dharmatalks

It’s no secret that I was never even remotely a fan of George W. Bush. But simply because I disagreed with his policies, his theocratic mentality and what I am convinced was his involvement in a False Flag Operation on September 11th, 2001, does not mean that I can reasonably say he was never President of the United States.  For twelve agonising years, the United States bore the pain of evidence that proved he was indeed our president.

Similarly, I disagree with many of the seemingly intolerant and non-compassionate, exclusionary statements made by Pope Benedict XVI. But again, simply because I feel he disgraces the true message of love and compassion taught by the Dharma Master, Rav Yeshua, doesn’t mean that Benedict XVI wasn’t “really” the pope.

I would have found it difficult to believe that there are people who lack the basic intelligence and common sense to comprehend this simple reality, were someone to have suggested a week or two that such people existed. It would have seemed to me that such incomprehensible stupidity was something reserved for the worst of situation comedies and perhaps political parodies on late night television… not something that occurred in “real life”.

But I would have been dead wrong!

Lately there appear to be those, coming from more traditionalist Buddhist sects, who insist that because the feral wisdom path is unfamiliar, or perceived as unorthodox, that my ordination, monastic training and work over the past 30 years didn’t happen. Instead, in their stupidity, they like to bandy about such libelous accusations as to call me a “self-styled teacher”, spewing a “spiritual mash-up” or “tossed salad” of spirituality.  They attempt to discredit my (now retired) position as the highest ranking prelate in the Eastern Catholic Franciscan community as nothing more than a “Catholic costume”, ignoring 2000+ years of carefully documented lineage (succession/transmission) from the apostles John, James, Judas-Thoma, Thaddeus, and Bartholomew. They disregard and disrespect my beloved Refuge Lama and Root Guru, the lamas at whose feet I took ordination as a Buddhist contemplative, and the 54 men and sixteen women who were subsequently ordained into our particular tradition.

Of course, these simpletons haven’t done any serious inquiry. That would defeat their objective, which is clearly nothing more than to attack, discredit and malign a simple, unimportant and (in my opinion) unimpressive monk, whose only purpose in this life has been to serve his teachers, and do whatever he could to teach others how to alleviate suffering.

But then I guess we all have to have a mission in life… so perhaps this is theirs.

Had they done their homework, clearly they would have seen that I have repeatedly, in my books, my blogs, my articles, retreats and Dharma talks, insisted that if the majority of Buddhists wished to excommunicate us as unworthy of the label “Buddhist” that would be and must be perfectly acceptable to each of us. If any of our community took up their robes for the purpose of being identified as a Buddhist, a monk, a nun or a lama, then they disgrace their habits and vows.

Buddha Sakyamuni did not come to start a religion. Neither did Rav Yeshua the Great Bodhisattva.  Neither should any of us.

In their attacks, one individual pointed out that the accounting of my birth, and what  Lama K told all of you were “auspicious signs” (something I’ve laughed at and warned you not to take too seriously from the start!) sounded like I wanted to compete with the Buddha. Sadly, that remark not only demonstrated how little they knew of the Buddha’s birth narratives (which I likewise suggest we take with a grain of salt), but that they fail to realise that one would never imagine there was anything to compete with, since the Buddha nature already fully and completely exists equally in each of us, and is not something that we have to “compete” for. It has nothing to do with birth legends, or how pious a child was.

I do recognise that our recently departed Sister, Ani Prema Jaya, had a great deal of influence over the writing of the “bio” on DharmadudeUnplugged.com – and appropriately so, since she was part of my life from the third or fourth grade onward.  And I will not allow these venomous vipers to persuade me to attempt to “pull rank”, since there will never be “rank” among our sangha. But I would ask that consideration be given to perhaps look at how the ignorant Western mind may misunderstand or misconstrue what is regarded with common acceptance in the Eastern culture, as an homage to one’s guru.

Of course, this is of little consequence, since these vipers were sophomoric enough to bitch and whine about the use of “His Eminence” in the copyright, despite the fact that the appropriate title for the Holy Exarch of an Eastern Catholic jurisdiction is “His Eminence”, and despite the fact that regardless of whether or not they wish to acknowledge the Buddhist label, I am still the spiritual head of an international, intentional/monastic community, and as such am their “high lama”. Naturally, I find these attacks amusing, because I have repeatedly told my students not to use such absurd titles, when referring to me, which was what led to the “compromise” in which I agreed to accept the title of “Dharma Teacher” (Dharm’acharya) and allow students to publicly refer to me simply as Khenpo (abbot) or Gurudas (like all of my friends call me). But again, the attackers would not be interested in these things, since they would detract from their ability to create drama and momentum for their agendas.

A series of ten or fifteen vitriolic questions were fired-off at me in last night’s post, and when I answered those questions, which will be repeated here for archival documentation, the attackers simply chose no disregard the answers, because they didn’t fit-in with their agenda and objective.

The Interrogation…

Here are the questions posed by the two mouth-pieces of Midwestern/Northwestern Buddhism, and my replies:

1. How many years did you spend in Mongolia again helping people?

None. I spent thirty-three years working with the sick, the poor, the dying and the marginalised in the United States (six monastic locations) — in Miami, in Orlando, in D.C., in Atlanta, in Phoenix and in Los Angeles. (I only spent three intermittent years in India, serving at the feet of my teachers.)

2. How much work doyou do in a day at your current temple?

I do 98% of the work here at the ladrang, including almost all of the cleaning, most of the cooking, and presiding over all of the liturgical celebrations. The only reason I cannot do all of the cleaning is because I cannot drive. I have lived with a shattered arm for the past 26 months, having already had one excruciating reconstructive surgery, and while I continue to push the limits, cannot lift anything heavier than 7 pounds without pulling on some of the eighteen screws that hold the ten and a half inch plate in my arm. So lifting the cast iron pans to wash them is beyond my ability, as well as driving to the laundry facility.

3. How many appointments do you arrange for people to bring social justice talks to your area?

Since I’ve taken office, I’ve personally arranged for more than 75 social justice events for our monks and local communities, as well as having participated in several hundred programs over the past thirty years, including extensive personal service among the Haitian community in South Florida and Central Florida doing both migrant farm work advocacy and AIDS counseling/case management.

4.How many meditation sessions have you facilitated?

Let’s see, two per day minimum for 27 years, before being forced to semi-retire due to Parkinsonism and AIDS (go ahead… dare to attack me on how I got AIDS, as a direct result of being raped and beaten on May 10, 1983 in Hollywood, Florida, while walking home one night.) So let’s see, to answer you next belligerent question, approximately 19,710 meditation sessions, and approximately 270 two or three day silent retreats, and 27 month-long retreats.

5. How many book publications, translations and distributions have you managed so that people could have the Dharma in their own language?

None. Instead, we preferred to work at bringing the Dharma to the West in a more accessible and culturally relevant way, while actively supporting the work of the Translation Bureau of the Library of Tibetan Works & Archives with our sadhanas.

6. How many animals have you saved in both your birding conservation efforts and other animal welfare schemes?

Personally, I converted the room that was designated to be the “lama’s meditation and reception area” into a small aviary, in which we rescued 38 exotic birds that were being abused, as well as having given homes to several cats and three dogs. Because of my neurological condition, I cannot be exposed to the toxoplasmosis found in bird droppings or cat litter, so we now do what we can to inspire others to carry on the work.
How many hours have you put in studying the Dharma?

CONTINUING WITH THEIR ASSAULT:

1. How many religious organizations have you set up for your own aggrandizement?

None. In the past 32 years, I have never ONCE received a salary or stipend for the work I do. I personally funded the operating expenses of six monastic houses — providing rent, food and utilities for 54 monks and four nuns. To this day, I have never received one dime of compensation, nor does the Order pay for my rent or utilities now.

IN FACT, SINCE MY ACCIDENT IN NOVEMBER 2007, I HAVE LIVED 10 TO 20 PERCENT BELOW THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL GUIDELINES FOR THE UNITED STATES.

The community would like very much to see the Order somehow manage to provide a safer, healthier dwelling for myself and my household, but right now, that is not something they can do.

2. How many of your own personal books have you got to push?

100% of the revenues from my books, tapes, retreats, etc. goes directly to the work we do with the poor (providing meals to the homeless, blankets in winter months, paying rent when someone is in an emergency situation) and the remaining balance is used to cover the cost of web hosting, and transportation.

This past year, the royalties from the books were also used to pay a portion of the $900/month in prescription drug co-pays I had to cover, twice, until I could get compassionate-use coverage.

3. How many plush retreats do you speak at, all expenses paid every year?

I never accept a DIME for the retreats I direct. The only expense that is paid is ground transportation on the East Coast and coach airfare to the West Coast, my meals and room at the retreat centre.

I’ve never experienced the absurdity of a “plush” retreat… since that would seem to negate the purpose of the retreat in the first place!

4. How many advertisements have you made for your own claims of spiritual accomplishment?

ZERO.

5. How many programs have you been on shooting your mouth off with your own personal recipe for spiritual salad?

I’ve been on somewhere in the vicinity of maybe one hundred or so television programs, and my only message has been to warn people that folks like you exist and are an unfortunate problem in the West, and to warn them not to believe that they need to rely on gurus, teachers, lamas, scriptures or religions to find the happiness they seek. And yes, I have and will continue to let them know that while I haven’t got any magical secret for them, I can share what works for me, according to the Dharma and support their personal decisions, paths and cultural expression of their spirituality.

Witch Hunts and Passive-Aggressive Zen Buddhists — Part II

And so now it appears that another asshat, Petterri something or other, wants to continue to spread libelous innuendo, misrepresentations of historic fact and outright lies, in order to apparently quell an ego-driven need to attack that which is unfamiliar or non-conformist. And so once again, we update this entry with direct responses that the cowardly Petterri will never likely want to post… because it doesn’t suit the pathological agenda of Petterri’s blog:

Learn Your History Petterri…

The Old Catholic Church was granted autonomy and autocephalic character in the papal bull, Debitum Pastoralis, issued by Pope Leo X. Since that time, there have been dozens of further extensions (not breaks or schisms) of that particular apostolic succession (lineage), among which ONE part of my apostolic succession is derived. I also derive lineage from the Syrian-Malankar Church, the Coptic Church, the Jerusalem and Antiochean Church. In fact, when it comes to succession, it would be more difficult to argue against my succession than it would many earlier Roman Catholic bishops, since my documentation proves succession that includes the disciples James, John, Judas-Thomas, Thaddeus and Bartholomew. These ancient successions were transmitted to Khenpo upon his consecration as Bishop-Abbot of the contemplative community, via the Old Catholic, Mariavite, Eastern Catholic, Armenian and Orthodox Churches.

The Apostolic Succession of His Eminence +Francis-Maria of the Immaculata from the North American Old Roman Catholic Church is as follows:

Carmel Henry Carfora consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 17 Oct. 1926

Jose Macario Lopez Y Valdes who consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 27 March 1930

Alberto Luis Rodriquez Y Duran who consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 12 March 1955

Emile Federico Rodriguez Y Fairfield who consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 12 May 1990

George Augustus Stallings Jr. who consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate in 1996

Carlos Enrique Harvin who consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 18 Jan. 2004

Francis-Maria of the Immaculata (Franciscus-Mariae del’Immacolata) at Imani Temple, Washington, D.C.

:::::::::::::

The Apostolic Succession of His Eminence +Francis-Maria of the Immaculata from the Catholic Apostolic Church of Brazil is as follows:

Dom Carlos Duarte Costa
Patriarch, Igreja Catolica Apostolica Brasileira (1945)
Who consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate in 1945:

** Salomâo Ferraz
Who consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate in 1951:

Manoel Ceia Laranjeira
Who consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate in 1969:

Viktor Ivan Busà
Who consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate in 1972:

Frederick Charles King
Who sub-conditionally consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate in 1954:

Emile Federico Rodriguez y Durand (Fairfield)
Who consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate in 1990:

George Augustus Stallings
(African-American Catholic Congregation)
Who consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate in 1996

Carlos Enrique Harvin
(African-American Catholic Congregation)
Who consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate on 18 January 2004

Francis-Maria of the Immaculata (Franciscus-Mariae del’Immacolata) at Imani Temple, Washington, D.C.

** Bishop Salomâo Ferraz was invited to participate in Vatican Council II, where he was recognised as a bishop in proper standing, despite his being married and a member of the autocephalic Catholic movement. He was later received back into the Roman Catholic Church, as a married Catholic Bishop, and received the burial of a regular member of the episcopate when he died. The validity of Salomâo Ferraz’ orders provides ipso facto validity for those in his succession.

For those who so desire, a complete accounting of my lineage/succession can be downloaded here.

Petteri claims I am part of the North American Old Catholic Church, and then disparages that organisation, falsely claiming it to be a church operated from a hospital chaplain’s office in Washington, D.C.

I am not part of, nor was I ever part of the North American Old Catholic Church, although we have an intercommunion agreement with them, and hold their work in more than a half dozen states, with probably more than a dozen parishes and missions in very high regard.

I was ordained as a bishop and raised to the office of exarch, which is nothing remotely like an “uber-pope” as Petty-Petteri tried to claim, simply because it was required for our jurisdiction and functioning among autocephalic Catholic communities.

Thirty years of very public ministry is nothing I am ashamed of, and leaves plenty of clues, evidence and proof.

Our Order began as a Roman Catholic Franciscan community, which left the Roman church in 2001, legally and according to the prescriptions of that tradition.

My lineage in the Buddhist and Hindu traditions are well documented as well, and are all clearly covered on DharmadudeUnplugged.com (but again, this wouldn’t suit Petteri’s agenda, and so it becomes necessary to edit the truth to fit the agenda… Something that makes me wonder how the Republicans ever missed the chance to recruit Petteri to their ranks.)

Attempting to discredit the work that I did in the secular world, teaching the sales associates from several direct sales, real estate and insurance companies to use Dharma principles as a means of growing an ethical business… and which generated more than $26K/month in income to support the mortgages, insurance and operating costs of six monastic houses — and of which I never personally saw ONE DIME OF INCOME — Petteri had to stoop to the level of insinuating these publicly held companies — multi-million dollar firms were “pyramid schemes” — further demonstrating ignorance and an uncanny willingness to lie to one’s readers.

I will never apologise for the fact that until my disability, I almost single-handedly supported the work of fifty monastics, fed hundreds of homeless persons, paid rent for more than a dozen people and gave 100% 0f my life to the work of the Dharma of Christ and the Buddha Dharma. Never in the entire 30 years of my ministry have I personally taken a DIME of compensation for that work. So I have nothing to be ashamed of, and neither does my community.

I am sickened by these so-called pillars of the zen community and by the timidity of others, who have distanced themselves from me, based on the attacks of these three people, rather than growing the BALLS to do their homework, and talk to me about it.

A Sad Perspective…

While I would never and should never even remotely be compared to His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, I cannot help but compare these attackers to the the Chinese Government, in their vitriolic, deceptive and hatemongering agenda toward His Holiness.

These individuals are not concerned with the facts. They are even less concerned, apparently, with the truth. They want only to lash-out and discredit that which is different from their perception of “truth”.

They have beautifully illustrated why the feral wisdom path is not for everyone, because not everyone possesses the maturity to let go of their attachments to their teachers, the canonical texts, their particular path or tradition, and move from the gentle stream of organised dharma into the Ocean of Compassion in which the Dharma need not be taught any longer, but simply be practiced and experienced.

I am, however, deeply saddened by the behaviour of these two people, and having tried every “trick” and craft to get them to short-circuit their hatred and maybe behave a little better (even trying the infamous, “Namaste, Bitches…” to no avail!) I have failed miserably to help these two people realise how seriously they disgrace their own tradition and most especially, their own teacher(s).

And so I see this as my failure, not theirs. They may or may not have received adequate or appropriate Dharma instruction. I have fifteen years of monastic instruction, and thirty years of monastic life/practice. I should have been skilful enough to break through their hatred and egos, and I let them down. I can only hope that  the karma created by their intolerance, disrespect and insolence, as well as the result of their complete and utter stupidity might ripen upon me, and not them, so that they can discover how vile their behaviour has been, and grow up… or at the very least, for the sake of the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, STFU.

Practice whatever you can, so that the teachings of our lineage holders and dharma acharyas will not have been in vain, but above all, practice compassion, loving-kindness and mindfulness with every step.

Namasté

dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda

Join us tonight for:

_____________________________________________

“Chenrezig, Treasure of Objectless Compassion;
Manjushri, Lord of Stainless Wisdom;
Vajrapani, Destroyer of all adversarial forces;
O Je Tsong Khapa – Losang Drakpa –
Crown Jewel of the Sages of the Land of Snows,
Humbly at Your Lotus Feet I ask your blessing.”

_____________________________________________

Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Dharm’acharya Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project. He can be reached at: http://dharmadudeunplugged.com

Copyright ©2008, His Eminence Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

When the Roman Vicar of Hatemongering, Benedict XVI, spewed his recent vitriolic diatribe, at the end of 2008, he made a complete and utter fool of himself, and those of like-minded intolerance everywhere, by stating that the existence of gay persons threatens humanity as much as the destruction of the rainforest, adding that “blurring genders” through the acceptance of transgender people would kill-off the human race.

I resisted the temptation to remind him of his earlier life as a Hitler Youth, and how he’s already contributed greatly to the killing-off of the human race.  And we simply shook our heads, wondering when the Roman Catholic institution was going to remember the essential message of the Christ, and return to its roots as a people devoted to that message. In its present state, we expect an intercommunion agreement with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints – the only other hatemongering institution of its size, representing a warped political action committee, disguised as a church, much like its Roman counterpart.

The Roman Pontiff, however, continues to drive the stakes of hatred and homophobia deep, addressing the Vatican diplomatic corps (from deep in his own closet) in a message that was supposed to be focused on environmental issues.

And in fact, Der Führer Katholische, did just that initially…

According to the AFP, Der Führer spoke superficially about the responsibility of protecting species, and not allowing them to become endangered. This was only a segue for his hate speech to begin, however as he quickly manipulated the subject to become about “protecting or endangering the human species” stating: "One such attack comes from laws or proposals which, in the name of fighting discrimination, strike at the biological basis of the difference between the sexes."

Citing "certain countries in Europe or North and South America", the Pontiff continued his diatribe and attacks.  The comments were clearly references to Mexico City and Portugal, which legalised gay marriage recently.

This only further underscores the illegitimacy of the Roman Catholic claim to hold the teachings of the Christ. Absent are all signs of compassion, loving-kindness, forgiveness, equanimity and humility. Instead, we find an institution which readily abuses its perceived authority as a means of extortion, as was evidenced in Washington, D.C., where the archbishop attempted to use threats to prevent the D.C. Council from passing equal access to marriage laws.

Now I am not personally inclined to see any value whatsoever in the institution of marriage. But I do believe that those who wish to celebrate and solemnise their relationships in such a way ought to have the same rights and privileges as anyone else.

When will Roman Catholic wake up and realise that every time they donate a dime in their collection baskets, they are funding hatred, intolerance and violence? I don’t care how they justify their actions, claiming to only be supporting “the people” or their “local parish”… the bottom line is that when you continue to support an institution which spreads hatred, intolerance and incites violence toward people based on their gender or sexual orientation, you are equally culpable.

When will Roman Catholics realise that the rhetoric of their church is becoming less and less consistent with intelligence, science and reasoning, and more superstitious, archaic and irrelevant? On a recent trip to Africa, Der Führer Katholische, Benedict XVI, claimed that condoms “aggravate the spread of disease”! This statement was even decried by Lancet, the respected medical journal, which stated in an editorial:

"By saying that condoms exacerbate the problem of HIV/AIDS, the Pope has publicly distorted scientific evidence to promote Catholic doctrine on this issue.

"Whether the Pope’s error was due to ignorance or a deliberate attempt to manipulate science to support Catholic ideology is unclear.

"But the comment still stands, and the Vatican’s attempts to tweak the Pope’s words, further tampering with the truth, is not the way forward…

"When any influential person, be it a religious or political figure, makes a false scientific statement that could be devastating to the health of millions of people, they should retract or correct the public record.

"Anything less from Pope Benedict would be an immense disservice to the public and health advocates, including many thousands of Catholics, who work tirelessly to try and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS worldwide."

The Roman Catholic Church represents hatred, homophobia, oppression of women, transgendered persons, and as a result of the language used by its leaders, incites violence toward those who do not fit into its archaic and narrow window of culturally acceptable persons.

My heart aches for the religious sisters, brothers and clergy who represent a more compassionate, loving and inclusive understanding of the apostolic tradition – the real champions of the spiritual tradition – whose voices are stifled by the oppressive Roman Reich.

I believe the time must come when the people take a stand, refuse to support the hatred, the intolerance, the scandals and cover-ups, the duplicity and injustice, and demand that Benedict come out of his closet and do the right thing.

Until then, he’s nothing more than another hateful, bitchy queen in Prada shoes.

Namasté

dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda

_____________________________________________

“Chenrezig, Treasure of Objectless Compassion;
Manjushri, Lord of Stainless Wisdom;
Vajrapani, Destroyer of all adversarial forces;
O Je Tsong Khapa – Losang Drakpa —
Crown Jewel of the Sages of the Land of Snows,
Humbly at Your Lotus Feet I ask your blessing.”

_____________________________________________

Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Dharmacharya Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project. He can be reached at: http://dharmadudeunplugged.com

Copyright ©2008, His Eminence Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

In the Buddhist tradition, we refer to greed, hatred and delusion as the three unwholesome roots or the three poisons. The term "poisons" is an apt metaphor, because these three states of mind literally poison our path.

The three poisons all have their root in ignorance and fear. Ignorant of our true nature as the awakened heart of compassion and wisdom, and fearful that we will not get "our fair share", we find these poisonous states of mind arising within us, and expressing themselves through toxic behaviours, such as unskillful thoughts and actions, divisive, intolerant or hateful speech, lies or violence. And of course, all of these behaviours ultimately result in lifetimes of suffering and unhappiness, disease and bondage to the samsaric existence.

The Buddha Sakyamuni taught that the three poisons alone were the root cause of unwholesome karma, trapping us in samsara, and bringing about the entire spectrum of human suffering.

Lately, I’ve seen a disturbing number of posts on Facebook, in blogs and most especially, on Twitter, in which certain individuals are investing much time and energy into attacking, disparaging and breeding contempt for a few well-known and respected spiritual teachers. Their apparent aversion or disdain for these particular teachers is not something that they maturely and rationally explain to those who ask, but instead is clearly wrought out of anger, fear and a frightening desire to destroy these other persons. What’s more, this hatred seems to spiral even further out of control with a desire to bring harm to these spiritual teachers’ students.

Having frequently been at the receiving end of such vitriolic attacks myself, I recognise the initial impulse to want to respond to the attackers with the truth. And as I’ve seen from many of my own students, their natural impulse to want to defend their teacher, often results in a certain level of uneasiness, hostility and anxiety as well.

What we must realise, however, is that there is only one remedy for this phenomenon. When someone is attacking us, we cannot attempt to block them, or use force to strike back. We must realise that whenever someone attacks the spiritual teacher of another person or group, they are disgracing their own spiritual teacher. The attacker or attackers are delusional, irrational and suffering the effects of their own poison.

What they perceive as an enemy exists only in their own minds, and is indeed a reflection of something repulsive within themselves, which they are projecting upon someone else.

And we’ve all been guilty of doing that at one time or another, so we must allow our awareness to give rise to compassion and wisdom. We must remember that these attackers suffer from an intense inner conflict that is manifesting itself in their experience, and by virtue of their delusional minds, being projected upon those who threaten the very foundations of their delusions.

Countless aeons have been influenced by the greed, hatred and delusion expressed by humanity, and we must assume the responsibility to put an end to that cycle. There is no value in arguing that our teacher is valid or authorised, qualified or recognised. Such concepts are ultimately meaningless anyway. When we do that, we are responding to the poisons of another with an ego-derived defense, which means we are perceiving them as the enemy as well. The result will be suffering… not resolution.

“If the world hates you,” Rabbi Jesus the Nazarene Dharma Master taught, “know that it has hated me before you. For you are not of this world.” The great master understood that those who live the renunciate’s path would always be at odds with the pettiness, the hatred, the jealousies and the anger of the phenomenal world. But he also knew that such phenomena were powerless over him and those who lived from a place of sacred detachment and groundlessness or Love.

You see, the work of purification and transformation will not occur so long as we perceive anyone as our enemies. Period. Our ego-minds expect retaliation, and we want to see that person "pay" for the "damage" they’ve done to our gurus’ name, reputation or honour. Yet we are mistaken. No real damage can ever be done to the name, reputation or honour of a just, compassionate and honest teacher. Surely, there can be temporary inconveniences: lost revenue or donations, a decline in popularity, even suspicion by the media or public. But these are nothing more that opportunities for our previous karma to ripen, so that we can move beyond these limiting experiences, and truly begin the work of transforming and purifying this level of existence for all sentient beings.

Nelson Mandela notes that becoming angry or hostile toward an attacker is like taking poison, and hoping our adversary dies from it. It’s pointless… insane… delusional… and harmful.

In the past week, I’ve been made aware of individuals who continue to "whisper" cowardly, claiming that my Root Guru’s lineage is "unqualified" or less worthy of recognition (whatever that’s worth) according to this sect or that. Some of my students have wanted to lash-out and contact the high lamas who may have been contacted by these hatemongers and "set the record straight". But for what purpose?

I suppose that if I were hoping to make a "career" out of being a lama, then I would be concerned about the effect such lies would have on my "business". But this isn’t a business… it’s simply my way of life. Whether someone else believes or agrees or not doesn’t change the simple fact that I have lived according to the monastic vows I took a little over thirty years ago. So this one says I am not worthy to wear the robes of a monk… that one says I ought to wear the robes all the time and not show up in jeans and t-shirts for Dharma classes. Both are merely expressing their opinions about what matters to them, based on their own limited perceptions. And frankly, I am disinterested in their opinions, because opinions are not generally useful or helpful.

I believe that one of the things we can do, as Buddhist practitioners, and particularly those of us who are charged with the responsibility of being teachers of the Dharma, is to carefully reevaluate our practice, and the method by which we give instruction to those entrusted to our care.

I believe, as I mentioned in a recent blog, that it is a mistake to focus on teaching meditation practice to a student who has not first mastered the foundational precepts of correct view, correct speech, correct action, correct livelihood and correct understanding. Far too often, we in the West jump straight into the practice of meditation, which works in situations in which a student lives in a traditional monastery and has all of their other needs provided for. But it is a faulty and flawed approach in our postmodern world, especially in the West.

I would like to encourage all of those who are practitioners, especially those who network, share and fellowship through various social media, like Twitter, Facebook, Multiply and blogs, to join us in affirming the need to create a safe environment in which people of all spiritual traditions, including people of various, divergent and perhaps seemingly incompatible sects of our own Buddhist tradition, are not only valued and included, but in which we are constantly mindful of the challenge to examine the ways in which we ourselves may have intentionally or unintentionally marginalised, disrespected, hurt or even incited violence toward other traditions.

We must affirm with our entire hearts and wisdom the words of the Charter for Compassion, which calls for us all "…to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain IS ILLEGITIMATE…"

And we must remember that to respond to vitriolic attacks on our teachers, our traditions or lineages, or our beliefs is to give our power to those who are delusional, wounded, and mentally-ill. No good will ever come of such reactions.

Instead we should support one another, and encourage one another in such difficult and challenging times to remember that we are Love. Pure and simple. And that Love needs no defense, because it is, as the Buddha points out in the Dhammapada, "the Eternal Principle".

Namasté

dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda
The Contemplative Order of Compassion 

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“Chenrezig, Treasure of Objectless Compassion;
Manjushri, Lord of Stainless Wisdom;
Vajrapani, Destroyer of all adversarial forces;
O Je Tsong Khapa – Losang Drakpa —
Crown Jewel of the Sages of the Land of Snows,
Humbly at Your Lotus Feet I ask your blessing.”

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Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Dharmacharya Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project. He can be reached at: http://dharmadudeunplugged.com

Copyright ©2008, His Eminence Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

Five generations of their family have called the old historic log cabin “home”.  Built before the American Revolutionary War, with its original hand-crafted stone hearth, the home of Otto and Sharon Daube has surely seen better days.

During the Depression era, Sharon’s father added onto the home, digging out a basement, and as was the custom at that time, did all of the work with what pieces of scrap lumber, cement, and architectural elements he could find. The timbers of the second floor addition, for example, came from the original Queen Anne-style governor’s mansion, which was torn down in 1960, after 96 years of use.

Last year, when his brother Alfred died suddenly, Otto Daube and his brother Fritz immediately went to a then-trusted funeral home, to spare their aging, grief-stricken mother the burden of having to bury another son (she had already lost several of her sons over the years). Alfred’s son, philanthropist, Michael Daube (founder of the Citta Foundation, an organisation dedicated to boost the education, health care and economic prospects of people in India and Nepal), and his daughter Karen were unable to get to the funeral home, still in transit from their homes out-of-state,  so Alfred’s brothers did what anyone would do in such cases, and proceeded with the arrangements, assuming that once Alfred’s children arrived, they would be able to take over from there.

The funeral director appears now to have had questionable motives and business practices, because despite his claim that the military would be paying a large portion of Alfred’s funeral and burial expenses, and his other claims about keeping costs down for the family, he also asked Alfred’s brothers to sign the paperwork “just until Michael and Karen could get there”.

Both Otto and Sharon Daube are elderly, permanently and totally disabled, and living on a very fixed, limited income. At the time of Alfred’s death, they were having difficulty keeping up with their mortgage and utility bills, and had serious concerns about urgent repairs that were long needed on their home.

The wiring is outdated and could represent hazards, and the structure itself needs reinforcements, renovations and updates, totaling more than $55,000. And now, in the midst of the biggest winter snowstorm in decades, the family’s furnace blew.

To make matters worse, when Alfred’s children refused to assume the financial responsibility for their father’s funeral and burial costs, the funeral home went after Otto and Sharon. They now face a Sherriff’s Sale, and will lose their home, unless we find a way to save the home.

Before all of this happened, Otto and Sharon were talking to the Contemplative Monks of the Eightfold Path about converting their property into a residence for the disabled, living on a fixed income. In addition to themselves, they identified four other permanently disabled individuals, living below the federal poverty level guidelines, who would be permitted to live in what would become “Karuna House”. Karuna is the Sanskrit word for compassion, and Karuna House would be a home where compassionate care for the elderly, the disabled and the poor was lived out in a community setting.

The total cost of renovations, additions and completely buying out the property would cost just $206,000.00 And the home could become a model for other communities across the country. But now, because of the circumstances of Otto and his brother being unfairly saddled with the funeral and burial expenses of their brother, Karuna House may never come to be.

My hope is that we will be able to spark renewed interest and awareness in the community, and find a way to raise the $17,000 needed to pay-off the funeral home and catch the family up on their mortgage, saving their home, as well as replacing the furnace, before it’s too late.

We would not only be helping to preserve an historic landmark in Dauphin County, which we could then work diligently to raise funds to acquire, renovate and allow these two kind souls to live with four other disabled persons as a “community of compassion”, but would also  be saving Otto and Sharon Daube, from being homeless in the middle of winter.

I’m asking everyone to consider passing this along to those you know. If you have friends, business associates or know of any compassionate and responsive philanthropists, perhaps they will find it in their hearts to make donations or even underwrite the project altogether.

To see their son and daughter (both of whom are likewise disabled and living on lower than poverty-level incomes), crying because they fear that their parents will lose their home in a few weeks, is something I hope none of you ever has to experience. It’s heartbreaking, and it’s simply unimaginable that we would sit by and do nothing to ensure that these two elderly folks, who’ve given so much to their families, as well as their local communities, can save their family home, and live in safe, affordable and warm conditions.

A corporate sponsorship could make this entire problem go away, while gaining for the sponsor a chance to “set the example” for Karuna House, and other projects like it.

As a Buddhist, it is my spiritual practice which drives the work that I do. In Buddhism, one learns to observe through one’s personal experience, penetrating the phenomenal world, and realising the True Nature that exists in everything… the true nature that allows us… no, compels us to recognise our essential unity with all others. By owning that existence, and recognising that everything that plays out in our experience is a reflection of our interior minds and hearts, we realise the need to do all we can, in every moment, to alleviate suffering wherever we find it.

This is one place, I am deeply and profoundly compelled to reach out and ask you to find it in your hearts to help us help Otto and Sharon Daube.

For more information, please get in touch with me or my staff immediately, at 717.517.9141, or email me at: Lojong Ladrang.

May your holiday season be warm, filled with compassion and awareness, and may every step be illuminated along the path of right action.

Namasté

dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda
DharmadudeUnplugged.com 

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Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Dharmacharya Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project. He can be reached at: http://dharmadudeunplugged.com

Copyright ©2008, His Eminence Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

In an example of compassion triumphing over violence and hatred, the long overdue hate crimes legislation was signed into law today, by President Barack Obama. “This law honours our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender brothers and sisters whose lives were cut short because of hate,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.

The new law, entitled the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, gives the Justice Department the power to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated violence where the perpetrator has selected the victim because of the person’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

As a survivor of a violent hate crime, during which I was beaten and brutally raped by four Haitian (illegal) immigrants on 9th May 1983 in Hollywood, Florida, this is a moment of bittersweet victory. When I was discovered, in a stupour and covered in blood, some hours after the attack, the rape centre called the police, who brought me in to take a statement. The police officer doing the interview did not like gay people, and made it very clear. After about an hour of trying to explain why I was in and out of consciousness during the attack, the cop said, “I think this was just some kinky queer sexy thing that got out of hand… I think you asked for it.” And he closed his notebook and walked away… case closed!

Luckily for me, there was a news reporter sitting there, in earshot, and waiting to talk to me, who saw what transpired.

And he understood too that from my perspective, as a Franciscan and Buddhist contemplative, I could not hate the men who did this to me. These men were part of a group commonly called “the boat people”, who were tossed-away from their homeland (Haiti) and sent to America, where they were not welcomed with anything remotely considerable as compassion. And they apparently mistook me (wearing a security guard’s uniform) for being a cop, against whom they had some sort of beef.

During the attack, after ripping my insides with sticks and beating me, sexually abusing me, and kicking me repeatedly, they put a gun to my head, which the responding officer determined had “misfired”, leaving only powder burns around my temple, and doing some mild nerve damage to the tissue. My life had been spared by a remarkable force — which many consider a miraculous intervention — in which the Bodhisattva Mary, the Mother of Rav Yeshua, literally caught that bullet. Now I know that sounds ridiculously superstitious for someone who doesn’t believe in personal gods or other theistic notions. But it opened my eyes to the existence of a plane of existence parallel to our own, from which the Bodhisattvas and Enlightened Ones interact with us daily.

Nothing was the same from that point forward.

The attack left me with physical and emotional scars, and perhaps worst of all, resulted in my becoming infected with AIDS. Half a year later, in fact, I nearly succumbed to AIDS-related pneumonia (pneumocystis carinii pneumonia).

Years later, I had the opportunity to meet with the amazing Judy Shepard — the mother of slain hate crime victim, Matthew Shepard, a Wyoming college student brutally murdered in an act of hate violence in 1998 — and shared my story with her. And almost a decade later, found myself communicating with the friends and loved ones of James Byrd — the African-American man who was dragged to his death in a Jasper, Texas hatecrime.

Today was a victory that honours the memories, not only of Matthew and James, but also Brandon Tina (the transgender youth, murdered in Texas by her “friends”), Lawrence King (the 15 year-old gay youth who was murdered last year), Fannyanne Eddy (a lesbian activist murdered in Sierra Leone), Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni (the Iranian teens murdered by the Iranian government for the “crime” of being gay) and so many others.

It is also a day that will help move us closer to the end of another source of great loss, as I personally remember Allison Dawe, Billy Clayton, Nico Papatzimas, and many others, who took their own lives, because they could not bear the intolerance, the hatred and the violence any longer.

In the last ten years the FBI reported over 10,000 hate crimes in this country, based on sexual orientation alone. This historic day, the voice of compassion and the voice of justice have spoken, and they have said, “No longer will will allow such violence to occur on our watch!”

Finally, it is a victory for one of my personal heroes, Harvey Milk, who was martyred for the cause of LGBT rights, just one month shy of thirty-one years ago today.

We did it Harvey!

Namasté

gurudas sunyatananda

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Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Dharmacharya Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project. He can be reached at: http://dharmadudeunplugged.com

Copyright ©2008, His Eminence Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

Today I was reminded of a peculiar phenomenon that we normally find among less educated and poorly formed clergy, particularly those in the so-called “independent liturgical movement”, but which is making something of a comeback even among those with proper formation and training.

I’m talking about an aversion to the via mystica or the Mystic’s Path of spirituality. Found in the writings of some of the greatest thinkers of the theistic tradition, including Teresa d’Avila, John of the Cross, Meister Eckhart, Merton, Anthony deMello, Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Hildegarde de Bingen, this less literalist, more deeply rooted approach to spirituality seems to cause some clergy to bristle… and despite their protests to the contrary, bristle with fear.

Why is that? I would surmise that it is because approaching spirituality from a perspective that is not so wrapped up in the superstition, dogma and dramatics of the institutional church might actually lead people to realise that they do not need the priests, the bishops and the hierarchy of these little empires at all. In fact, if people began to understand the authentic teaching of Rav Yeshua ben Yusef (Yeshu Asef, upon whom be peace) — the so-called “Jesus the Nazarene” of the Bible and Qur’an, they would realise that the teaching has little at all to do with the primitive superstitions that were later adopted by the Roman Church, and imposed upon its followers.

Meister Eckhart, one of the most profound spiritual thinkers of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries observed, “The knower and the known are one. Simple people imagine that they should see God as if he stood there and they here. This is not so. God and I, we are one in knowledge.”

Such philosophies threaten those who enjoy the control they exercise over their flocks. These men (and I chose that word with intentionality, because we seldom find women-clergy in such abusive positions) are the ones who relish in the pomp and regalia of being priests or bishops. Even in the independent ecclesial movement, we find these types, who claim to have separated from Rome because they found it intolerable (but who often were kicked-out of their respective ecclesiastical communities due to scandal and other unsavoury circumstances), go on to recreate the very hierarchical institution they protest. Suddenly they are grand masters of their own “new versions” of the Jesuits, the College of Cardinals, even the Papacy!

The simple fact is that these people are highly suspect in my book, and always will be. A closer look into their personal lives will often reveal that that concern is well-founded also.

These are the people who shudder at the suggestion that the reason and purpose for the mythos of the Incarnation of the Christ is simply an illustration of our divine potential. Yet Athanasius I, a respected Doctor of the Catholic Church, who in fact served as a Roman Pontiff, himself wrote, “The meaning of the Incarnation is that God became man, so that man could become God.”

Such clergy are an embarrassment to their office, much like the late Pope John Paul II, who wrote in Crossing the Threshold of Hope, “If [Christ] were only a wise man like Socrates, if He were a ‘prophet’ like Mohammed, if He were ‘enlightened’ like Buddha, without any doubt, He would not be what He is. He is the one mediator between God and humanity.”

That kind of hubris is among the worst failures in which a spiritual leader can engage, because it shuts the door to genuine compassion, by imagining a delusional sense of “other” — and that “otherness” only generates intolerance and false pride.

While I have no question in my mind that the concept of a personal god is among the most pointless, useless and absurd of all primitive ideas and superstitions, I will never disrespect the right of others to choose a path that includes such mythical beings. And as such, I will never tolerate those who condemn others whose beliefs are incompatible with their own.

Earlier this week, one scholar, whose work among theists is admirable, published a condescending piece about the so-called New Atheists. Now, I find the over-zealousness of these New Atheists to be every bit as tiresome and non-useful as the religious fundamentalists, and I identify with neither camp personally. But I was quick to put myself in the line of fire by expressing my disappointment and offense at the article that surprisingly appeared in Foreign Policy magazine, because I do believe that it is wrong to dismiss someone’s beliefs in such a non-compassionate way. Similarly, when members of an atheist discussion group attacked the traditions of a group of folks from the Emergent Church movement in the Anglican Church, I was quick to express my offense there as well.

What probably disappoints me more than anything is the lack of witness I see among those clergy who dismiss the followers of the more authentic (mystical or dharma-oriented) teaching of Rav Yeshua. Seldom have I seen those who complain actually out there feeding the hungry, or working with the sick. (Oh, they waste no time trolling the bars for hot, young men… you can be sure. And the company they keep is frequently enough to raise scandal on sight. But lift a finger to do any real social justice work? Sadly, such things are seldom seen.)

These are also among those who are quick to point out that I am unfit to hold the title of “Successor to the Apostles”, because I am a so-called heretic. The simple fact that I will teach (and have always said) that people do not need me, or any other spiritual teacher… nor churches, nor clergy… neither religions nor doctrines… creed nor rituals in order to achieve spiritual liberation (enlightenment, salvation, happiness, or whatever one chooses to call it) will always be “heretical” to these people. The simple fact that I will also remind folks that Rav Yeshua was never Catholic, and certainly not a ‘Christian”, nor did he or any of his apostles start a church… that none of his apostles (including Simon Peter) ever served as a “pope” or headed an institutional church in Rome or anywhere else… causes these men to bristle.

The fact that I reject the notion these so-called clergy put forth that it is “enough” for them to simply offer Mass once a week in their homes or rented church space… that such lack of ministerial work disgraces the office they hold, and proves them to be of little value to people searching for spiritual guidance… makes these men angry.

Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us, “The place to touch the Kingdom of God is within us,” which is what Rav Yeshua taught as well. “The miracle,” Master Hanh writes, “is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive.”

Some have suggested that the reason donations to the Contemplative Monks of the Eightfold Path have fallen is because I am too controversial of a leader. I don’t know if that is true or not. But I do know this… as long as I have a voice, I will have a responsibility to speak out against injustice… to encourage compassion, kindness and inclusion… to demand that those who have more than enough get off their fat, lazy and greedy asses and feed others… care for the sick… reach out to those who suffer.

And some will not like it. To them, I can only offer these ten words…

Tough shit. Get over it. Do something. And grow up!

Namasté

gurudas sunyatananda

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Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Dharmacharya Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project. He can be reached at: http://dharmadudeunplugged.com

Copyright ©2008, His Eminence Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

In the book, Spiritual Direction and Meditation, Thomas Merton writes:

“The instinctive characteristic of religious meditation is that it is a search for truth which springs from love, and which seeks to pursue the truth not only by knowledge, but also by love… The presence of love in our meditation intensifies our thought by giving it a deeply affective quality.”

There are only so many hours in any given day, and it is our responsibility to approach those hours from a perspective of “good stewardship”. Anything which distracts our minds from these moments of groundedness in love ought to be seen as unnecessary and non-essential. Such things should be avoided when possible.

I made the decision this afternoon to walk away from involvement in a self-described “Buddhist discussion group”, because it was becoming an increasingly unhealthy pursuit. I had to consider the fact that I walked away from the religious community I co-founded, after 26 years… and from the institutional church, where I had complete financial security, healthcare, and shelter, after 20 years… so why would I not walk away from an endeavour in which there was far less invested, when it has become increasingly toxic?

Consider your own lives for a moment. What relationships exist in which you find yourself distracted from the groundedness of love? What groups, pursuits, activities or events cause you to lose sight of the fact that it’s all about love, because love is all there is?

Now consider eliminating such things from your life.

It may be difficult. There are members of this small group, who have done just that in various ways in their lives. So it’s always possible.

When we eliminate such toxic situations, we improve our ability to sit in love and allow the Sacred Silence to envelope us.

There is a story in the Christian mythos, in which Rav Yeshua tells his disciples that if they encounter a place which does not welcome them, the disciples are to shake every speck of dust from their sandals and move on.

Why is this?

Put simply, a single grain of sand could, as they journeyed on, create an abrasion on the foot of the traveler. And if ignored, that abrasion could become infected. Left unattended still, the infection might cause the person to lose a leg or even one’s life.

The toxic residue or dust of being in a place in which we are unwelcomed is no different for us.

Without sounding like I am whining, I will acknowledge that I face a great number of personal difficulties right now, ranging from progressive neurological problems, a very slow healing (or non-healing) reconstructive surgery on my arm, significant financial problems, and a level of pain that literally drains me of the energy I usually have. So perhaps I am less willing to tolerate the kinds of bullshit and nonsense that others consider grist for the mill. I prefer to conserve that energy for the things that matter most.

Today, I had the heartbreaking experience of passing a homeless person, who asked for some money for food. Our personal account is now $300 overdrawn, due to circumstances beyond our control, so I didn’t have a dime to spare. I went home, grabbed some cabbage soup, and made a peanut butter and jam sandwich for him. Put it all in a bag, along with a “real” spoon, some napkins and water. And luckily caught up with him, right where I passed him last.

It’s 38 degrees today, here in Lancaster. No one should have to be in the cold like that. I took my burgundy monk’s “robe” (similar to a blanket of sorts) with me, and gave it to him, knowing it would at least keep him warm. He smiled, thanked me for the food, and with a tear in his eye, said that no one had ever done anything that nice for him. Well, you can bet I beat him to the punch on the teary-eyed thing! I thanked him for blessing me with his gratitude and chance to do some little thing to help. I told him that we had no cash ourselves, owe the electric company $127 and only had food because we went to the food bank on Monday and got some. Of course, come the beginning of November, the financial situation for us will be a little easier. Not so for my new friend.

I asked him if he’d been to the homeless shelter, just a short distance away. He said he had not, so I invited him to walk with me, and we went to the shelter, where I introduced him to the intake manager. He wore that monastic “robe” over his shoulder with a sense of pride, and smiled warmly at the intake case manager, as I shook his hand and walked back to our little hermitage.

On the way back, I realised the contrast between that experience and dealing with the fundamentalists and argumentative folks on that discussion list. One situation edified me, and kept me grounded in the Primal Love that is the Source of All that Is. The other situation was nothing more than aggravation.

When I walked in the door, I sat down and removed myself from that group. The decision came easy, when I allowed myself to think more clearly about it.

Take time today to do that with situations in your own lives, which might be toxic or distracting. Let go of the attachment you might have to the drama, the recognition, the gossip.

Experience the love that you are… and become still, alive and full!

Namasté

gurudas sunyatananda

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Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Dharmacharya Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project. He can be reached at: http://dharmadudeunplugged.com

Copyright ©2008, His Eminence Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

“I personally find it another reprehensible failure of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States to uphold the compassionate teaching with which it claims to have been entrusted,” I responded, when recently asked about my response to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ rejection of the President’s healthcare reform plan.

Pretending to be committed to social justice and the need to care for the poor, the sick and the dying, the USCCB defends its seemingly paradoxical behaviour on the basis of the myth that that healthcare reforms would advance the rights of women to have (already legal) abortions. The President clearly refuted this issue in his speech the other night.

What actually occurred was that the Roman Catholic Church violated the sacred trust, and entered into the political fray, using abortion as its “weapon” to coerce adherents into fighting against their opponent (namely rational thought, liberal ideology, real social justice, and reform), as they see personified in Barack Obama’s presidency. It’s disgraceful. It’s disgusting. And it’s not even remotely surprising.

The Roman Catholic Church as exposed its true lack of “respect for life” by refusing to broaden the scope of that “life” to include all life. By turning its back on healthcare reform, just as it has on AIDS care, prevention and education, stem cell research and so many other legitimate aspects of compassionate care, it continues to demonstrate the reasons why it, along with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints deserve to have their tax exempt statuses revoked, under the present IRS tax law.

When these institutions of superstition and mythology (i.e. churches) begin telling their people how to vote, and entering into the political dialogue, they are no longer eligible for a tax exempt status. The LDS Church violated that law as its elders and bishops openly defended the vitriolic Pete Knight Initiative — a piece of rabidly homophobic legislation that resulted in an untold (and often covered-up) number of suicides among young Mormons across the country. Similarly, the Roman Church, up to its ears in cover-ups and pay-offs, with more bankrupted or near bankrupt dioceses than any time in its 1700 year history (or its fabled 2000 year history for that matter), is guilty of overstepping its bounds in the previous election, and the years preceding.

I am reminded of the piece “Religion and Science“, appearing first in the New York Times on 9 November 1930, in which Albert Einstein said:

“It seems to me that the idea of a personal God is an anthropological concept which I cannot take seriously. I also cannot imagine some will or goal outside the human sphere. … Science has been charged with undermining morality, but the charge is unjust. A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.”

These recent failures by the Roman Catholic Bishops to take seriously the need for healthcare reform, when as many people die every 2-months from inadequate or inaccessible universal healthcare in the United States as perished on September 11th, 2001, in the Bush Cabal’s False Flag Operation/Massacre, are little more than evidence that the great Teacher, Gandhi was right in his assessment that “the most heinous and the must cruel crimes of which history has record have been committed under the cover of religion or equally noble motives.”  (Young India, 7 July 1950)

It’s time for the people to decry this behaviour. It’s time that those who value life… not just in word and ideology, but in fact and in action, do something about it.

Neither Buddha nor Jesus came to start a religion… they came to start a revolution. A revolution of compassion, service, social justice and healing. A revolution in which we let go of our useless superstitions, doctrinal beliefs and dogma, and begin to encounter what it means to be the awakened one, the enlightened one, the Christ for one another.

And the time for that revolution is NOW.

Namasté!

– dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda

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An email arrived this weekend, in response to my having mentioned the verbal attacks and attempts at discrediting me, by certain individuals involved in somewhat questionable religious institutions. The email, which was quite sincere and very respectful, asked why I “fought back” with the facts that disproved the claims of the attackers. “Didn’t Jesus say you should turn the other cheek?” they queried.

Now, I will admit to having always been a bit amused by the irony of biblical literalists and fundamentalists, who are quick to espouse such out-of-context quotes from their scriptures as this one. Seems that Jesus, according to their beliefs, meant that it was wrong to fight back, when someone is trying to unjustly ruin one’s reputation with lies and machinations, but somehow, their saviour didn’t intend for that same pacifism to apply when their church leaders murdered untold hundreds of thousands of Muslims, Gnostics, Pagans and aetheists, during the Evil Crusades. And of course, Jesus would never want them to turn the other cheek in Israel’s attempt to “ethnically cleanse” the land belonging to the Palestinian people… or when the U.S. invaded Afghanisatan or Iraq without reason.

But that absurdity is not the intention of our discussion tonight. Instead, I would like to talk about understanding the context of the actual narratives being misinterpreted, so that we can better understand the ideology and dharma of the historical Rav Yeshua, around whom the biblical legends were posthumously established.

When Yeshua tells his disciples that “when someone strikes your right cheek, turn and give him your left…” (cf: Matthew 5:38-42; Luke 6:27-31) it is likely that he was framing his response within the cultural context of his audience — that is, the Jewish people. It is also likely that as a rabbi himself, Yeshua would have studied and respected the teachings of Rav Hillel the Elder, who wrote: “If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then what am I? And if not now, when?” (Pirkei Avot 1:14)

Rav Hillel believed that personal dignity was both to be given to one’s fellow man and equally demanded for oneself. And so it is that Yeshua’s teaching (in this instance) was not about pacifism or ahimsa (something he did embrace and often taught), but rather served as an instruction in civil disobedience or defiance of the cultural norm. It was a teaching on equanimity.

At the time of Rav Yeshua (Jesus), striking someone deemed to be of a lower class with the back of the hand was used to assert authority and dominance, particularly as punishment for insubordination. Striking a person of lower class would be considered an “unclean act”, since it involved touching a Gentile. Thus it would have been done with the back of the left hand (striking the right cheek).

If the victim turned their other cheek to the attacker, their assailant would be faced with a dilemma. It would be impossible to deliver a back-handed strike to the left cheek with the attacker’s left hand! Therefore, they could either strike the person with the palm of their hand — an act reserved for striking one who was your equal — or they would have to defile themselves, and use their right hand, or punch them… both of which were also culturally viewed as a statement of equality. And so the “victim”, by turning the other cheek, was demanding equality.

The passage goes on to say that if a creditor demand your cloak, you should give him your shirt as well. This too would force the oppressor into a dilemma, since the Torah forbid one from extracting such a debt from a poor person.

It would also do us well to recall the story from the Buddhist narratives, in which the legends say that on the night when Sakyamuni was about to become Enlightened, he sat beneath the Bodhi Tree, and was attacked by the mythological demon, Mara. A legion of demons fired arrows at the Buddha, but those arrows became a shower of flowers, and could not prevent him from attaining Enlightenment.

What does this mean for us?

Put simply, we are ultimately the masters of our experiences and of our universes. Painful and often inconvenient “shit” happens. We cannot control those things. But we can control our responses to those things. We can view the attacks that occur as being attacks with arrows, and respond with fear and powerlessness, or we can choose to perceive them as no more threatening than a shower of roses.

When we do that, we place ourselves on the level of “equal”, rather than subjecting ourselves as slaves or victims of the phenomenal world. Our oppressor becomes our equal… not our master, and not our subjugate. And if one is your equal, how could they be your enemy? Their behaviour may be inappropriate, even hurtful, but because they are your equal, your compassion for them cannot help but arise.

A dear friend sat with me tonight, and became angry at the email I received, but said nothing. When we were prepared to eat, looking at a bowl of soup, which was all I had to offer him, he “lost his cool”.

“What? These assholes are attacking you, and saying that you don’t deserve help, when all you’re eating for dinner is clear broth, with a few carrots and peas in it? This is unacceptable!” So I offered him a little grated parmesan cheese… “Maybe if you thicken the soup up a bit, you’ll see it’s not so bad. It’s quite delicious, just as it is!”

Of course, he was not disparaging the soup (which was delicious, thanks to Craig’s hard work). He was angry at what he perceived to be oppressors winning a battle. And he wanted me to fight back “dirtier”.

I explained to him that by fighting back with the facts, and with gentleness, I didn’t have to wait to “win”. The victory was universal. By turning their arrows into flowers, I spared them the negative effects of having done physical harm to me. We both lived. And another day passed. No harm. No foul.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a student of both the Buddha and the Christus, understood this balance between ahimsa (non-violence) and civil disobedience. The Mahatma used this wisdom to effect powerful changes in India — abolishing the caste systemme’s “untouchables”, achieving equal rights for women, easing poverty and building religious and cultural amity in India. Gandhi employed non-cooperation, non-violence and peaceful resistance as his “weapons” in the struggle against the British oppressors.

And so we rest easily tonight, as the oppressors spin their tales. I am reminded of something the Mahatma once said in a speech, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind! When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall — think of it, always.”

Namasté!

- dharmacharya gurudas śunyatananda
http://dharmadudeunplugged.com

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