I agree with you and I hope I can help expand upon your article a bit here. It is true meditation has limitations as a “self improvement” tool because that is not the point of meditation, unless you are just trying to live happier, fuller, and more presently in the moment. But a lot people use it as a tool for focus and to attain financial goals. It absolutely can be a technique that is used for evil; kamikaze pilots in WWII meditated before their suicide attempts as a way to desensitize themselves. This tendency to extremely detach is what I think your article is getting at and definitely a problem one can encounter along the meditation path.
What you’re getting at is exactly the reason why Buddhism evolved from the Hinayana path (vipassana, zen) to the Mahayana (traditionally represented by the Tibetans). The Mahayana path recognized this problem of nihilism when using a purely objective, detached style of meditation and that’s why they incorporated compassion, positive intention, and the realization of the selflessness of all reality to help buffer against these problems. This was called the 2nd turning of the wheel in Buddhism.
Most of our exposure in the West to meditation is based on earlier stages of Hinayana, which is fine because that’s where we need to start. However, a lot of the problem is that the West presents mindfulness and meditation as a cure-all practice without any surrounding philosophy or true understanding of how to use the techniques wisely. This is why the Buddhists encouraged proper instruction and the importance of good teachers to help guide students from falling into these traps. As you start to get deeper into your practice, however, you begin to notice limitations.
I practiced vipassana for a long time and encountered many of the same problems, most of which became resolved as I found a local Tibetan monastery to study at. This isn’t the always the case with everyone, but it sounds like we discovered the same thing. I think it would be very beneficial for you to study more of the Mahayana path and the teachings of the Dalai Lama at this point of your path; I found it extremely helpful and clarifying when I was at a similar point.
