Source: http://www.artofdharma.org/
This comical visual that I've chosen represents a widespread American stereotype of the Buddhist culture, and one that is wholly inaccurate, especially in the eyes of Brad Warner, author of Zen Wrappen in Karma Dipped in Chocolate. The stereotype in question is that Buddhist monks are always concerning themselves with emptiness of thought, or the absence of conscious or deliberate cognizance, especially during periods of meditation or zazen. The stereotype also incurs thoughts of renunciation of secular happenings, and tuning oneself in to the channel of silent bliss. In reality, Buddhist practitioners suggest that, when meditating, to merely becoming an observer, and to witness the flux of body and mind. To elaborate, this practice of meditation does not advocate forcefully ejecting your thoughts (or blanking the mind), but rather witnessing their flow and simply watching their patterns of wandering.
Brad Warner not only suggests the reflection of thoughts when he discusses his zazen practices at the Great Sky Sesshins, but explicity admonishes the deliberate emptying of the mind. This is found in the statement where he says, “It never does you any good to try and forcibly stop your thoughts” (Page 131). The comic strip parallels the Buddhist mind, or, at the very least, their mentality, with the blank or empty television. Warner's statement is a direct contrary to this American stereotype, and disproves its validity indefinitely. To take this even further, Warner advocates keeping a day job even as a Buddhist monk in the West, since there is far less support for monks available here (Page 27). This implies the responsibility of maintaining a secular connection, despite seeking a liberating detachment.
Though the point of the image is purely comical, it does raise another interesting notion discussed in Warner's book. The entire concept of the monks having a television while seeking devout renunciation can be seen as upsetting, as Warner says the more possessions one have, the more responsibilities they incur. This is such through his statement on Page 22 where he says, “Everything you have... is an obligation”. I realize that this is a pretty farfetched comparison, but regardless, it is a concept in Warner's book, and, while we're on the tangent of extremist or broad stereotypes, it seems to fit the bill.
