Buddhist who in public express sympathy for such things, might not be in balance.

Someone not in balance may need your understanding, rather than your condemnation.

We can all have a bad day, month and year.

Buddhism should be what the Buddha gave.

Several basic Mahayana teachings came long time after the Buddha, and is not in line with his words in the Suttas.

It is the teachings of other people than the Buddha, and should therefore not be called Buddhism.

:anjali:
User avatar
Mkoll
Posts: 6590
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2012 6:55 pm
Location: USA

Re: Brian Ruhe and Representation

Post by Mkoll »

So you don't think Mahayanists should be called Buddhists?

I disagree with that because they still have faith in the Buddha, a Buddha, or multiple Buddhas.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Post Reply