What are we afraid of?

With palms together,

Lately I've had some dialogue with my friend Randy Harris, who leads our local "Great Conversation" on the topic of free speech v. hate speech. It seems to me it all boils down to the question, "do you feel safe?" In fact, many universities are now touting they are "safe" zones and, as a result, disallow speech that is "offensive" or "hurtful." 

Frankly, I think this is a grave mistake, especially in an institution of higher learning. It is a dangerous path to take as it disallows alternative views so that we do not get to hear what our adversaries may be thinking or doing. Moreover, I believe it is an assault on the First Amendment. And for what? To protect our feelings? Are our feelings so important that we take away a speaker's right to speak?

No. They are not. Our feelings are subjective, they are ours; deal with them.

Because they are subjective, the litmus test to remove a speaker, professor, or student, must also be. As we all know (I hope) all of us respond differently to perceptions. and all of us perceive differently. Since this is so, there simply cannot be an objective test regards so-called "hate speech." 

When we do respond to speech that is hurtful or offensive, it ought not be related to our feelings being hurt, but rather to any threat that might be contained within it. Being vulnerable is a part of adult life. Adults don't cry to their mothers that their feelings were hurt. They make themselves stronger though directly dealing with the situation.

The Dharma

With palms together,
Good Evening All,

The Dharma is incomparably profound and minutely subtle. It is rarely encountered in hundreds of millions of kalpas. We can now see it and hold it. May we understand the Tathagata's true meaning.

Lofty words signifying nothing.  The dharma is reality and reality is empty, which is to say, it is constantly changing, but more, it is perceived differently by each and every one of us. So what's so profound?  What's so subtle? Have we rarely encountered it?

I believe we each encounter the dharma on a moment to moment basis. The universe lays itself before us in each breath.  Do we breathe? It spreads itself out as we walk, do we walk?   It is as open as the sky, do we see it?

Some of us answer yes, some no.  Most of us are far too busy (we believe) to encounter it at any time, let alone when asked to.   Yet, there it is, the dharma.  What we don't do is see it and hold it, nor do we attempt to grasp its true meaning.

The Tathagata, meaning "one who thus came" is just another word for Buddha.  What is his true meaning?  I mean the meaning of the life that he lived and the teachings he brought into the world through his body, mind, and speech?  Funny, in my view his teachings aren't "the dharma," but rather a reflection of it.  Just as mindfulness practice is not mindfulness. When I see reality directly, that is dharma, when I later speak of it or write about it, that is not dharma, but my recollection of it.

True dharma, then, is only that which we directly experience.  It is why zen teachers ask students not to read so much.

May we each put down our books and sit quietly inside or outside.  May we each breathe in the universe and exhale ourselves.  May our minds and bodies fall away.  May we experience.

Be well