No need to apologize. These discussions emerge naturally so it's not a bad thing to micromanage where they occur in my experience.drummyfish wrote: Tue Jun 16, 2026 11:16 amGood you bring this up Amlux, I always wondered why a lot of Buddhist temples have gigantic golden Buddha statues, isn't it in direct conflict with his teaching? But as I am thinking about it it doesn't necessarily have to be so maybe. Physical objects may still be useful in helping learn the detachment from physical objects, like living in luxury can make you realize it is shallow. In other words: hoarding may be the ultimate way towards detachment?Anyway sorry for the mental gymnastics, I don't want to be derailing this. Keep posting more pictures please!
I know this actually came up in a class I took about Buddhist art and all I can say is that no one really has an answer for the charge of hypocrisy here. It's the same reason that so many Christian cathedrals are so opulent and full of gorgeous objects and relics... and that's a religion with an explicit rule against "idolatry" which isn't even present in Buddhism. Even mosques have a lot of beautiful objects, as long as they're not representational. The only thing I can say is that a love of fine objects seems to be very deeply rooted in humans. It's probably the same instinct that made our prehistoric ancestors collect cool-looking sticks and stones and carve them into new shapes.
So my answer at least is that this instinct is so biologically ingrained in us that it's probably best to not try to completely go against it. It's best to recognize it and indulge it to a reasonable degree without becoming attached to it. And like you said, you can even "hijack" it as a lesson for spiritual realization. Some would call this the Middle Way.
Maybe it's a cope answer but that's how I see it. I can always fall back on the claim that I'm still a lay follower and not in a monastery yet, so I'm still in the clear I guess.
That's the other thing, there's kind of a different understanding of "hypocrisy" in those societies because the idea of reincarnation changes the whole physics of it. That is, we have to rely on monks who live an austere life in order to gain spiritual insights, but if everyone was a monk, society would collapse. Nor does this just mean that we wouldn't have fun toys and other indulgences. It means that the monks would be unable to live their ideal spiritual life as well because they'd have to go hunt animals and so on to survive. So the whole enterprise is sustained by some subset of lay followers following the teachings "imperfectly." A very different worldview from the western one, but it kind of makes sense how a belief in reincarnation makes this seem reasonable.In my case, my mom has hoarder tendencies so it's probably somewhat in my genes... it's my curse but also my path to walk towards enlightenment... let's say.
Also, a quick reminder: I'm fine with a broad definition of "otaku" here if you have something interesting to show that isn't directly related to anime or manga. If you want to share your DVDs, CDs, etc., go for it. And remember, collections of all sizes are beautiful!
