In this video I read and unpack my friend Sara's email wherein she complained to me about a meditation class she recently took which included soft-pressure from the sit's leader to give one's pronouns, dedicate the practice to Gaza, acknowledge the native tribes whose land they were "sitting" on, et cetera.
Full disclosure: I'm a grumpy old Gen-Xer. In my experience, we Gen X-rs get annoyed at young people who exert a certain kind of "soft pressure" on our old asses re: political causes, be they progressive or conservative causes.
Looked at more deeply, however, we can see that the group my friend attended was engaging in rituals -- as all meditation groups must, in one way or another.
To wit:
Bowing, incense-lighting, chanting, these are the traditional rituals. The rituals distinguish one tradition or lineage from another, and provide context for the silence that everyone manifests together. You can tell who you’re sitting with by what they do in between the sits. The stuff that happens in between, or before and after, the silence is when nondual spiritual practices start to shade into particular "religions."
The question I always ask is, are the rituals at least a nod to something bigger than or transcendent of the "human world" (as my teacher use to call it)? For example, when we did our three great bows before the butsudan in the Zendo, we were taught that you are not bowing to the Buddha, you are bowing to whatever your own idea is of something transcendent of you and your "tribe."
That said, some people are just gonna be more comfortable in certain spiritual contexts, be they more progressive or more conservative contexts. For me, the important thing is the silence, the practice of no-self, that happens in between the rituals. I find that when I come out of a sit, I'm always a little bit more open, clear-headed, and compassionate, and so I'm better able to relate to those who have different points of view than me -- the woke, unwoke, and everyone in between!
I offer these videos for free, but you can support my work here:
www.paypal.com/donate/?busine...
You can find essays, blogs, and videos here:
patreon.com/ShozanJackHaubner
And buy my books here:
www.amazon.com/Shozan-Jack-Ha...
6 мар 2024
