Why?
For nearly thirty years now, my students have understood the importance of asking the question, “Why?” It is the essential question to ask, before engaging in any enterprise, pursuit or activity. The more clearly one understands “what their why is”, the more readily they will be able to craft a successful outcome.
But there is another benefit to asking, “Why”. This singular question allows us to examine deeply the motivations, intentions, and desires that exist behind every action and pursuit, behind every word and thought.
It is a practice I engage daily, and which has made it very possible for me to remain detached from certain outcomes, circumstances and conditions.
While the physical abuse and pain I underwent as a victim of a violent sexual assault by four men, in May of 1983, was difficult and resulted in my developing full-blown AIDS, it has seldom interfered with my ability to live life fully, openly and with peace. Asking myself “why” allowed me to understand the woundedness, the frustration and the suffering that my attackers were facing, as Haitian illegal immigrants in South Florida, in 1983. I could no longer be angry with them, because my heart was torn open with compassion and sadness for what they must have gone through, to be pushed to act in such a violent way.
Recently, I began to realise that I was being confronted with a number of issues repeatedly, in my practice as a Buddhist contemplative and lama. Chief among these was the growing awareness I began to develop that sectarianism and intolerance was beginning to become as prevalent in the Buddhist world as it is in fundamentalist Christian and Muslim sects. I began to struggle deeply with feeling that I was on the edge of breaking samaya with the last living members of my Dharma lineage, over an unwillingness to become a mindless puppet, and simply “accept” the patent marginalisation, cruelty and injustices being forced upon the Shugdenpa, by revered and highly esteemed lamas and rinpoches, including His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.
So it became time to ask myself why…
Why did I choose the path of Tibetan Buddhism? Why did I move beyond the simple, pure and unfettered Zen traditions, into which I was initiated by my beloved Refuge Guru, and by Robert Danza Sensei, Marianne Donoghue Sensei and inspired deeply by Master Thich Nhat Hanh?
I would like to share a little bit of the discoveries and process that I am now deeply considering…
First of all, I recognise that there were three aspects of Tibetan Buddhism that drew me into the Dharma lineage I now hold:
Foremost was the Mahayana Path and Bodhisattva Ideal. This resonates with me to the very core of my being. It is the reason I chose the Buddhist path, and why I was drawn to the simplicity and service of the Franciscan charism. I have known, from the time I was seven years old, I chose this life to serve others, and to work for the alleviation of suffering. I have known that I would come back to this life, aeon-after-aeon, if necessary, until suffering existed no more. And that commitment is so deeply ingrained into who I am – hardwired, if you will – that I could never practice any type of spirituality without it being the central focus.
Secondly, there has been a connection or resonance with the Great Lama Je Tsongkhapa, also as far back as six or seven. I cannot explain it, and would not try, for fear that it would sound insane… but in my heart and mind, I somehow “know” Je Rinpoche as intimately as I know my own Root Guru. This connection is as clear as the fact that my heart has belonged to three Buddha emanations, since early childhood: to Amitabha (in the Buddhist aspect, and in his emanation as Francis of Assisi), to Avalokitesvara (in the Buddhist aspect of Chenrezig, the Japanese Kuan Yin, and as the Christotokos), and to Manjusri/Christ/Shiva – the embodiment of wisdom, and the compassion bourne out of samadhi/contemplation.
But perhaps the most compelling reason for me to actually affiliate myself with and seek empowerment from Tibetan lamas was that my heart is ripped open by seeing suffering, and I knew that the Tibetan people suffer greatly at the hands of the Chinese government. And so it was an act of solidarity, just as I had marched with Cesar Chavez and the migrant farm workers, and as I stood with Dorothy Day during “Peace on Earth Day”… so too do I stand with His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and all the Tibetan people.
It was the realisation of that third motivator that caused me to become aware that the reason I did not continue to formally identify as a zen monk, was because I felt a protective allegiance for the Tibetan people, whom I saw as being marginalised, displaced, disparaged and hurt. Suddenly it became very clear to me why I felt so deeply torn by what I was seeing happen to the Shugdenpa. It was the fact that they were having the same injustices visited upon them by their own people… people who should know better, and be more tolerant, compassionate and willing to embrace diversity.
So I find myself at a cross-roads. Twenty-seven of our monks have left the Order, because I refused to back down from my defense of the Shugdenpa. One left because she was in the clutches of fundamentalist Buddhist cult in Baltimore, and refused to be held accountable for her lack of engaged Buddhism, commitment to on-going formation, and her intolerant, cultic mindset. And seventeen of the former Franciscan brothers and sisters left, because they could not and would not accept my teaching that the biblical stories were simply repackaged superstitions and legends bourne out of the ancient Egyptian cult of the Sun-God.
Simultaneously, several of our key benefactors withdrew their financial support for our work, over the Shugden issue, and over my refusal to adopt sectarian ideologies, and play the lineage supremacy game. They wanted me to denounce a particular Buddhist teacher in the United States, and by so-doing, denounce her teacher’s formal recognition of her position and status. I refused. They wanted me to speak in support of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s oppression of the Shugdenpa, and I refused. And they wanted me to formally disassociate myself from my role as successor to the apostles, and as a Franciscan contemplative. I likewise refused.
As a result, we frequently suffer the pains of having no money to pay rent, groceries, or utilities. And we’re considered personna non-grata by some “popular” Buddhist groups, particularly in the Tibetan tradition, because I refused to wear traditional Tibetan robes again, until the Shugdenpa are treated as equals by the Gulugpa and Nyingmapa.
My teaching will always be based on the pure Dharma offered so generously to this world by Lama Tsongkhapa (Je Rinpoche). I will always teach and strive to live according to the Bodhisattva Ideal. And so much of my personal path will be deeply influenced by Tibetan Buddhism. Even my personal sadhanas will always reflect this heritage, because it has been 20 years that I have employed that practice in my own spiritual journey.
But I am considering moving toward a more open, non-sectarian, transpersonal expression of the Dharma… and will be sharing more with you about that in the months to come.
For now, I ask you to remember me in your thoughts and pujas.
Namasté
khenpo gurudas sunyatananda
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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 Prince 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, Khenpo 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 ©2010, Khenpo 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.
Those of us on the feral wisdom path of the Dharma of Compassion are akin to the Bauls, to Francis d’Assisi and Neem Karoli Baba… to Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche,