| abstract | - In the nineteenth century, Darwin delivered a knockout blow to God. Nietzsche followed this up with a stake through the heart. God was good and dead. This left Western Man with a problem: he wanted a religion that would let him carry on pretending he wasn't doomed to die, but he could no longer take Christianity seriously. The answer? Aha - Buddhism! No God, but endless rebirth. Perfect! The Triratna Buddhist Community (Formerly the Western Buddhist Order) was founded in England, and this is no coincidence. The Church of England was a stroke of English genius: offering the comfort of religion without the embarassment of actually believing in anything, it portrayed the Godhead as a branch of the Royal Family. The death of God unsettled this. Western Buddhism filled the gap admirably: no need for God at all. All that is now needed is for the Tory Party to learn to meditate, and the English have that consummation devoutly to be wished: a god-free religion.The Buddha, like God, was clearly an Englishman. Not only that, but the Triratna Buddhist Community (TBC) offers the world at large a second opportunity to learn to be Englishmen (after it loutishly rejected the efforts of the British Empire to civilise it). The Order has Centres all over the world, and has a large and increasing following in hell. Jimmy Savile himself has spoken approvingly of its founder. It has mounted raids on the lower Dhyanic heavens, which have so far been repulsed. To date its attempts to affiliate to Opus Dei, the Falange,the CIA and the Rotary Club have been unsuccessful, although a few London S&M clubs now extend visiting rights to members.
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