Organ Mountain Zen



Friday, October 8, 2010

Fear

With palms together


Good Morning Everyone,



This morning was a cool sixty degrees as we walked Suki in the park. It was nice to wake up to a starry sky, clear and unobstructed. I think the sky is one of my favorite aspects of life here in New Mexico. Having a clear and unobstructed view is crucial to living an authentic life.



I am of late concerned about our ability to tolerate each other’s differences when those differences appear threatening. The very nature of a threat distorts our perception. When we are afraid we do not see clearly at all: we see situations as pregnant with danger. Our mind’s eye quite naturally rests on dangerous possibilities, often to the exclusion of others.



Recently I asked the question, “How would Buddha respond to Islam?” I frankly believe this is a threatening question, as those of us who purport to be Buddhists must take a close look at what our understanding of Buddha is and how close or distant we are from that ideal.



Moreover, I think such a question demands a close examination of our own understanding of Islam. It is my sense that most of us know very little of Islam and that which we do know is grossly inaccurate and/or based on televised programming designed to increase market share through emotional appeal.



In an article I found on the Buddhist Channel, similarities between Islam and Buddhism are discussed. It is interesting to me that our consciousness here in America has been so warped by media images, brow-beating interviews, and the ascendency of inflammatory rhetoric, that we do not know even the most rudimentary concepts of Islamic theology, cannot name a single Islamic theologian, and have never (or barely) opened the Islamic holy book. Yet from what we think we know, we make gross generalizations based on the acts of vengeful miscreants regarding the whole of a faith tradition.



This is akin to cross-burning KKKers being identified as the personification of Christianity. Or suggesting that because Buddhist practitioners bow in front of a statue of Buddha we are idolaters. We do not do that, nor should we do it to other faith traditions.



It is our obligation as spiritual seekers to be authentic and honest through our body, speech, and mind. We understand these vehicles to be at risk from the three poisons, greed, hatred, and delusion. Further, we hold that such poisons be addressed by generosity, love, and wisdom. My sense is that Buddha would find a Middle Way through the bombastic rhetoric and fear mongering of this environment. He would find a way to see clearly that the person in front of him is a suffering human being. He would care for him and love him, even if that person was burning a cross, oppressing women, abusing children, or had an explosive device and was threatening to detonate it.



The Buddha Way is not for everyone. This much is clear.



Be well.

3 comments:

  1. May we learn to respect everyone...

    I didn't there is a Buddhist Channel...

    In Gasho...

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  2. While I was living in the ghettos of Brooklyn doing social work in the early 70's their were many "Black Muslims" living there. I wondered into a small restaurant one day and almost was not served because it was run by Black Muslims. I knew very little of Islam, so I decided to do something about it.
    I went to Manhattan to purchase a Koran. The first place I went to was a temple. I met with one of the senior leaders and he told me I was trying to "climb in through the window" to understand Islam. That I must must live the Islamic life for years before I could understand it. He would not sell me a copy of the Koran.
    Then I went to a small residence and a little old lady answered the door and invited me in. The house smelled of the strangest cooking of herbs I have ever smelled. She asked me sit down and tell me what I wanted. I told her I was living in the ghetto doing social work and wanted to understand Islam. I thought getting a Koran and reading it would help. She sold me a copy.
    I then began to study it. Most of the Koran is beautiful and filled with loving and peaceful language. I was reminded of the Old Testament Bible. Some of the parts are very negative against "outsiders". This is also true with the Koran. But, I started praying as was suggested in the Koran, and got a deep feeling of the reason why it is such a powerful and popular religion.

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