In something I wrote recently (though I can’t quite remember where), I said that “Steve Jobs is the anti-Buddha,” lamenting his company’s ability to keep me quite attached to certain delectable material goodies in this world. Apparently I’m not the only one that reached this conclusion–the following quote is from a article on Ars Technica on visiting “New York City’s cathedrals of consumer electronics”:
The saddest thing about visiting these temples of consumerism is how dissatisfied they make a person. Walk in with a perfectly good laptop in your satchel, walk out with the gnawing sense that you will remain a reduced human being until you acquire something newer, hipper, and more lickable. For all the talk of “zen” that swirls around Steve Jobs, the man and his company have crafted enclosed digital paradises in which the only enemy is a Buddhist detachment from the world.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Miko // Jul 27, 2006 at 7:37 am
That’s a very good way to put it (she types from her laptop, amid iPods (yes plural) and iSights and iGodknowswhatelse). I’ll have to meditate on that…
2 Dora // Aug 2, 2006 at 7:34 am
I’ve learned to avoid apple stores … the voices inside my head, screaming “IWANTIWANTIWANTIWANT!” have gotten too strong.
3 Bob // Aug 2, 2006 at 8:10 pm
Great website. Great post. The thinking here could apply to some other companies quite easily.
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