dharmatalks

For the adherent of the Dharma of Compassion, there are seventeen essential qualities, we seek to cultivate in our daily lives: mercy, patience, non-attachment, gentleness, skill, altruistic joy, control, unconditional love, humility, reflection, seriousness, magnanimity, restfulness, concentration, wisdom, and of course, compassion. It is the practice of the first sixteen that ultimately cultivates the seventeenth attribute — compassion.

These attributes are not cultivated for their own sake, or merely to make us better persons; although they do refine us personally. They only have ultimate merit if they are used for the benefit of others, and that can sometimes feel very difficult to do. But we must remember that our feelings are based on perceptions, and are not always an accurate means of setting our course.

Ours is not a path of martyrdom, because we don’t believe that martyrdom actually exists, except in the minds of those who don’t understand the motivation of those they have declared to be martyrs. One does not decide to destroy or injure oneself for the sake of the Way. This would be to violate the sacred path of non-violence. In fact, what is often misunderstood as martyrdom is simply a sincere desire to help those we encounter on our personal journeys, in a way that seems to transcend the normal degree of giving, so that it appears to be self-sacrifice. Since there is ultimately no real “self”, there is nothing to sacrifice. We are simply becoming love for one another. Nothing is lost.

But in the day to day world, we can easily become caught up in such mundane concerns as paying the bills, keeping the bank account in the positive, repairing the vehicles that transport us here and there, mowing the lawn and so forth. And if we allow ourselves to lose sight of our priorities, at times, we may put those concerns before the mandate for compassion and understanding. This is an ego-play, designed to distract us from those pursuits that lessen our sense of self, and strengthen the bonds of compassion and Essential Unity.

There is a story told among Shinto monks of a man who went to the temple each day to perform puja (prayers) to his particular deity. Each day, he went to the temple and lit incense in front of his god, but he noticed that the incense also drifted over toward many of the other gods in the same temple, sometimes even drifting out the windows to the temples of even more gods. These other gods were getting the benefit of his puja!

So he crafted a cone to place over his incense, directing the smoke only to his own deity. But over the course of several days, this only made his god’s face black with soot.

Inclusive love and devotion cannot exclude others ever. We cannot love our spouse, but have contempt for our neighbour. In the Catholic tradition, there is a song by Jesuit Darryl Ducote, which reflects an essential focus of Rabbi Jesus’ message: “Love that’s freely given wants to freely be received…” This was the entire idea behind Jesus’ Beatitudes.

It isn’t always easy. We can, at times, find ourselves frustrated, hurt, even angry at the behaviours of the individuals around us. And these emotions are natural. But we must also realise that anger, hurt and frustration always arise from fear. The experience is one which can become a great teacher for us, and once we’ve learned the lesson, we can choose to let it go.

Recently, the frustration of on-going financial challenges has really put me through the paces. There have been times when I thought I was becoming overwhelmed. Yet I continue to discover that it’s never about what appears on the surface. Sometimes, we have to become frustrated with individuals, in order to get them to open up about completely unrelated issues. Sometimes we have to become frustrated or angry with situations so that we can become personally confronted with our own, more serious issues, and begin working on resolving them.

Today, take time to listen. Listen to the rhythms of the world around you. This can only be done by sitting in silence. As the thoughts arise and fade away, notice them gently. They are only reflections of the conditioned mind. As you begin to relax deeper and deeper into the present moment, your conditioned mind will begin to quiet down, and you will be able to access the clarity and wisdom of Universal Mind, which knows that Love is all there is.

There, you will find peace, and the first step for your journey through another day.

Namasté!

– dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda

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My mother’s maternal grandfather was a member of the Shawnee Nation, and as a child, I only had the fortune of meeting him one time, while we were living in Ocala, Florida. He was already quite old at the time, and I have always been sorry not to have had the good fortune of spending more time with him. He encouraged me, as a youth who was already unquestionably more involved in the world of spirituality than in the secular world, to consider one day returning to the elders of the Shawnee Nation, to learn about my Native American heritage.

To date, I’ve not had the opportunity to do so, although I’ve been graced with having spent three days in retreat with a descendant of Chief Opechancanough, who shared some of the oral traditions with me. I recently found the journal I kept during those days, and in it was a quotation from the Great Chief Tecumseh. I’d long forgotten about the journal, let alone the quote itself; but when I read this, I experienced one of those "Kodak moments", because it was clear to me that there has been a synergy in my spirituality that runs deeper than I’d ever realised.

Chief Tecumseh said:

"So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life.

"Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none.

"When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.

"Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home."

Those words just resonate with me on so many levels, and I wonder if they somehow served as a seed, planted in my young mind, which germinated along side the parallel teachings of the Buddhist philosophy and Franciscan spiritual charism.

My great grandfather told me that most of his people dispersed southward, when they were defeated by the Connestoga tribe (all but two of whose last surviving members were slaughtered two doors down from where I now live in Lancaster, by the racist "Paxton Boys" — something of a revolutionary war version of the KKK, based out of Harrisburg, PA). In a way, he said, the Connestoga saved our tribe, because their defeat pushed us out of harm’s way, else the Paxton Boys might have slaughtered the Shawnee as well.

Our direct descendants, Pappy explained, settled somewhere in the Tennessee Cumberlands, and are known today as the Chalahgawtha (or, more commonly in English, Chillicothe). They were driven out by the violent Chickasaw, and eventually resettled in Western Pennsylvania. Later, many of the leaders of the tribe, including most of Pappy’s descendants, were burned in the colonial witch trials, or slaughtered at the encouragement of Catholic missionaries, because they were seen to be "evil prophets" or followers of the evil prophets.

Consider this… if you allow yourself to change your perspective, the various and seemingly divergent points of departure for your (and others’) spiritual journeys might prove to actually provide more common ground that you thought.

This is the perspective of the post-denominational, non-sectarian emergent spirituality movement today — a movement that seeks to cross that boundary between theistic and non-theistic paths, and instead to embrace the essential truths taught by the great traditions.

The cornerstone of these traditions are compassion, loving-kindness, equanimity, and altruistic joy. We call these the Four Sublime  Virtues (known in Sanksrit as the Brahmaviharas). These are virtues which arise from the contemplative and meditative states, which serve as powerful antidotes to avarice, anger, pride and violence.

These are the virtues that Rabbi Jesus encouraged, and which the entire Christian narrative seeks to inspire. It is what Buddha Sakyamuni encouraged, saying that "there is no limit to the unfolding of this heart-liberating practice."

And clearly, this was a path embraced by the leaders and prophets of the Native American peoples as well, as we saw from the words of Chief Tecumseh.

Recent circumstances have made it clear to us that we must find a new home within the next four to five weeks. There is no question about it.

We are very seriously considering establishing Asrama Portiuncula — or "Little Portion Ashram" — an non-dualistic, non-sectarian, intentional and emergent spiritual community, either on the Costa Rican coast (if we can get a minimum of four other families interested in a joint property ownership), in Central or South Florida, in Philadelphia, Metro D.C., or in the heart of Metro Atlanta.

Our funding sources have been hard-hit, both by the economic downturn, and by the efforts of those individuals we’ve previous turned away from association with our community, who now feel it necessary to attempt to discredit us, because we would not endorse their self-serving motives and lack of accountability. So we face a bit of a challenge, but not one which is insurmountable.

The bottom line for now, as we actively search for an affordable place in the Greater D.C., Baltimore and Harrisburg areas initially, will be to rely on our readers, friends and benefactors to keep a keen eye out for any opportunities that they might come across.

Finally, the establishment of such a community would depend on the interest level from those engaged in following the Dharma path. Those interested in discussing the idea further, should get in touch with me privately or feel free to ask questions on the blog.

Namasté!

– dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda
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We often read about the importance of forgiveness, as a fundamental part of the healing process. And my students at the ashram have long heard my admonishments about non-attachment. But it is also important to see the connection between these two important parts of our sadhana.

Without forgiveness, there is no way to free oneself of attachments. We cannot let go of something that is bound to the rotting chords of unforgiveness, hostility, hurt and anger. When you hold onto a hurt, even if you think you’ve forgiven the other person or persons, the very fact that you remain attached to the hurt itself is a source of suffering. Usually, if you find it difficult to forgive and let go of something, it’s because the person you’ve not forgiven is yourself.

I’ll give you an example.

In 2007, a number of the other disciples of my spiritual teacher became angry with me, because they’d heard that I was openly engaging discussion and concerns from my students about my teacher and her ashram. And because I explained to my students that there were a number of stories that my teacher told, which I knew were fabrications, and that it wasn’t necessary to buy into some of the mythology, which was employed for those who might be less mature spiritually. I also explained that some of the accusations of "cult-like behaviour" at the ashram was not necessarily the result of the teacher herself, but some of the maladjusted residents of the ashram, who failed to grasp a healthier approach to spirituality.

Well, some of my teacher’s students, especially those at a neighbouring ashram in Atlanta, became quite hostile. And it was interesting to see, because all of this happened right after my accident left me with a shattered arm, completely disabled, and at risk of becoming homeless. Yet these people were more wrapped up in their egos, and failed to respond to my need for shelter, when homelessness struck. So despite their spending years at the feet of the guru, learning all about the need for compassion, they turned their backs, and left me without food, shelter or support.

My students were outraged! I spent the next four weeks, teaching about the dangers of misunderstanding the guru-student relationship. I warned students about the need for careful discernment when choosing and working with a spiritual teacher. And I talked about the need to recognise the fact that most spiritual teachers, especially in the Crazy Wisdom tradition, employ what is known as "skilful means" as part of their teaching process. Things are not always as they appear on the surface, and part of the "ego-destruction" process often requires that the students mistake these things, experience the pain of their stupidity and let go of the source of the attachments.

Now, I am not going to tell you that I was not hurt by those fellow disciples, who turned their backs on me. I was deeply hurt. And I was incredibly saddened. In fact, it was even more sad because among those who shut me out was the "gatekeeper", which meant I could not discuss this matter with the teacher herself. And so I simply decided to let go of the entire situation.

In forgiving those who allowed me to become homeless, I had to forgive myself for allowing myself to become angry with them. They simply lacked the integration of the teaching enough to recognise the need to be compassionate, rather than defensive. And I failed to recognise their ignorance as a point of suffering for them. So was I any better? No.

We all make mistakes. I do. My teachers do. You do.

Letting go is not the same thing as letting someone else win. It’s simply allowing someone else to be in whatever space they created for themselves, and resolving to continue on the path I am on without judgment.

It took me a year before I was convinced enough that I had forgiven them and myself fully. And the next step was to bridge the distance our egos created, by extending my hand to those who hurt me. Fortunately, in the modern age, we have social media, so I was able to reach out to those folks via Facebook, chat programs, Twitter, and so forth.

There was no need to say anything to the teacher, who had already given me permission to continue my studies and further my Buddhist path at the feet of my spiritual father. She remains my spiritual mother. My guru and a significant influence on my life. There has never been a time when she said I had to accept and agree with everything she’s ever done, and especially not with everything her students have done. So there is no issue there.

In her writings, Tenzin Yangchen Ma writes of forgiveness as the greatest form of love:

Silence without forgiveness is nothing at all except silence.
Silence with forgiveness is God,
And in that silence you know yourself.
In that silence you demand the fire,
And that becomes true silence…
The silence of the forgiving heart.

Our spiritual journeys are like an onion… each experience… each new teaching… each moment of sadhana, progressively peeling away the layers of delusion, unforgiveness, ego and attachment.

Take time tonight to forgive someone. Begin with yourself.

Namasté!

– dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda

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The Dharma of Compassion is a spiritual approach based on the Perennialist teachings of Buddha and Jesus, without requiring one to buy into the religious tenets that were later and tragically associated (erroneously) with either of these two teachers. In fact, the Dharma of Compassion does not even require that one believe that either of these teachers ever historically existed, outside of the mythos. What matters is that we find in their authentic teachings, the seeds of compassion, non-violence, equanimity, forgiveness and altruism. Theirs is a path to the elimination of suffering.

Some of the more petulant and spiritually immature individuals we’ve become familiar with, including “Fr. KKKen”, the narcissistic racist, who made his hatemongering opinion known some weeks back, continue their attempts to discredit my work, based on the assumption that my being an open and honest about my disbelief in personal gods or goddesses, demons or angels as anything more than metaphoric conventions is somehow scandalous and worthy of “excommunication”.

Unfortunately, when one has already renounced one’s association with any and all institutional churches, there is nothing left from which to be excommunicated, but Fr. KKKen is apparently unaware of that. Neither Buddha nor Rabbi Jesus, intended to start a religion or church. They came to start a revolution.

In the late 1700s, Paul-Henri, the Baron of Holbach, wrote in System of Nature, “If we go back to the beginning, we shall find that ignorance and fear created the gods; that fancy, enthusiasm and deceit adorned them; that weakness worships them; that credulity preserves them; and that custom, respect and tyranny support them in order to make the blindness of men serve their own interests.  If the ignorance of nature gave birth to gods; then knowledge of nature is calculated to destroy them.”

It’s interesting to note that in Denmark and Sweden, notably two of the least religious countries in the world according to academic studies conducted over the past fifteen years, the populations there are among the happiest and most sociologically stable in the world. According to the Christian fundamentalists and conservative fearmongers in the Roman Catholic and African Anglican cults, such "godless societies" always dissolve into lawlessness and immorality. Yet studies in Denmark and Sweden show a pair of countries with strong economies, excellent standards of living, and an emerging attitude of "non-concern" with questions of faith and religion. Instead, a greater concern with compassion, caring for the disenfranchised and equality are found there.

Why then, am I unwilling to give in to the Fr. KKKens of the world and simply stop referring to my role as a successor to the apostles, since I am not associated with a Catholic institutional church?

Quite simply, the answer is the same reason I will not deny being a Buddhist monk, despite my non-affiliation with any formal Buddhist sect. My work is the work of an activist and teacher, and my objective is to engender an atmosphere in which the need for radical change and reform is not only recognised, but becomes possible.

From a Catholic perspective, seeing a church that has become deeply polarised, I recognise that there are a growing number of Catholics who know intuitively that their religious traditions are sacred myths, and that none of it is intended to be taken literally. They don’t accept the superstitious beliefs in literal gods, angels, and demons. They don’t recognise their popes, cardinals or bishops as "perfect leaders", least of all infallible. And they don’t buy into the absurd "one true religion" bullshit that expects them to exclude those who are not part of the "club" from the Eucharistic banquet.

Likewise, from the Buddhist perspective, I see a trend in the West to corrupt Buddhism in much the same way that many of the Southeast Asian sects have done — merging the philosophy with their religious superstitions, and creating a "religion of Buddhism", rife with all of the attachments that come with any religious tradition. Westerners, turning from their religious heritages to Buddhism, seem to want to fill the void that exists in their lives (attachment) with something that is a little more ritualistic, structured and dogmatic. As a result, they leave the higher vehicles and return to groups that are more dogmatic, fundamentalist and religious.

I am encouraged by the global statistics, however, as more than half of those interviewed and polled by the Orthodox Jewish organisation, Aish, admitted that they would choose to practice no religion at all. We see attendance of religious services declining worldwide. Eventually, my hope is that such trends make the mainstream institutions (the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of England, mainstream Jewish and Muslim bodies, etc.) financially unviable. And when that happens, the churches will return to hands of the congregations. A congregationalist or consensus-driven faith community is more likely to emerge as being in-touch with the communities in which they live and work than a superchurch.

One of the things that we hope to encourage, through the Dharma of Compassion, is learning to interpret the ancient mythos through a postmodern and holistic lens, so that we can discover more common ground, rather than drawing lines in the sand.

One example of this is the concept of Mindfulness and the Holy Spirit. From the Buddhist philosophy, we understand mindfulness as the substance of the Buddha or Enlightened One. Mindfulness enables one to see more deeply into the present moment, looking beyond appearances, and seeing things as they truly are. Similarly, the concept of the Holy Spirit, from the authentic Christian traditions, recognises the Holy Spirit as the vehicle through which one experiences the gifts of being able to see more clearly the woundedness of one’s humanity, and experience the need for compassion, forgiveness and “rebirth”.

These two traditions are not so different, in that regard.

What is different is the way that one approaches the quest for an outcome. One tradition recognises that the responsibility is our own, and that ultimately, nothing will change if we don’t change. The other relies on superstitious beliefs that an imaginary saviour “fixed things” for you so that you just have to believe in that myth and follow whatever the hierarchy tells you to do, and you will be “saved”. That’s rubbish! Period.

As the spiritual brother of Thomas Merton, Master Thich Nhat Hanh, notes in Living Buddha, Living Christ, “It is not only true that Christians need Jesus, but Jesus also needs Christians for His energy to continue in the world.”

Just as A.J. Muste observed, when he wrote, “There is no way to peace. Peace is the way,” we must recognise that there is no way to spiritual growth; spiritual growth is the way. No religion, no dogma, no belief in gods, goddesses or superstitions… no ritual or membership in some club, will ever be the way to personal and spiritual growth. Such things are only accomplished and realised by taking personal responsibility for them.

If belief in gods and demons helps you to become more compassionate and motivates you to do the work of caring for others, then it serves a purpose for you. If being involved in a religion inspires you to work every day to alleviate suffering for yourself and others, then it serves a purpose for you. But do not let yourself be deceived…

If you have not already done at least ONE THING today to alleviate the suffering of someone in need, you need to ask yourself why not.

The Dharma of Compassion is not a path for the weak, the lazy or the superstitious. We don’t have any personal gods or goddesses to blame or rely on. We don’t have any religious books that we pretend to be the “word of god”, and so we are forced to think for ourselves. We don’t imagine our tradition to be the “only way”, and so we are forced to find a way to work within a diverse tapestry of traditions, beliefs and non-belief, because compassion, not religion, is all that matters to us.

In the end, we may not fit in with any of the religious sects, and that’s OK. In fact, I prefer it that way.

My work as a successor to the apostles is not a religious role, as neither was theirs. It is the way of a teacher, an elder brother or sister, who is committed to relieving suffering wherever I find it. If my work takes me to a community of Catholics, then I will frame that teaching, as Jesus did with his Jewish listeners, in a way that they can understand, using their metaphors and concepts. If my work takes me, as it often does, to a community of pagan practitioners, Druid priests and Wicca, then I will frame my teaching in terms they understand. And as a Buddhist monk, I will teach the Dharma as it was transmitted to me. Without apology or fear.

I don’t have to literally believe the mythos surrounding my own spiritual teachers and gurus either. If my root guru tells the story that Jesus appeared to her, it doesn’t matter if I believe that really happened, or if I’ve discovered serious “holes” in her story about alleged seminaries that don’t exist in New York, etc. What matters is that the message was “teach all ways, because all ways are (One).”

And that is enough.

As a youth, at the age of 16, I experienced a profound moment of spiritual clarity, one Easter Sunday, and during the 36 hours of intense meditation and contemplation that followed, one of the texts I read was the Buddhist Vimalakirti Sutra, in which we read, “He becomes a monk in all the different religions of the world so that he might free others from delusion and save them from falling into false views.” (Vimalakirti Sutra 8.)

For me, it was clear that the path was not the religion or the tradition, but the work that one did within the context of that tradition. And it was from that moment forward that I dedicated my life to living according to that admonition. At times I have failed. At times I have succeeded. What matters most is that each time, I get back up and attempt another day to live that commitment more fully.

This is the path of the Bodhisattva… this is our path. If we can follow this path, then we are free to follow the spiritual traditions of the world. We can serve from the realm of Buddhism, Catholicism, Atheism, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, Wicca, Druidry, Confucianism, Shinto, Hinduism, Christianity, Agnosticism, Gnosticism, Luciferianism and everything else. We can enter more deeply into the spiritual traditions of others, without attachment, so that we can meet them on their grounds, in their comfort zones, and from their, serve them more fully, alleviating their suffering and bringing them peace.

Namasté!

– dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda

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There are days when I long for the time when I can teach the dharma in a more traditional setting, and return to the more traditional monastic rhythm, which was my life for almost two of the nearly three decades I have been a monk.

And then there are days like today, when I am reminded that the opportunity to teach presents itself everywhere and in every moment.

This afternoon, I was speaking with a gentleman about a pressing financial need that we have to address in the next few days, and expressing how disappointing it has been that I may not be able to finish my latest book in time for the deadline, because the laptop is about to die.

This guy was one of the folks who’d claimed several times that he and his wife had two laptops sitting around, and would fix one of them and send it to me, and as we talked (and he made new excuses for not sending me the laptop, which I doubt he even has anymore) the topic of spirituality came up, and we began talking about my experience as a Franciscan-Buddhist. Like many people, he wondered if those two paths were not somehow divergent and incongruent. Most people imagine that there would be conflict between my having served as a Catholic priest and bishop, and my non-theistic spirituality as a Buddhist.

Invariably, the question becomes one in which I am asked how I explain the creation of the universe, if I don’t believe there is a creator-god.

Earlier this week, in a previous post, we talked about the four seals of Buddhist Dharma:

• That everything that exists is compounded, and therefore impermanent.
• That all emotions cause pain.
• That all phenomena are illusory and ultimately empty, and that nothing inherently exists.
• That enlightenment exists beyond the spheres of time, space and comprehension.

Last night, I began reading What Makes You Not a Buddhist byDzongsar Jamyang Khyentse — the head of the Dzongsar Monastery. Early on in his delightful exploration of what it means (and doesn’t mean) to be a Buddhist, Khyentse addresses the god-concept in a way that I found remarkably lucid, and far simpler than any of my previous attempts to address the subject myself:

When any two components or more come together, a new phenomenon emerges — nails and wood become a table; water and leaves become tea; fear, devotion and a savior become God. This end product doesn’t have an existence independent of its parts…

Those who believe in an almighty God generally do not analyse their concept of time, because God is assumed to be independent of time. To give credit to an all-powerful, omnipresent creator, we must factor in the element of time. If this world always existed, there would be no need for creation. Therefore it must have not existed for a period of time before creation, and thus a sequence of time is required. Since the creator — let’s say God — necessarily abides by the laws of time, he, too, must be subject to change, even if the only change he has ever gone through has been creating this one world. And that is fine. An omnipresent and permanent God cannot change, so it’s better to have an impermanent God who can answer prayers and change the weather. But as long as God’s actions are an assemblage of beginnings and ends, he is impermanent, in other words, subject to uncertainty and unreliable.”

( What Makes You Not a Buddhist, pp. 17, 18)

I’ve often considered some of the teachings of Christian Scientist founder, Mary Baker Eddy, to have merit in this particular discussion. Mrs. Eddy contended that spirituality was very similar to physical nourishment. One would not give an infant table-food, nor a teenager mother’s milk, she taught. Likewise, it is better to allow those who are not yet ready to embrace non-theistic spirituality to hang onto their God(desse)s; while gently demonstrating for them, through rational and scientific approach, a new way to consider that God(dess).

And so it was for me, as a theological anthropologist, who chose to serve humanity in the vocation of spiritual teacher. My professional training as a scientist and philosophical scholar informed my approach to pastoral care and teaching. That I happened to serve in the context and culture of the Catholic faith community was (for me) coincidental, because it was the people I felt called to serve, not the institution. I also felt responsible, since I was ordained in the direct and documented succession of some of the earliest teachers of the Christ Dharma — namely, the apostles John (whom canonical texts refer to as Rabbi Jesus’ “Beloved”), James (the brother of Jesus), “Thomas” (whose name was Judas, and who was likely also a biological brother of Rabbi Jesus), Thaddeus, and Agai (the cousin of Rabbi Jesus) — to continue their legacy, which was teaching the message of love, inclusion, service and compassion, and revealing to those who were ready to hear it, that they did not need institutional religion, rituals or belief in external deities to be liberated from suffering.

I also felt compelled to rectify the willful and wanton damage caused by the successors of Linus — the elder of the institutional Roman sect, started some thirty years after the execution of Rabbi Jesus, which would distort the Gnostic teachings of Paul of Tarsus, and misrepresent the mythological stories that were built around the teachings of the historical Great Teacher, as part of the millennia-old wisdom tradition, and suddenly claim they were to be taken literally as historically true. We know that institution today as the Roman Catholic Church, and recognise it as the primary source of all the errant and misguided Christian sects that would later split off from it.

I should mention that my “apostolic succession” also includes lineage from the Orthodox Church (Russian, Assyrian, Coptic and Greek), which likewise became institutionalised, and actually preceded the establishment of the separatist Roman Catholic sect (in 1050 C.E.). The Orthodox Churches, while still theistic and institutional, were at least able to distill some of the more mystical teachings, and recognised such simple truths as the fact that the “kingdom of God” was not external, but interior. Still, I felt that this approach, while healthier than their Roman counterparts, necessitated my commitment to liberate the message from the dogma and superstition as well.

It was only as a result of my having taken refuge and studying Buddhist Dharma from the age of seven, and later taking vows, prior to my entering the Catholic seminary, that I was able to clearly understand the delusion of institutional theology, and distill the message of the historic and revolutionary Rabbi, who neither saw himself as a saviour or founder of a religion.

For me, there was always a difference between the historic persons of Siddartha Buddha, or Yeshua ben Josef (Rabbi Jesus), and the mythos, legends and midrashic stories that were made up about them. I suppose I was fortunate to see no difference between reading the Bhagavad Gita, when I was nine, and realising that there were no little blue-skinned, magical babies in India, or the fictitious tales about “talking bushes” and “commandments” (when a cursory glance at the Washington Post today proves that nothing intelligent has ever come out of a Bush), and the equally mythical tales of the Rabbi who could magically walk on water, turn water into wine, and return from the dead, just as Horus, Osirus, Mithra and countless other mythological beings had done in other legends.

And perhaps, because I found such rational sense in the foundation of the four seals, and because the Four Noble Truths clearly resonated with something inside me, I was able to see the Eightfold Path as a logical means of ending suffering for myself and others. So there was not need for saviours, external gods, or other theistic concepts.

The celebration of eucharist was a sacramental expression of mindful gratitude and oneness. Puja and Aarti were traditions of honouring the indwelling sacred and the potential for enlightenment. There were no conflicts in my mind, and I felt every bit as comfortable in a Catholic liturgical celebration as I did celebrating Durga Puja, or at a Samhain bonfire in the Druid Grove. These rituals were centering opportunities, which allowed me to turn within, into the Sacred Silence, and to develop the skill of calming the mind, tasting the emptiness and generating compassion for all beings.

In order to consider where “creation” began, I would need to have an infinite mind, and because I don’t see my mind as being anything more or less than an impermanent illusion, I don’t attempt to do so. This thing we call the body is really an assemblage of cells. Those cells are composed of atoms. On the atomic level, I am one with all of creation. Yet there is a sub-atomic level, beneath all that, and levels beneath that, from which all things are created. For all I know, the phenomena we call “thought” might be something incomprehensible, which is created by two or more elements converging in some way, and from thought or “creative intelligence,” perhaps the smallest known particle of physical matter was assembled.

But why does it matter? What would be accomplished by “knowing God”? It seems to me that a far more important, productive and meaningful use of my time in this existence would be to achieve the cessation of suffering, and to work to do the same for others.

It is to those vows that my life is dedicated — to continue to exist, returning life-after-life, until all suffering for all sentient beings has ceased to exist. At that point, even the dharma will be without merit, and will be released. Only at that point, will it be time to enter into the Sunyatananda — the bliss of emptiness.

In the meantime, there will be those who feel the need to seek and define their gods and goddesses. There will be those who feel the need to prove their atheism. There will be those who feel the need to ask questions, and those who feel the need to impress others with their answers. And I will strive to remain mindful of the simple truths that all of that… all of us… are impermanent; that our emotions, thoughts and pursuits ultimately cause suffering… that nothing is self-existent, and that ultimately, the concept of real emptiness… liberation… enlightenment… is beyond comprehension, time, space and definition.

Peace within. Peace without.

– dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda
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Earlier, there was a wonderful piece published on a Buddhist discussion board, about reincarnation, and I felt that the subject was worth commenting on, but did not want to post a painfully long response, which was better reserved for a separate post. So here it is…

Reincarnation is one of those things that is somewhat of a paradox. It is further complicated by the fact that it is also not exclusively a Buddhist concept, as it is shared among many of the Indo-Asian cultures. Therefore, there are certain concepts around reincarnation that would surely fall under the category of "religious beliefs", and those I personally reject, since I prefer to follow a path based on reasoning and rational thought, rather than religious superstition.

In the Kalama Sutta, Buddha Sakyamuni is reputed to have said:

“If there is a world after death… if there is the fruit of actions rightly & wrongly done, then this is the basis by which, with the decomposition of the body after death, I will reappear in a good destination, the heavenly world. But if there is no world after death, if there is no fruit of actions rightly & wrongly done, then here in the present life I look after myself with ease — free from hostility, free from ill will, free from trouble.”

This is an example in which Buddha frames his teaching in the context of the beliefs of the people to whom he is speaking. Apparently, these listeners believed in a "heavenly world" or "other side"… not reincarnation. And so his teaching was framed in a way that neither agreed with, not denied their religious superstitions. In other texts, his teaching was framed in the more popular concept (including the superstitions surrounding it) of reincarnation.

These concepts can be tricky in the West, because we (almost as much as the Southeast Asian Theravadans) tend to "make" Buddhism into a religion, because we imagine a void, when we walk away from our personal religious traditions. I’ve been fortunate not to experience such a void, because I view the spiritual and religious traditions of my personal history to be an integrated part of who I am today.

When I was in the Franciscans, I was often teased about being the most Benedictine Franciscan in the bunch. (For non-Catholics, this was their way of teasing me about embracing seemingly disparate traditions, since a Franciscan is a mendicant — that is, a beggar, living in the world — while my spirituality was deeply inspired by the more monastic paths of the Camaldolese [Benedictine hermits] and Carmelite monastics.)

Today, I am "part" of neither group. And according to some of my detractors, I am somehow magically no longer in the unbroken succession of the apostles. One troubled young man even wrote me last night to tell me how "offensive" my piece was on the Pathways to Wisdom.

So we have this tradition of believing in reincarnation… or not. For some of us, reincarnation is a reference to the non-dualistic nature of the numenal world.

From a scientific perspective, we know that the universe is held in place by gravitational pull. Another word for "gravitation" is "attraction". Isn’t it interesting that in the present day, there is so much buzz about the "law of attraction" — an ancient principle, which has been the foundation of the New Thought tradition, and at the core of Buddhism and esoteric Catholicism and Judaism for generations? What is another word for "attraction"? Love. Right?

Buddha called love the "Eternal Principle". In the Persian mythos, we read about the quvat-i-jazibah — the Primal Force of Attraction from which the universe was created. All of this coincides with our scientific understanding of gravity and the Big Bang Theory.

This is also how the mythos surrounding Rabbi Jesus as the "Son" (Sun) of God came to be, through the manipulation of Emperor Constantine, who worshipped the Sun God (Sol Invictus), and modified his superstitions to fit into the Christian narrative.

So for those who embrace a non-dualistic philosophy, such as the Buddhists, Advaita adherents in Hinduism, Religious Scientists in the West, and such visionary Catholic monastics as Thomas Merton, Swami Abishektananda and Anthony de Mello, there is not "us" or "me" — these are simply the labels we place on transient phenomena — there is only Love (or God, or energy, or Emptiness, etc.). And therefore, "you" and "I" are part of the same "stuff" that has been born thousands of lifetimes before, and will be part of the same "stuff" that exists in future lifetimes.

I don’t personally invest any time or energy contemplating the idea of reincarnation, because it doesn’t matter. The only thing that is "reincarnated", in my opinion, are our habits and thoughts. The personality dies when we die. Reincarnation, it seems to me, was the ancients’ way to further their explanation of the effects of karma. Ultimately, it was a primitive attempt. And like most primitive ideas, it was corrupted by superstition, legend, and fear.

I have no ego-need to imagine that I will be reincarnated. If, when I die, that’s it for Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda, that’s fine. On the other hand, if reincarnation is real, then it is my desire, like that of Theresa Lisieux and other Bodhisattvas, to return to this world over-and-over until suffering exists no more. In Theresa’s words, she wanted to "spend her heaven doing good on earth". For me, the ideal is captured in the words of the Rule of Life for the Contemplative Monks of the Eightfold Path, which I read and offer each day as I awaken:

THE BRIEF RULE

Sit in your cell as in paradise;

put the whole world behind you and forget it;

like a skilled angler on the lookout for a catch

keep a careful eye on your thoughts.

The path you follow is the Dharma of Compassion –

never abandon that path.

If you’ve come with a novice’s enthusiasm and can’t

accomplish what you want, take every chance you can find

to chant the sacred Mantra of Chenrezi:

OM MANI PADME HUM

in your heart; if your mind wanders as you chant

don’t give up but hurry back and try again.

Above all realise that above all else, you are

in the presence of Divine Perfection;

you hold your heart there in wonder

as if before your sovereign.

You are that Sovereign, for it is written,

"The sovereign domain of the Enlightened One

is within you."

Empty yourself completely;

sit waiting, content with the gift of Silence,

like a little chick tasting and eating nothing

but what its mother brings.

With all your heart,

as the sun rises and sets each day:

Vow to do all you can to end the suffering of all beings;

Vow to uproot endless blind passions and attachments;

Vow to penetrate the Dharma Gates beyond measure;

Vow to realise your birthright as an Awakened and Anointed One

for the good of all sentient beings, and as a caretaker of all Creation.
Namasté!
– dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda
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One of the reasons some people tend toward staying “stuck” in their attachments is that they have not learned to let go of their delusional perceptions. In fact, if as you just read that last sentence, you felt some resistance toward the idea that your thoughts were delusional, you can be sure that you have some delusional perceptions to which you are still attached. Most of us do!

Yet we cannot rely upon our perceptions, which cause us to misapprehend much of our day-to-day experiences. Even our judgements and ideas concerning ordinary things or events are frequently clouded by our emotions, by past experiences, and by fear/ego.

My Spiritual Father, Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, teaches that “Anything that contradicts logic and reasoning should be abandoned.” If we will remember this, we might find it easier to let go of those perceptions to which we stubbornly cling, simply because they are part of “our tradition”, or because someone may ridicule us for taking a different path or approach.

According to the Dharma, there are five inner elements and five outer elements, upon which our experiences are based.

These ten elements are the basis of wisdom that exists in perfect form within each of us. This wisdom is the basis of calm abiding — a peace that is beyond our ability to quantify and describe it — which is our natural state.

In Buddhist thought, the five outer elements are earth, fire, water, wind and space. And the five interior elements are flesh, blood, warmth, breath and mind. These two sets correlate with one another as such: earth-flesh; water-blood; fire-warmth; wind-breath; space-inner mind.

Because the dharma understands the interconnectedness and interdependence of all phenomena, these too are seen as being inextricably interdependent. By learning to become more deeply aware of these connections, one can positively manifest the “perfect aspects” of wisdom in the world.

Buddhist thought also teaches that there are five afflictive emotions, which interfere with our ability to perfectly manifest this wisdom and awareness. These are: ignorance, anger, pride, desire and jealousy, and they ultimately undermine our happiness and peace.

From the Buddhist perspective, wisdom simply means “perfect awareness”… not some kind of academic acumen. And because five is considered to be a “sacred number” in Tibetan mythos, there are five aspects of “perfect awareness” which help us to let go of those perceptions and delusions which interfere with our spiritual attainment of peace.

From our perspective, we do not try to avoid normal emotions, but rather allow them to wash over us, and by placing our awareness on the experience, “purify” it. By placing our awareness on the reasons for our suffering, we are able to begin to transform ignorance, anger, pride, desire and jealousy into simple awareness — wisdom.

Dharmadhatu Wisdom (called chying yesh in Tibetan) is the “secret” or “divine” aspect of wisdom — a pure expression of awareness, without any afflictive emotions or delusions. It is the “purification of ignorance”. It is represented on a mandala as the centre point, and is symbolised with the colour blue.

Mirror-like Wisdom (m’long yesh) is the wisdom that purifies and neutralises anger. Mirror-like wisdom simply accepts things as they are, not as we perceive them. It recognises that every experience is a reflection of something interiorly that we have chosen to confront and transform, and takes those opportunities to do so. It is represented on a mandala as the white colour, in the eastern direction.

The Wisdom of Balance (nyam nyee yesh) is the wisdom which transforms pride into evenness or balance. It is symbolised by the colour yellow, and represented on the mandala as the southern direction.

The Wisdom of Discernment (sor’tok yesh) is the wisdom which purifies and transforms desire or attachment. Through the wisdom of discernment, we are able to simply recognise the nature of all phenomena — whether we preceive them as pleasant and unpleasant — from a neutral, non-intellectualised perspective. We recognise that the phenomena themselves are neither pleasant nor unpleasant, but it is our thoughts about those things which make them so. Therefore, we can transform our attachments into letting go, by applying this simple, yet powerful aspect of perfect wisdom. The wisdom of discernment is symbolised by the colour red and is represented by the western direction on the mandala.

All-accomplishing Wisdom (ja droob yesh) transforms jealousy into a neutral and calm state of mind. Once jealousy is released and transformed, all-accomplishing wisdom makes it possible for one to accomplish everything that is necessary and essential and wholesome, without effort. It is represented by the northern direction on the mandala, and it is symbolised by the colour green.

Update: (6 August 2009) – Earlier today, my Aunt Irene made her transition from life. She will be sorely missed and fondly remembered always. -dgs

As I write this, my aunt is actively dying, peacefully at rest in the care of hospice nurses in a Philadelphia hospital.  She was one of the relatively few people to genuinely inspire and influence me as a child, and later as an adult.

Aunt Irene was one of those people who moved through hardships, possessed an incredible entrepreneurial spirit, took ownership in her circumstances and then did something about them.

She achieved a personal level of success that has always made her one of my heroes, along with my father, my partner Craig, Blessed Mychal Judge and His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.

Several folks, with well-intentioned hearts, offered their words of consolation last night, when we were told by the doctors that Aunt Irene would be dead within an hour of their removing her from life-support. In their sincere wishes, they often said things like, “You’ll see her again one day…” and “She’ll be in a better place in heaven…”, etc.

But while the sentiments and sincerity behind such wishes are very comforting and much appreciated, such superstitious concepts themselves are without merit or comfort for me, since I consider such ideas primitive, baseless and delusional.

“But how can you believe such a thing as a monk and priest?” some inquired. Don’t you believe that Jesus died so that we could have eternal life?

No. I believe that if the stories of Jesus’ crucifixion actually occurred, which I am not convinced is the case at all, then Jesus’ died because the authorities murdered him. Period.

There was no magical plan for “eternal life”. No zombie-tricks on the third day. Simply a brutal and horrific murder, much like the murders being carried out by the United States in Iraq, Afghanistan and in the False Flag Operation Bush ordered against the World Trade Centre on September 11th, 2001.

As a Successor to the Apostles, I believe the mythos of Rav Yeshua (Jesus the Nazarene) has significance, but also believe most organised religions have missed that significance by a longshot.

The Jesus Metaphor is a story about Incarnate Love.

Love, they say is stronger than death, for it is the Eternal Principle. Although love cannot stop death from happening, no matter how hard death might seem to try, it cannot separate people from that Universal Love. Neither can it separate us from the loving memories we hold of the departed.

When someone we love reaches the end of their lives, they die. Period.

There is no magic playground like the the religious and superstitious would hope. But that doesn’t mean love has not triumphed in the end over death. This is the message of the great spiritual masters… Jesus didn’t do the alleged zombie trick, it was his memory that lived on beyond his death, in the hearts of his Beloved. Love conquered death.

Love Incarnate, represented metaphorically in the person of Rav Yeshua, could not be killed when the physical body was beaten and killed. The body died, but Love lived on… and continues to live on today.

That is the message of the Eucharist… that the Divine Love, which became incarnate in the person of Yeshua, is accessible every time we come together to break bread. That because Jesus was not the Christ alone, the Living Body of Christ is manifest in and as each of us, because the “Body of Christ” is Incarnate Love.

Of course, the desire to manipulate, distort the truth and control the masses, by the original institutional churches (the Roman and Orthodox Catholic sects), and later by the further distortions that occurred in Protestant spin-off sects, only served to further obfuscate this celebration of truth that occurred within the context of a sacred meal… something which occurred every time bread was broken between friends.

The result was that instead of learning the Way to end suffering, we perpetuate that suffering, with absurd and primitive tales of imaginary places, such as “heaven”, where the “good people” are rewarded. The concept is actually vulgar in my opinion, for anyone to have the hubris to suggest that we should worship their imaginary god, who is a big enough asshole to only allow a limited number of beings (and worse yet, that all of those beings must be “people”) into their childish notion of “paradise” or “heaven”.

I would never consider worshipping, let alone smiling at any deity who was such a spiteful, judgmental prick.

But of course, that story exists because, despite their claims to have been created in their god’s image, we know that these unsophisticated, irrational and superstitious primitives actually created their gods in their own images. So a petty people ended up with a petty god.

As for me, I remain unconflicted about living my vows faithfully as a Buddhist monk and lama, along with my responsibility and vows to uphold the Way of the Apostles. I am a disciple of Buddha and of Rav Yeshua. I am a disciple of the Ways of the Ancient Peoples, who embraced all of life as sacred, but who had not yet codified the concepts of this groundlessness and eternal principle into the metaphoric representations of gods and goddesses.

And inspired by my Aunt Irene, it is my intention to continue to speak the truth I embrace, and share it with those who truly desire peace.

In fact, it is my intention to find a means of relocating back to the Greater Washington, D.C. area, securing the funding to create a truly post-denominational, post-religious, post-sectarian intentional community of people dedicated to CHANGE… dedicated to bringing about TRANSFORMATION and PEACE.

We’ll call this “The PEACE Project” — with PEACE being an acronym for our principal focus:

• Partnering with Communities
• Educating the Next Generation
• Assisting the Poor and Marginalised
• Caring for the Sick and Dying
• Empowering Servant-Leaders

My gratitude goes out to the people of Christ’s Home Retirement Centre, where Aunt Irene made her home for the past couple years, and to my cousin Jeannie and Aunt Martha, for their being there so often for Aunt Irene.

Yes, our hearts are heavy with selfish sadness over the hour when Aunt Irene will leave her body and return to Love. We will grieve for ourselves, not for her, because she will cease to exist. All phenomena are impermanent, and that realisation still stings, when those to whom we still hold attachments are taken from our grasp.

But the only way to prevent suffering is to move toward that grief and sit in it mindfully for a time… allowing it to wash over us, as we gently acknowledge it, and move through it. Grief, like all phenomena, is impermanent too. And as it passes, we will emerge a little stronger, a little clearer, and a little lighter than before.

And there will be work to be done.

Namasté!

– dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda

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Any time we learn something, it changes, if only imperceivably, everything. We’ll never look at anything in life the same, as a result of whatever it is that we’ve learned. And since we are always learning, that means that every breath brings with it an entirely new perspective.

Resentment and anger also change everything, especially ourselves. Yet you and I can only be as upset as we are willing to allow our perceptions to control us.

Consider this… right now, think of one thing that you are presently angry about or hurt about. Now ask yourself, do you prefer agitation, hurt, anger or fear to peacefulness? Of course not. The good news is that once you’ve decided… really decided… to let go of those ideas that give rise to fear in all its manifestations (anger, resentment, hurt, sadness, depression, anxiety, jealousy, etc.), once again, everything changes.

We often think that being open-minded or tolerant means accepting those who have differing opinions, views or ideas from us. But we limit that definition to include those who are presently engaged in disagreement with our own views, perceptions and ideas. We seldom consider that open-mindedness naturally includes open-heartedness, if it is authentic. Therefore, an open mind is a forgiving heart.

Every time we judge someone else, we are interiorly judging ourselves — either for something we’ve done or something we believe we have the capacity to do. Interiorly, we recognise the delusion of dualistic thought, and so we know that if something or someone angers us, then it is a reflection of something within us to which we are reacting. That’s a difficult concept for many of us to really grasp. Blame is always easier, when placed on someone else.

But there is no "someone else".

There’s only us… no "them". Only this… no "that".

When a memory or thought is filled with pain, we might find it difficult to let go of. But when we realise that it’s our attachment to the thought or memory, and not the event itself, which is causing us to suffer, our road to recovery is certain and clear.

Now I know there are some, whose delusion of being "realists" is now telling them that what I am suggesting is absurd. (It’s always rather interesting that quite often, these are the same people who don’t find it absurd at all to imagine that the story of a virgin birth, walking on water or raising from the dead after being brutally murdered. And they wonder why I consider them delusional!)

Those people are likely saying that no one in their "right mind" would ever bring suffering upon themselves. The fact is, those people are right… no one in their right mind would do such a thing.

The problem is that we are often inexperienced at being in our Right Mind. Instead, we function from the "monkey mind" — the delusional realm of ego, which usurps the Right Mind, and substitutes itself.

Living in the Right Mind is the only way to resolve those things which trouble us. Living in the Right Mind comes from sitting in silence and observing without judgment, all the thoughts that travel through our minds, as we try to slow down, relax and empty ourselves of the constant chatter of the monkey mind.

Now consider this… if you allow these words to inform you… everything changes from this moment forward!

That is an exciting proposition, and an opportunity for you to achieve something greater. Embrace that potential and have a great week!

I will be away for my usual summer break, at the South Jersey shore. I am uncertain whether I will have Internet access while I am there.

Be gentle with yourselves, and know that you are appreciated and loved.

Namasté!

– dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda
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