Letters to the Editor
-
A number of thoughtful points have been made
clay.collier was pretty much dead on in describing the dynamic of the early Buddhism communities in the West. And I think he is also very correct that an updated but similarly narrowly-focused group is very likely to run into the same problems.
However, I think the ID project (of which I'm a member) is distinguished by several features which the article didn't entirely explore. One, the focus is on exploring the many points of confluence of Buddhism and the arts and social activism. This focus does much to dispel insularity and highlight all that Buddhism has to offer to a wide range of receptive people. Second, going out to dinner or for a drink with friends you've made or people you've just met--interacting in a purely social setting--is not particularly an indulgence. It's a vital component of building community and connecting with other people. It's true that cross-generational social structures will eventually be necessary. But there are relatively few young Buddhists these days, so we have to take it one step at a time.
The question of whether or not these communities reflect a deep and thorough understanding of the tradition is important. However, it must be remembered that historically a very large pool of people with a superficial understanding of Buddhism supported the small percentage with a deep understanding. Wallace is right that we need people with years of retreat experience. But we also need people who are willing to sponsor those individuals, who see the value in that. And if the broader community dries up, there won't be any support for anything. And right now that's a real danger.
-
Dive-bar dharma
I am an old man. Curious; an old man like me looks at Buddhism as a fountain of Sorrowful Joy; the youngsters look at it as a palliative; as a Joyless therapy. What a shame. We don’t need less stress; we need a sorrowful joy; when we have done our work to purge ourselves, our longing sweetens our suffering and renders our strange duplicity—we are both essentially mortal and essentially unborn and undying-into immortal mortality.
I feel deeply glad that my forthcoming Zen Words book has, time and time again, insisted on Zen Master Ikkyu’s demand:
Every day, priests minutely examine the Law
And endlessly chant profound sutras.
Before this, though, they should first
Read the love letters sent by the wind and rain,
the snow and moon.
No love-letters, no delight in being alive; only endless searching for ways to feel better.
My advice? Kids: Lighten up and purge yourselves; then this bloody mudball of a world is full of love letters.
Richard Carter (Eppou, Koji)
-
Reginald Ray Tonight at Elevision
I was probably going to Elevision tonight, and seeing Reggie Ray quoted in this article just made my mind up. The show is put on by Elephant Magazine, a mindful living magazine out of Boulder, that looks at Buddhism, yoga, organics, and meditation.
It really is the magazine of this new generation of the Buddhists. Check it out at www.iamelephant.com or pick up a copy at places nationally like Whole Foods.
-
Dive-Bar dharma
It's great that younger people are studying and practicing Buddhism and beginning to teach. That's how it is supposed to work. But the need to malign the people who came before, who taught you -- that's not very attractive. Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche, founder of the centers that Nichtern and Joiner belong to, would not have attracted more than 10 people had he not taught in a way that was vibrant, immediate, peppered with "cultural detritus" and that spoke to his listeners' everyday cultural experiences. (Has Joiner even read one of his books?)And what Dr. Ray means by lazy hippie dharma I can't imagine. Those lazy hippies have been practicing and studying for 25 or 30 years, they built and support dharma centers and they teach, usually for free. And yes, they've been known to swear, if that matters.
Buddhism is about heritage, among other important things. The traditional analogy is new bread -- an old time-tested recipe that is freshly made, over and over, by each generation. The NY Shambhala center,as an example, is hardly a bastion of the elderly. It's filled with young people and has two directors under 30. It's great that people discover the dharma for themselves and apply it to their lives and world, with freshness and humility. But it's plain arrogant to behave as if you invented it, to dis practitioners who came before you -- whether 10 years or 1000 -- and to teach it with a swagger. I hope and suspect that the problem is Joiner's article, not the young dharma teachers.
-
@greendakini
Looking back over the article, I can't see a single instance of the author, Ethan or Noah maligning anyone. Only Dr. Ray does so. His comments are incongruous in this article, and I think you've conflated them unfairly with everything else in it.
-
Selling Zen
What a great article. I'm one of those "ordinary" hippie types who moved to the East Village a thousand years ago, never left, and haven't self-destructed. I've also practiced the Zen form of Buddhism most of that time--with long excursions into other cultural disciplines.
Two things come to mind not mentioned in the article or clearly in another post. One is that a Buddhist teacher isn't a "guru" meaning they don't represent "god" or some facsimile. That's called Hinduism. A "skillfull" teacher keeps the finger pointed at the student until they learn to point the finger at themselves.
Another is that Buddhism isn't exclusive. A person doesn't have to be just Buddhist. You can be an athiest-Buddhist, a Jewish Buddhist, an Episcopalian Fundamental Buddhist, a Greek Orthodox Buddhist, a Buddhist Buddhist or a "don't give a shit about any of it I'll just sit and meditate thank you Buddhist," which is my personal favorite.
Another (I know I only said two) is the controversy about spreading Buddhism. In it's Japanese and Chinese forms Zen isn't missionized. The traditional Japanese masters really get pissed off about this one. They want you to come to them, cause they ain't comin' to you. (It's the Bodhidharma model for those who know the story.)
But then the question becomes how is anybody going to "get it" in this country if there isn't a little push--and that's clearly what's happening now in the Americanization of Zen. I think they now publish five Buddha books a week, maybe more...
I'd personally hate to see it turn into a religion like Christianity that makes spreading the faith part of the faith, or when that sect appears (it already has in a way) simply count me out. I think enough damage has been done by religion salesmen. There is also a problem with self-proclaimed masters with motivations that can lead to real trouble. It has with every other faith--and let's face it--even Zen has to be called that.
One community is facing the issue with a project to open a hospice in NYC but you need members to pay their dues to make it happen. So what's the koan?