Response:
“Navel-gazing.” “Go with the flow.”
“Blissed out.” “New age.”
The phrase “Zen-like” has become commonplace in advertising and popular
journalism. The vow to compassionate action, which is at the heart of
Zen, and the discipline and steadfastness involved in this spiritual
path are often overlooked.
Another misconception is that all Buddhists are
alike. Many people do not know that Buddhism has branches and
denominations and as much variety as Christianity. A Southern Baptist
from Georgia, Coptic Christian in Cairo, Roman Catholic from Spain and
member of Crystal Cathedral will all express their interpretations of
Christianity quite differently. A Buddhist monk at the Jade Temple in
Shanghai, a Theravadan practitioner in the caves of Thailand, a Tibetan
monk, a Pure Land Buddhist in Japan, and a Zen practitioner in Orange
County will not see their Buddhist practice the same way. To give one
example, in Zen we do not worship the Buddha or call on him to intervene
in our lives. We regard him as an awakened person, an example and guide
in our own attempts to be aware.
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At the Zen Center we choose not
to wear clothes that stand out or to call attention to ourselves because
we don’t feel this is especially helpful or meaningful. In similar
fashion, the majority of Roman Catholic sisters in the 60’s replaced
their religious habits (and veils), derived from the lay clothing of
medieval Europe, with the ordinary clothes of our day and culture. This
was a part of a much more important shift in awareness: that the sacred
is found within daily life, rather than in some otherworld or foregone
time. Many of the sisters I know felt that these clothes implied that
they wanted special treatment, that they were perhaps superior to
others, and that it did little to promote Christian values (despite
contrary views that distinctive dress provides an important “witness”).
In Buddhism, the robe and kesa (cloth worn over
one shoulder) are the distinguishing garb worn around the world.
Sometimes the shoulder is bare (for example, in Tibet) and sometimes it
is not (in Japan). We prefer that Zen practitioners quietly live their
practice without calling attention to themselves by apparel or
extraneous signs.
- Rev. Dr. Deborah Barrett |