Woeser, Yogobama, and the Oprahism of Spritual Practice October 6, 2008
Posted by Philip Ryan in : General , trackbackDanny Fisher tells us new poems by Tibetan writer and activist Woeser are available. Almost unbelievably, Woeser bravely lives and writes in Beijing, beneath the unsleeping eyes of the government.
You’ve seen Obamabuddha (probably) — now how about Yogobama?
And Dogo Barry Graham warns us against practicing Zen without a teacher, in the context of a certain very popular book. His post begins:
Dogen says there is no point in trying to practice Zen without a teacher. Dilettantes and hobbyists do not like to hear this, but it is true. Reading a few books and sitting on a zafu does not constitute a Zen practice. You can have a solo meditation practice, and that is not a bad thing, but do not mistake it for Zen. Do not mistake it for the Buddha Dharma.
Practicing meditation by yourself, you may well achieve some taste of awakening - but without the support of a teacher and a sangha, that experience is useless, and may even be harmful.
Read the rest here. (The last part of the title of this post is stolen borrowed from a commentor on Dogo’s post.)
Comments»
Not having a Zen practice, I cannot disagree with the comment about not mistaking meditation for the Buddha Dharma. Certainly, the guidance of a good teacher and the support of a Sangha are very important to one in their journey towards enlightenment.
However, I do believe that it is not necessary to be in a Sangha or have a teacher to receive some benefit of meditation. There are many resources, both in print and on the web, which can be quite helpful as one learns meditation, and as one learns about the Buddha and Dharma.
You write:
“And Dogo Barry Graham warns us against practicing Zen without a teacher…”
The irony of this would be funnier if it was not so pathetic.
As I point out at length on another post, and as scores of his former students, colleagues, and the one teacher Graham’s had who’s proven to exist, all assert Graham is a likely a complete fraud who never studied with anyone before declaring himself a master. Now he runs a center and even dares to ordain monks as a 43 year old “Zen master”, with no lineage, no verification of his qualifications or ordination, and not ONE affiliation with a larger organization or system of peers, who could vouch for and check him, as well as provide support to members in case of abuses - as some ‘members’ have quickly found out when they went looking.