icarus | Buddhist spam (Reply)

Buddhist spam is worse than most spam.

At least regular spam I can cheerfully throw in the trash. Buddhist spam I feel guilty trashing it.

Maybe everyone has this person on their email list. The one who never tells you how they're doing. Instead, you get a m-e-a-n-i-n-g-f-u-l email forwarded to vast numbers of people.

In this case it's meaningful and Buddhist.

I can't figure out why it annoys me.

Maybe because it's not meaningful. It's impersonal. The communication is "you're just one of thousands I don't care enough about to mention how I'm doing, so here, have a [cat picture/dog picture/Buddha picture/Buddhist teaching/chain letter]."

Or maybe it's because it's a little, teensy, eensy bit preachy. When I want a Buddhist teaching, I'll seek one out, thanks, and on a topic I'm interested in.

Or maybe it's because it feels off. Seems more like image-building, like it has less to do with the teaching, and more to do with how this person wants me to think of them as a "Buddhist" person.

So I got a Buddhist teaching out of this, but not the one (ones, plural, so plural) they sent, to the tune of three or four in a day.

Rather, I got one about spiritual materialism, a topic I've never understood until now. That if your Buddhism is all about you, it's just another fashion statement. It's no different from these cool sapphire earrings I'm perusing on eBay right now, wondering if the light blue will look good on me. At least I know that's materialism.

Or ... maybe I'm just tired, grouchy, haven't had a day off in over a month, and it's irritating to open my email for some downtime ... and find some preachy Buddhist spam instead. But I can't tell him to knock this shit off without losing contact, and can't send it to the auto-trash without missing any real messages from him.

I think I need a new fandom email, separate from my Buddhist email. That could solve it.