Buddhist Perspectives on Contemporary Social Pathology

Abstract

Works like De Botton’s Status Anxiety present a larger societal view of the current identity crisis. Extended facets of our lives are in danger of failing to conform to the ideals laid down by our society and we may as a result be stripped of our identity. Our position in the ladder depends on what others make us to be. Now, this predicament creates the fissures and the broken pieces of our lives, and if we can convert this knowledge into accepting bitter truths about ourselves through stories, drama, and plays—with good humour, this humility, veracity, and mindful understanding of our emotions is the pathway to realise the best human qualities within us. Good comedy is capable of bringing out the shifting grounds of jealousy, envy, and conceit. One may call it a kind of radical therapy.