In “Awakening from the Meaning Crisis,” Ep. 13, “Buddhism and Parasitic Processing,” John Vervaeke, based in Stephen Batchelor’s idea that we’ve gravely misinterpreted Buddhism in the West, outlines how we might understand core parts of the Buddha’s teachings.  For suffering, he interprets it as a form of parasitic processing, a reciprocal narrowing of the connection between oneself and the world.  And for moving towards enlightenment, he shows how it might be the opposite of that, a kind of Platonic ascent, famously outlined in “The Republic.”  Ian criticizes this, and we discuss how suffering and enlightenment might be different and how true Buddhism is alive and well in the West.  Both approaches may be useful in reducing suffering and increasing insight and wellbeing.   Thank you for the likes! A comment and a subscribe really helps us out!     For the full video episode: https://youtu.be/9TU3BUjLumw   Audio episode: https://benomtad.podbean.com/e/vervaeke-buddhism-parasitic-processing/   For more in this podcast, please go to: Podbean: https://benomtad.podbean.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-benomtad/id1748320863 YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/@scissorsandpaper/videos Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4kJPGlaJjGVyLa9AKhci6t?si=8XXrX9FUT3CU71reCfA5kQ X: https://x.com/Benomtad Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benomtad   About our guest: Ian Reclusado is currently off exploring the poetic wilds of psychology, neuroscience, and spirituality.  He also offers guidance services for those interested in delving into their own inner wilderness. You can find his weekly dispatches at www.thekindknife.com or follow him on Instagram: @ian_reclusado   I plan to conduct more interviews with various guests, so please check back later for those.