The Path of the Popularizer

The Dynamic Relationship between Popularizers, Elders, & Newbies

I used to be a Popularizer of Buddhist Modernism.

A Popularizer's job is to be ignorant in public, while they go through a learning journey that takes others with them.

What I learned from a decade as a Buddhist Popularizer–after some 15 million podcast downloads–is that as you incorporate valid criticisms of your work, you realize just how wrong-headed your past approach was. As genuine wisdom grows, the desire to share the thing you love with everyone diminishes, because you’re no longer a naive faith-filled evangelist, but rather are an experienced veteran that has digested some of the valid criticisms of your thing.

The role of Elders is critical here, because Popularizers are usually either novice & intermediate practitioners that are actively amplifying perspectives they’re still learning about. Amplifying dangerous perspectives is an ethical issue. The results come back to you, in the form of angry and critical feedback. And a good amount of it is correct, because again, you're making a learning journey in public.

At some point the Popularizer may find themselves passing into the Elder role. This is a confusing transition, one marked by epistemic humility and a critical perspective of other Popularizers, who you can actively see are making the same mistakes you once did. But the role of Popularizers remains critical, at an ecosystem-wide level, because they help connect Newbies with Elders, while also helping to push the tradition forward, innovation-wise, as they're still progressive & arrogant enough to think they can come up with a better way. This challenges Elders to incorporate whatever wisdom is actually present, and the best Elders will evolve in response to what they see resonating between Popularizers and Newbies.

The TPOT Overfloweth

I am concerned about the strong anti-authoritarian bent I see among many folks who are my age-peers–particularly in the epestimic tribe known as TPOT. My issue with too much anti-authoritarianism is that this mentality disconnects the virtuous feedback loop between Popularizers and Elders. Popularizers end up posing as Elders, as they (knowingly or unknowingly) delude Newbies. As they reject external authority, they prematurely elevate their own internal authority.

These anti-authoritarian TPOT Popularizers also regularly invite other Popularizers–i.e. their peers–to join them on their platforms, so they can collaborate on the growth of their respective platforms. This increase in breadth happens at the expense of the depth of their Newbie followers, who can value much more from the seasoned perspectives of Elders.

The problem is that Newbies don’t yet have the wise discernment to be able to differentiate between someone who is making a learning journey in public, and someone who has already made the journey and is now available to support others. For a Newbie, anyone who seems to know more than themselves appears as an Elder. And for the Popularizer the danger is always to be found in the Dunning-Kruger Effect, wherein it’s easy to believe that they know more than they do, especially when a bunch of Newbies are telling them how brilliant they are.

Recently, I was taken to task on X.com by one of the leaders of TPOT for taking other TPOT Popularizers to task. The truth is I wasn’t doing it in a very skillful way, and my shadow was involved. I sense that this is part of the journey of becoming a more skilled Elder, and I’m far from there. But my heart-reason for sharing criticism with these folks, was to help them make the transition that I’d been through. I saw that it was engaging with valid criticism from Elders–not amassing praise from Newbies, or getting reassurance from other Popularizers–that ultimately leads toward greater wisdom. And wisdom matters. From my point of view now, it’s really all that does.

Mentorship

If you’d like to receive meditation coaching or dharma mentorship from a former Popularizer & aspiring Elder, I’m open to having an initial conversation to see if it’s a good fit.