Unfortunately this is why I have decided to leave my Sangh of 3 years. I tried some other Zen centers/Sanghas but this political mix with Buddhism is everywhere sadly. I can sit alone and I'd rather do that then be involved with that type of stuff. I have been going to Tibetan sangha a few times and I asked the teacher (Tibetan Lama) on the first day about politics and he said "I have no interest in politics, I teach the Dharma" which is encouraging.
I have a book by thich nhat hanh where he flat out says activism is one of the most important parts of Buddhist practice for him. Or something to that effect. He was influential so maybe that's where people got the idea from.
I’m going to roll out the opening verses of the “Faith in Mind” by the Third Patriarch of Chan once again, just to show that it’s not just the philosophy, but the practice as well: "The Supreme Way is not difficult If only you do not pick and choose. Neither love nor hate, And you will clearly understand. Be off by a hair, And you are as far apart as heaven from earth. If you want it to appear, Be neither for nor against. For and against opposing each other -- This is the mind's disease. Without recognizing the mysterious principle It is useless to practice quietude. The Way is perfect like great space, Without lack, without excess. Because of grasping and rejecting, You cannot attain it. Do not pursue conditioned existence; Do not abide in acceptance of emptiness. In oneness and equality, Confusion vanishes of itself. … " - Translation by Master Sheng Yen.
@@skyjuke2006 Yes, this is some of the most useful guidance there is. The basic idea is to shift one’s awareness out of what most Buddhist refer to as the discriminating-mind. You should also adopt a method for achieving that. Within the Soto Zen school, Shikantaza is the most often recommended method. It involves ‘just sitting’: Focusing your awareness on your entire body moment-by-moment, sitting upright with a bright, clear mind. But when you start sitting stray thoughts and trains-of-thought will come up in your mind, so: First, practice letting go of trains-of-thought as soon as you can. Then start letting go of individual thoughts by following Dogen's Koroku Fukan zazen gi: “… Whenever a thought occurs, be aware of it; as soon as you are aware of it, it will vanish. If you remain for a long period forgetful of objects, you will naturally become unified.” After a while you will be able to watch thoughts arise and fade-away without being attached (aware) of the content of those thoughts. This is a strong practice. Continue practicing until you can sense the subtle enthusiasm (desire) for the next thought to arise. Then let that subtle enthusiasm for the next thought drop away. At that point, your awareness will focus entirely on the perception that occurs ‘just sitting.”
I strongly agree. I really just wanted to comment in order to compliment the most in-depth and oddly specific Scooby Doo metaphor that I have ever had the privilege to witness. That, sir, was impressive, and why I am subscribing. I like zen, too.
Bernie Glassman was Jeff Bridges teacher! Brad, glad you talk about some of this stuff! It’s nice to hear a voice of reason and a mind not leaning “left or right” especially in today’s politically charged atmosphere… Thanks man!
Agree for the most part, except there really aren't many public gathering places left. I'm in a choir that just lost their rehearsal space (restaurant closed due to pandemic slowdown), and the only place we've been able to find is a church daycare room. Local elections are held within a church lobby because no other places. Rent is astronomical, and most places of business definitely will not host any kind of political event unless you're super rich.
If you are sincere in your practice, you will start to uproot the three unwholesome roots of greed hatred and delusion. All the injustices activists strive to overcome are the result of the three unwholesome roots. The risk of activism is that it can be (not always) be motivated by, or become a fertile field for, the three unwholesome roots. So purify your mind first, then act.
As far as the karate and Scooby Doo metaphor goes I actually heard that a similar thing sort of happend with Aikido in the past.The person who founded Aikido happend to be a very spiritual and was also involved with a certain sect of Shinto in Japan and when he created Aikido he sort of choose to teach martial arts while at the same time using his dojo as a platform to get up and to preach sermons because he sort of thought that getting up and preaching was important however there was also a lot of people who went to the founder of Aikido for the purpose of learning self defense and many of those people actually got kind of frustrated and they pretty much decided to either leave or to just skip the days on which the guy who founded Aikido typically decided to preach his sermons in class.
The founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, was also a radical Shinto ultra-nationalist who advocated for global Japanese ("benevolent") dictatorship and hung out and schemed with military officers, domestic terrorists and war criminals. He was also fervently religious man who probably truly believed in the divinity of the emperor, studied Kojiki as a cosmological scripture and practiced spirit possession on a regular basis.
In America, we have something called the American civil religion. Old-school American civil religion is where we believe America, its Constitution, the democratic system, the democratic process, the Bill of Rights, etc. are all sacred and God-ordained, in one way or another, and that we should sacrifice to keep them alive because they are The Best. America is the greatest country on earth and will last Forever!!! This was a popular perspective during the Cold War, but it has existed since long before then, perhaps in a similar form since the decades after the Civil War. I think we can agree that the American civil religion does not really comport with the principles of Buddhism. Christianity (and now, other religions) have, by and large, always been a servant to the American civil religion here. If you read the history of the Civil War you will see how churches separated based on support for slavery. Today's American civil religion has diverged into two major schools, the progressive and the right-wing populist schools. You all know which is which. Neither really believes in the old-school American civil religion anymore, though they think they do and that theirs is the true one, and the other one is false. Most American Buddhists, rather than eschewing American civil religion, naturally believe they need to promote their form of American civil religion (almost always progressivism) because it is the Morally Right Thing to Do and Buddhists are Good People. I think you can liken American Buddhists' affinity for the American civil religion to East Asian Buddhists' continued affinity for Confucian principles after Buddhism was transmitted to East Asia. The American civil religion is America's equivalent of Confucianism.
The preoccupation with activist “politics” these days is utterly fascinating. I’ve seen mini-lectures on juggling and rock climbing channels on TH-cam in the last few days that criticised my ethnicity and gender explicitly. It’s so bizarre. Is there nowhere to take a break from it?
It's a sign of the times. "Woke" activism started in the 1920s, because black people realized that they needed to "stay woke" to stay engaged in the struggle to change the system instead of giving up, otherwise the system would (and did) turn on them. Many people believe the current times are unlivable, just like the 1920s were pretty damn unlivable for black people, and that "staying woke" is the only way to keep engaged instead of giving up. Put another way, "taking a break from it" is not a luxury everyone can afford. Staying woke for black people in creating a movement that lead to the Civil Rights Act. I guess the current crop of woke is looking to pull off something similar.
@@dukebanerjee4710 LOL that is ridiculous. These woke activists are mostly highly privileged white people who have nothing to complain about; they're just looking for something to make themselves feel holier and more powerful than the rest of us. It's a pathology of the elite, for the most part, who seem to be trying to make life unlivable for the rest of us. Your analogy couldn't be further from the truth.
@@black_eagle It's funny, that's exactly what other white people said about the white people who were fighting alongside black people during the Civil Rights movement. Malcolm X even called them white liberal interlopers, compelled to "infantalize" black people to make themselves feel more "righteous". Today, we would call them allies, which is what MLK realized. There are very real problems today with racism, gender inequality, LGBT+ inequality and wealth inequality. These "privileged people" feel scared, angry and helpless about how things are going, and want to do something about it. A true Buddhist response would be to understand where they are coming from (aka compassion and empathy), instead of complaining that they have nothing to complain about because these issues might not affect them *personally* in their material lives.
One problem with activism in Zen centers/Zen groups is that it possibly alienates certain people that would have otherwise decided that they wanted to go there or to have a space to meditate.I personally feel that Zen is sort simply about just sitting down calming the mind and then waiting and seeing what happens as a result of that as opposed to either you trying to force it anywhere or to you trying to force anybody else's mind into any direction and trying to be an activist or somebody who deliberately and forcefully tries to push somebody's else mind towards a specific direction or ideology seems a little bit contradictory to Zen.
I agree! As I wrote to another commenter: I try not to assume anyone's politics. Someone once asked me, "Well what if there was a white supremacist attending your Zen center?" I said that I'd probably never know because all we do is sit zazen together and then talk about Buddhism. I doubt it would ever come up! But secretly I would hope that if someone like that did show up and if such a person kept on coming, gradually aspects of the teaching would seep in and they'd drop their white supremacist attitudes without ever being confronted directly about them.
@@HardcoreZen Yes having opinions and beliefs are a perfectly normal and human thing whether they be liberal or conservative but I personally think that worrying too much or getting bent out of shape about something as superficial and surface level as somebodies skin color is quite silly and I definitely do not condone white supremacy however with that being said Buddhist Sanghas or Zen centers doesn't seem to attract such people but yet again like you sort of said if they were present you would probably never know 100% for certain.But with that being said I personally feel that worrying about the things that you do and about things happening in your community and small facet of the world in my opinion is the easiest most practical and most realistic way to change and to effect what is happening in the world at large.
I’m trying to grasp your point here, it’s so hard in this day and age to not hear “keep politics out of X” as someone who is upset that their often reactionary point of view is not represented. I’ve seen sanghas participate in pride matches etc and I think this is great a lot of people coming to Buddhism in the west are coming from reactionary political institutions. I also don’t really see how practicing and studying doyen while engaging in the act of “saving all beings” through activism some may seem “politics” are mutually exclusive
Appreciate your concern, especially about diluting zen practice with activism, but this whole thing of separating "true" zen training with how we interact with the actual world we live in, is suspect. If we are on the cusp of a big fascist movement and it can be averted with some activisim, I can see bodhisattva actions being needed. The precepts are all about this it seems to me. So I see BLM activism and anti-fascist actions etc being the work of a bodhisattva today. But I do really feel the agression piece your last video talked about too, and that's a concern too. (love your music on this video!) Any thoughts on how activism intersects with the precepts (and the spirit of the precepts)?
Strong metaphor! ❤ But, aren’t you being an anti-activist activist? Seriously, I agree with you, and also think that many Zen centers have to “get butts in seats” and so end up straying off course simply to be able to exist. Personally I’m more in tune with teachers who are all about practice and study, like Okumura Roshi here in the US and Muho in Japan.
"Zen centers have to “get butts in seats” and so end up straying off course simply to be able to exist." As if the temple were a movie theater...that needs to show more sex and violence just to exist.
@@Teller3448 Not what I was saying … don’t appreciate you putting words in my mouth. Any temple or center needs people to participate and financial support. And, sadly, this means compromise. You are aware of how the world works, right? 🤣
Thanks for making this video - it does clarify where you're coming from a lot better. However, it still doesn't address how with practice, why one may inevtably feel called to activism as an extension of bodhisattva practice, and how this could be addressed within a sangha
I’m currently reading the book: “Old Path White Clouds”, The life story of the Buddha by Thich Nhat Hanh. Based Sources: Pali, Sanskrit and Chinese. According to this remarkable good biography of the Buddha he was active when he had to be active.
I made a possibly insulting comment in the last video comparing "ethnic" Buddhism to "white" Buddhism, trying to make a point in a terrible way. But, when you say that a zendo should be a "sacred space", as an "ethnic" Hindu, I can't help but observe how we "ethnic" Hindus view our temples compared to those (perhaps of the "white" persuasion) who see them as a "sacred place" to develop Hindu spiritual practice. When I see white guys take Hindu spiritual practice so seriously, I feel like man what a crappy Hindu am I, lol. Maybe there's a difference in perspective here about what Hind (or Buddhist) temple is. In one sense it is a place of serious study and practice. In another sense, as a Bengali, the Bengali temple is the only place I can hang out with other Bengali Hindus (separate from Bengali Muslims, who are culturally similar but also very different). The black church is similar. It isn't just a church, but an institution that a vessel of black culture. We might be witnessing Western Buddhism transforming from a practice to a culture of its own, in which case, like the Hindu temple, Zendos might end up looking a lot more like cultural centers.
That's an interesting perspective. The early version of what became the San Francisco Zen Center was an ethnic temple attended mainly by people of Japanese descent. Shunryu Suzuki was apparently a bit frustrated because most these folks didn't really like to practice zazen. He was pleased when some non-Japanese folks started coming around to practice with him. Eventually, the non-Japanese started to outnumber the Japanese and the atmosphere of the place as a space for Japanese folks to hang out got spoiled. Which is unfortunate in some ways. But, then again, if you think of the temple as a space for Zen practice, maybe not so unfortunate in other ways. But, yeah, changes happen. Maybe that's unavoidable.
@@HardcoreZen Here's a funny story that you might relate to, since you seem to have a passing acquaintance with ISKCON. Srila Prabhupada came to the United States in the 1960s and somehow found a bunch of white hippies to practice Krishna Consciousness with him (including, for some bizarre reason, George Harrison). By the 1970s and 1980s, after a bunch of scandals, the movement began to die off, with only a few of the real dedicated devotees remaining. But around that same time, Indians started immigrating to the United States, and they found the previously established ISKCON temples, which became convenient community centers for the early Indian immigrants. Slowly, the Indians began to outnumber the original white devotees. However, Srila Prabhupada created a real organization with actual spiritual training principles and a teaching mission, so ironically these white Hindus became spiritual teachers to Indian Hindus, and got a bunch of Indian Hindus to mediate who just wanted a place to hang out. Changes happen, but you can never know how things pan out at the end. Like the old Buddhist story goes, "Good, bad, who knows?"
Bernie Glassman is the name you forgot. You presented a grade school level of understanding of his teaching. Not Knowing - is exactly as you think is Buddhism is... Not creating a self - not carrying a self forward to create the world!- not carrying forward even a tiny percentage of the created 'self' - Just This!! Then one is able to Bear Witness - which is no-self seeing no-self and Action that Arises from not knowing and bearing witness- because it happens naturally --- like the left hand putting out the fire on the right hand without thinking --- "gee, I might hurt myself if I try to help" or "gee, look what a good Buddhist I am, That is NOT Bernie Glassman's teachings that you describe. I agree with you about the confusion and feel your frustration. I am just a dharma holder of one of Bernie's successors so don't take my word for it. Read Glassman's books and my teacher's new book! "Opening to Oneness" by Nancy Mujo Baker
Oh, wow -- You've got the Shohaku Okumura translation of Zuimonki. That one was expensive! Incidentally, you gotta love 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo if like Vincent Price.
I actually haven't started on 13 Ghosts. I got it at a thrift store because my nephew said it's good. But when I got it home I discovered it's missing disc #1!. It looks like that series isn't available on streaming so I gotta hunt down another copy of the DVD.
I certainly understand the point you are making about activism and Buddhism, and I have not read Shobogenzo, however, I did take the vows to become a lay Zen Buddhist and one was to be a bodhisattva, to live for the benefit of all beings. I took that vow seriously. I do a great deal of charity work/activism which I value and feel that I am living up to my vow. gassho
Another great talk Brad -- again, Zen should just be Zen; activism should just be activism. The two may intersect in life, as they are a part of life, but they are still each their own.
This video explained what you're saying, at least to me, more clearly than your previous video. The Abbott of the temple closest to me is a martial arts instructor, jazz musician, and professor at the University of Toledo. This would be as if I went this coming Sunday expecting a Dharma talk on the death of the historical Buddha, but instead hearing a talk on jazz music theory, martial arts takedowns, or a sales pitch for the U of T. He occasionally posts videos about martial arts or jazz music but always on his personal channel, never the Temple channel .
Thank you Brad. Your analogy really clarifies and supports your point. While there may be as many Buddhisms as there are Buddhists, the sanctity of the zendo indeed deserves at least as much respect as the dojo. I sympathise with the motivation for activism, as you articulate, it is often inspired by a moral imperative. But that doesn’t make it appropriate to blur boundaries in the way you describe.
In the essay Kannon, which appears in Book Two of the Nishijima/Cross translation of Shobogenzo. It is essay number 33. I also paraphrased it in my book It Came From Beyond Zen as The Thousand eyes of Compassion.
Analogy makes no sense. Karate and Scooby Doo have nothing to do with each other. Zen is about everyday function and purpose, which is why we have vows and precepts. It takes some nuance and you can't just be an asshole in the name of virtue, but that doesn't mean you should throw the whole thing out, Brad.
Buddhism is activism on suffering. If you see a man who is shot with an arrow, do you stop to analyze the arrow, the trajectory of the shot and how far the shooter was? If I meditate regularly and become more aware of the suffering homeless woman on the street, what am I to do? If there is a law making it illegal to feed her, what am I to do? Isn't the suffering of the world what led the Buddha leave the world to find an answer for it?Also wasn't Buddha against the caste system in India? And isn't Buddhism a protest against the way life is usually lived? It adopts meditation to end suffering of the mind, the noble 8 fold path are practices that are counter culture, even the practice of accepting donations for their food forces people to practice generosity. I take problem with your suggestion that zen centers should go through all the exhaustive teachings of Dogen first before any type of action should be taken is kind of like analyzing the arrow for like two hours before pulling it out. And it can lead to a spiritual elitism apathetic and unresponsive to the suffering of the world. What's the point of being enlightened if you never help anyone with it? Which is why the Buddha chose to teach rather than just stay in his enlightenment. He saw the suffering of the world and acted. It seems like the Zen center is doing it's work in the world, just like cleaning, washing dishes and putting things away they are cleaning the dirt of suffering in the world then returning back to their practice.
So much of Buddhism is realizing that things are impermanent , not self/controlable, and duhkha. Activism involves a great amount of want, directed towards things that are totally beyond your control, and carries the belief that achieving what you want will bring happiness. It's really the opposite of everything the Buddha taught. I couldnt agree more that activism should remain "extracurricular" and official time should be used for the study of the dharma.
I think this video does a better job of conveying Brad's concern. I've never seen a Zen center forget itself in pursuit of some cause, but I suppose it could happen. In fact, I think we've seen something like this in the relationship between Christianity and right-wing politics in the U.S. In my view, anyway, some of these Christian churches are so contaminated by right-wing politics that they are functionally a bigoted, fascist cult. While such churches are not (yet) a majority, they are so loud and public that they tarnish all of Christianity in the eyes of many looking for a religious home. Buddhism should be careful to not make the same mistake. But Brad's analogy, while helpful in some respects, fails in one critical respect: While there is no association (that I know of) between karate and Scooby Doo, there is, as many here have noted, a real association between Buddhism and activism through the Bodhisattva ideal. Thus, I think Brad is right to warn that Buddhism not ally itself with one or another political party or to allow a political party to reshape the philosophical content of Buddhism for the party's benefit. But compassionate activism, even if naturally aligned with the agenda of one political party or another, isn't a danger and shouldn't be discouraged. To do so, holds Buddhism hostage to politics in a way that neuters the Boddhisattva in all of us.
"some of these Christian churches are so contaminated by right-wing politics that they are functionally a bigoted, fascist cult." But what are these churches WRONG about...specifically???
@@Teller3448 Theologically, a host of things, including militarism and white supremacy. But the point holds whether these churches are right or wrong in some sense; they're unpopular and, thus, are in ongoing decline in the U.S. and across the Western world. Buddhism should aspire to a better, more stable footing than politics.
@@BoulderHikerBoy By 'militarism' do you mean the churches believe the government should have a military? I dont know how 'white supremacism' would operate in Christian theology...seeing as everyone in the Bible is Semitic. I remember reading about a fringe theory called 'Christian Identity' which holds that Eve mated with the serpent in the Garden of Eden and thus gave birth to the Hebrew race. But who takes that seriously among the mainstream churches?
@@Teller3448 By militarism, I mean a casual embrace of violence, including military violence. I don't think militarism or white supremacy is Biblically rooted so I can't explain or defend it; in fact, my point is that this distortion of theology is often what happens when religion and politics become bedfellows. Nor do I claim that these are "mainstream" churches; but they are loud enough that they tarnish the entire religion in the eyes of many. I think Brad is absolutely correct to warn of that danger, but I don't think activism, per se, is the concern. Buddhism isn't activism, but activism is part of Buddhism even if the form of activism one engages in is the teaching of Buddhist ideas through a TH-cam channel. Other forms could be feeding the homeless, working at a hospice, or fighting for protection of the environment. Plum Village shows that this sort of activism need not corrupt the religion. No one can credibly claim that Plum Village, as closely associated as it is with activism, is all Scooby Doo and no karate. They are a philosophically rigorous Zen community with books and online teachings galore that also cultivates and supports activism among their practitioners. Moreover, activism is often a great way to directly experience non-self, so it can directly contribute to spiritual growth on the Buddhist path.
@@BoulderHikerBoy Well said...but one more question if you can spare the patience. What is it that directly experiences non-self??? If you take twenty dollars out of your pocket and give it to someone who needs it badly. Aren't you just transferring twenty dollars from one self to another self?
Buddhism as a cultural form was always impacted by the fashions of the social environment. I strongly belive that the Root of the Buddha can not be touched or formed or corrupted anyway. However if based on woke ideas zen centers exclude people of any kind or they push this ideology on practitioners mind, that is not the Way. It is just shameful. Any ideology sucks sooner or later. Thats why zazen can be a refuge for many people who want to seek something beyond fashionable thoughts and to return to the source of our True nature.
I can understand what brad means, since the Zen practice is pretty one-pointed and rigorous - sometimes people take the simplicity of zen wrong, and don't reallize that this simplicity demands full attention and devotion, but I don't know about focusing uniquely on what we would call "zen stuff". Can we define zen? Studying is not the case here, I think it's really important to go through Shobogenzo and other teachings but relying uniquely on a intelectual or style oriented thing seems a bit tricky to me. We should be aware of our surroundings: while whe shouldn't take activism for buddhism we should be open to the possibility that the Dharma may show up in a gesture of compassion from other "sources", and this can well be in the group of activists next door.
I find it peculiar the the "woke" activists seem to be hateful and mean spirited. To me it was a big tell not to folow the movement, it's a cult of anger.
I cant imagine a more inclusive place then a dojo... if you harmonize with the sangha practice, you are welcome! So a zen dojo is the "wokest" place ever 😄
Quasi-religion infiltrating religion proper. It's essential to empty your teacup from whatever is inside before getting some tea at tea ceremony. Maybe wash it too...
If it helps people get into it, then it's beneficial. Can be taken too far for sure, but having heard the lived experiences of African Americans who feel intimidated by all white and/or Asian centers, I support it as an entry point and hope it sparks further interest and sincere practice.
When I brought this issue up with my teacher a few years ago, it had to do with Trump at the time. She said I wasn't the only one who felt this way. I think they're trying to appeal to the people who were freaked out by Trumps win. It's all about putting butts on the cushions.
Yeah. That's a big problem too. I try not to assume anyone's politics. Someone once asked me, "Well what if there was a white supremacist attending your Zen center?" I said that I'd probably never know because all we do is sit zazen together and then talk about Buddhism. I doubt it would ever come up! But secretly I would hope that if someone like that did show up and if such a person kept on coming, gradually aspects of the teaching would seep in and they'd drop their white supremacist attitudes without ever being confronted directly about them.
Well, it's not enough to just not be a racist asshole Jon, you have to be a loud anti-racist asshole with these folks. Apply that to everything else they infect every aspect of their lives (and the lives of those around them) with.
Pretty sure another youtuber back in the day said real Buddhists didn’t vote for trump. Love the video Brad. The willingness of centers to endorse specific political stances/parties has been a real turn off for me and prevented me from going to my local center.
Your metaphor doesn't seem valid, because karate, Scooby Doo and BLM don't have anything to do with each other. But we can work the martial arts metaphor. Consider Aikido. Aikido has a lot of material to learn. The techniques are very complex because the philosophy of Aikido is not to obliterate your opponent, but to gracefully redirect attacks to deescalate. An Aikido dojo is a place to master this art. But, let's say you have some students who think that Aikido isn't really as effective as it could be for self-defense. Maybe they want to mix in some grappling techniques or striking techniques, because MMA channels have been pushing the idea that's what's effective on the street. If this is indulged, the Aikido dojo isn't really dedicated to Aikido anymore, but is turning into an MMA gym. Worse, an Aikido organization thinks this is a good idea, and Aikido/MMA starts proliferating. A serious Aikido practitioner might take offense at this, because you're not doing real Aikido anymore and going against the philosophy of Morihei Ueshiba. Instead, you have people who think they are Bruce Lee (a Wing Chung guy) who taught that being a "complete" fighter meant letting go of the "traditional forms" after they outlive their usefulness. At the end of the day, people choose where they practice martial arts based on the "culture". Some people are hardcore traditionalists and want a hardcore traditional dojo. Some people see martial arts as a way to fight, and aren't afraid of "extracurriculars". The dojo is as "sacred" a space as its members want it to be, and there's a dojo for everyone.
"But we can work the martial arts metaphor. Consider Aikido." Your metaphor has already happened within Aikido. The founder of the art stressed that striking (atemi) was an essential part of its effectiveness...just as activism is an essential part of the Mahayana. But over time, the striking has been dropped from many Aikido schools in favor of arm-locking and throwing take downs. Imagine if there was an Aikido school that only practiced striking. This would be like a Buddhist temple that only practiced activism. The Scooby-do analogy is...WAY off the mark.
Considering that in his private life Ueshiba was a borderline Fascist, it's kind of difficult to draw the line on what his "philosophy" really was. Also, what Ueshiba _himself_ did technically was not to "receive and redirect" but more like "unite the two ki's of the Heaven and the Earth by standing on the Floating Bridge of Heaven": to obliterate any incoming force with co-axial spiral forces twisting through the body.
@@Veepee92 I dont think anyone of Ueshiba's generation in Japan even knew what representative democracy was. His philosophy is a difficult question because he didnt write books...but his cult leader did write volumes. It all there online. Aikido techniques are largely an attempt to neutralize arm attacks and weapon attacks with complex rotating footwork. The trouble is...feet move a lot slower than hands. You can see the results in competitive Tomiki Aikido.
The issue isn't lay vs. monastic. It's that we have something that is VERY important to our culture in America, at least, called the American civil religion. This is as important to us as Confucianism is in East Asia. Just as Confucianism didn't go away when Buddhism was introduced in East Asia, the American civil religion will have a hard time going away even if Buddhism becomes dominant here.
For someone who sees early Buddhism as too rigid in it's definition of what Buddhism is you seem awfully interested in defining what Buddhism is or not. I do happen to agree with you I just see it as unimportant
No. That's pretty much it. What's funny (to me anyway) is I do this kind of thing from time to time. I only got into Scooby Doo fairly recently -- like within the past year or so. But I got really into it! I had to dig into the whole history of the show. I mean, I'd watched Scooby Doo on and off since I was a little kid, but I never really dug into it before about a year ago.
I'd like to hear some names. Who are the leaders and masterminds of this woke, activist Buddhism in America? Just curious to see if my theory is correct, based on the names. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, it's the same demographic that has introduced so many other radical ideologies into the world, all based on an aggressive "world-fixing" metaphysics, activist politics and moralistic philosophy. Examples: Christianity, Marxism, Objectivism, Neoconservatism, Satanism (Satanic Temple), Wokeism. The main issue is their inverted metaphysics: this group believes spirit must be materialized, that heaven must be built on earth, that works matter more than faith--contrary to just about every other religion in the world--and they retain this belief no matter what ideology they invent or adopt. I know how this probably sounds to many of you, but it may be the critical insight that will provide the missing piece to the puzzle of woke American Buddhism.
i think the idea of heaven on earth can be a very motivating philosophy if thats what you meant, but i wouldnt be surprised if utopianism is used to push extremist ideologies
"Heaven on earth" is where they all go wrong. You can't build a utopia around inherently flawed human beings without a micromanaging authoritarianism to enforce the ideology you want. Uptopia, in short, will always end in dystopia.
Unfortunately this is why I have decided to leave my Sangh of 3 years. I tried some other Zen centers/Sanghas but this political mix with Buddhism is everywhere sadly. I can sit alone and I'd rather do that then be involved with that type of stuff. I have been going to Tibetan sangha a few times and I asked the teacher (Tibetan Lama) on the first day about politics and he said "I have no interest in politics, I teach the Dharma" which is encouraging.
I have a book by thich nhat hanh where he flat out says activism is one of the most important parts of Buddhist practice for him. Or something to that effect. He was influential so maybe that's where people got the idea from.
He also grew up in a very politically turbulent area and time- simply to act justly was seen as a political act. I appreciate his perspective.
I’m going to roll out the opening verses of the “Faith in Mind” by the Third Patriarch of Chan once again, just to show that it’s not just the philosophy, but the practice as well:
"The Supreme Way is not difficult
If only you do not pick and choose.
Neither love nor hate,
And you will clearly understand.
Be off by a hair,
And you are as far apart as heaven from earth.
If you want it to appear,
Be neither for nor against.
For and against opposing each other --
This is the mind's disease.
Without recognizing the mysterious principle
It is useless to practice quietude.
The Way is perfect like great space,
Without lack, without excess.
Because of grasping and rejecting,
You cannot attain it.
Do not pursue conditioned existence;
Do not abide in acceptance of emptiness.
In oneness and equality,
Confusion vanishes of itself.
…
"
- Translation by Master Sheng Yen.
My favorite! Yes, I’m picking and choosing. ❤
Even if one understand the meaning, than how many practice these suggestions?
Are useful?
@@skyjuke2006 Yes, this is some of the most useful guidance there is. The basic idea is to shift one’s awareness out of what most Buddhist refer to as the discriminating-mind. You should also adopt a method for achieving that. Within the Soto Zen school, Shikantaza is the most often recommended method. It involves ‘just sitting’: Focusing your awareness on your entire body moment-by-moment, sitting upright with a bright, clear mind.
But when you start sitting stray thoughts and trains-of-thought will come up in your mind, so:
First, practice letting go of trains-of-thought as soon as you can.
Then start letting go of individual thoughts by following Dogen's Koroku
Fukan zazen gi:
“… Whenever a thought occurs, be aware of it; as soon as you
are aware of it, it will vanish. If you remain for a long period forgetful
of objects, you will naturally become unified.”
After a while you will be able to watch thoughts arise and fade-away without being attached (aware) of the content of those thoughts. This is a strong practice.
Continue practicing until you can sense the subtle enthusiasm (desire) for the next thought to arise. Then let that subtle enthusiasm for the next thought drop away. At that point, your awareness will focus entirely on the perception that occurs ‘just sitting.”
I strongly agree. I really just wanted to comment in order to compliment the most in-depth and oddly specific Scooby Doo metaphor that I have ever had the privilege to witness. That, sir, was impressive, and why I am subscribing. I like zen, too.
Dude. I have fun listening to your take on things. I bet i agree with you 90% of the time. Keep up the good work.
Friend of mine left a very good BJJ school because the instructos was going in deep on the flat earth stuff.
Funny how people can have high levels of skill and still be wackos.
Bernie Glassman was Jeff Bridges teacher! Brad, glad you talk about some of this stuff! It’s nice to hear a voice of reason and a mind not leaning “left or right” especially in today’s politically charged atmosphere…
Thanks man!
Agree for the most part, except there really aren't many public gathering places left. I'm in a choir that just lost their rehearsal space (restaurant closed due to pandemic slowdown), and the only place we've been able to find is a church daycare room. Local elections are held within a church lobby because no other places. Rent is astronomical, and most places of business definitely will not host any kind of political event unless you're super rich.
If you are sincere in your practice, you will start to uproot the three unwholesome roots of greed hatred and delusion. All the injustices activists strive to overcome are the result of the three unwholesome roots. The risk of activism is that it can be (not always) be motivated by, or become a fertile field for, the three unwholesome roots. So purify your mind first, then act.
Your Scooby-doo metaphor is also an apt description of how many Christian denominations in this country has been taken over by wokeism.
As far as the karate and Scooby Doo metaphor goes I actually heard that a similar thing sort of happend with Aikido in the past.The person who founded Aikido happend to be a very spiritual and was also involved with a certain sect of Shinto in Japan and when he created Aikido he sort of choose to teach martial arts while at the same time using his dojo as a platform to get up and to preach sermons because he sort of thought that getting up and preaching was important however there was also a lot of people who went to the founder of Aikido for the purpose of learning self defense and many of those people actually got kind of frustrated and they pretty much decided to either leave or to just skip the days on which the guy who founded Aikido typically decided to preach his sermons in class.
Yes...the founder Ueshiba was a follower of the Ōmoto-kyō (Great Origin) sect of monotheistic Shinto.
The founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, was also a radical Shinto ultra-nationalist who advocated for global Japanese ("benevolent") dictatorship and hung out and schemed with military officers, domestic terrorists and war criminals.
He was also fervently religious man who probably truly believed in the divinity of the emperor, studied Kojiki as a cosmological scripture and practiced spirit possession on a regular basis.
In America, we have something called the American civil religion.
Old-school American civil religion is where we believe America, its Constitution, the democratic system, the democratic process, the Bill of Rights, etc. are all sacred and God-ordained, in one way or another, and that we should sacrifice to keep them alive because they are The Best. America is the greatest country on earth and will last Forever!!! This was a popular perspective during the Cold War, but it has existed since long before then, perhaps in a similar form since the decades after the Civil War.
I think we can agree that the American civil religion does not really comport with the principles of Buddhism.
Christianity (and now, other religions) have, by and large, always been a servant to the American civil religion here. If you read the history of the Civil War you will see how churches separated based on support for slavery.
Today's American civil religion has diverged into two major schools, the progressive and the right-wing populist schools. You all know which is which. Neither really believes in the old-school American civil religion anymore, though they think they do and that theirs is the true one, and the other one is false.
Most American Buddhists, rather than eschewing American civil religion, naturally believe they need to promote their form of American civil religion (almost always progressivism) because it is the Morally Right Thing to Do and Buddhists are Good People.
I think you can liken American Buddhists' affinity for the American civil religion to East Asian Buddhists' continued affinity for Confucian principles after Buddhism was transmitted to East Asia. The American civil religion is America's equivalent of Confucianism.
The preoccupation with activist “politics” these days is utterly fascinating. I’ve seen mini-lectures on juggling and rock climbing channels on TH-cam in the last few days that criticised my ethnicity and gender explicitly. It’s so bizarre. Is there nowhere to take a break from it?
It's a sign of the times. "Woke" activism started in the 1920s, because black people realized that they needed to "stay woke" to stay engaged in the struggle to change the system instead of giving up, otherwise the system would (and did) turn on them. Many people believe the current times are unlivable, just like the 1920s were pretty damn unlivable for black people, and that "staying woke" is the only way to keep engaged instead of giving up. Put another way, "taking a break from it" is not a luxury everyone can afford.
Staying woke for black people in creating a movement that lead to the Civil Rights Act. I guess the current crop of woke is looking to pull off something similar.
@@dukebanerjee4710 LOL that is ridiculous. These woke activists are mostly highly privileged white people who have nothing to complain about; they're just looking for something to make themselves feel holier and more powerful than the rest of us. It's a pathology of the elite, for the most part, who seem to be trying to make life unlivable for the rest of us. Your analogy couldn't be further from the truth.
@@black_eagle It's funny, that's exactly what other white people said about the white people who were fighting alongside black people during the Civil Rights movement. Malcolm X even called them white liberal interlopers, compelled to "infantalize" black people to make themselves feel more "righteous". Today, we would call them allies, which is what MLK realized.
There are very real problems today with racism, gender inequality, LGBT+ inequality and wealth inequality. These "privileged people" feel scared, angry and helpless about how things are going, and want to do something about it. A true Buddhist response would be to understand where they are coming from (aka compassion and empathy), instead of complaining that they have nothing to complain about because these issues might not affect them *personally* in their material lives.
One problem with activism in Zen centers/Zen groups is that it possibly alienates certain people that would have otherwise decided that they wanted to go there or to have a space to meditate.I personally feel that Zen is sort simply about just sitting down calming the mind and then waiting and seeing what happens as a result of that as opposed to either you trying to force it anywhere or to you trying to force anybody else's mind into any direction and trying to be an activist or somebody who deliberately and forcefully tries to push somebody's else mind towards a specific direction or ideology seems a little bit contradictory to Zen.
I agree! As I wrote to another commenter: I try not to assume anyone's politics. Someone once asked me, "Well what if there was a white supremacist attending your Zen center?" I said that I'd probably never know because all we do is sit zazen together and then talk about Buddhism. I doubt it would ever come up! But secretly I would hope that if someone like that did show up and if such a person kept on coming, gradually aspects of the teaching would seep in and they'd drop their white supremacist attitudes without ever being confronted directly about them.
@@HardcoreZen Yes having opinions and beliefs are a perfectly normal and human thing whether they be liberal or conservative but I personally think that worrying too much or getting bent out of shape about something as superficial and surface level as somebodies skin color is quite silly and I definitely do not condone white supremacy however with that being said Buddhist Sanghas or Zen centers doesn't seem to attract such people but yet again like you sort of said if they were present you would probably never know 100% for certain.But with that being said I personally feel that worrying about the things that you do and about things happening in your community and small facet of the world in my opinion is the easiest most practical and most realistic way to change and to effect what is happening in the world at large.
I’m trying to grasp your point here, it’s so hard in this day and age to not hear “keep politics out of X” as someone who is upset that their often reactionary point of view is not represented.
I’ve seen sanghas participate in pride matches etc and I think this is great a lot of people coming to Buddhism in the west are coming from reactionary political institutions. I also don’t really see how practicing and studying doyen while engaging in the act of “saving all beings” through activism some may seem “politics” are mutually exclusive
Appreciate your concern, especially about diluting zen practice with activism, but this whole thing of separating "true" zen training with how we interact with the actual world we live in, is suspect. If we are on the cusp of a big fascist movement and it can be averted with some activisim, I can see bodhisattva actions being needed. The precepts are all about this it seems to me. So I see BLM activism and anti-fascist actions etc being the work of a bodhisattva today. But I do really feel the agression piece your last video talked about too, and that's a concern too. (love your music on this video!) Any thoughts on how activism intersects with the precepts (and the spirit of the precepts)?
Strong metaphor! ❤ But, aren’t you being an anti-activist activist? Seriously, I agree with you, and also think that many Zen centers have to “get butts in seats” and so end up straying off course simply to be able to exist. Personally I’m more in tune with teachers who are all about practice and study, like Okumura Roshi here in the US and Muho in Japan.
"Zen centers have to “get butts in seats” and so end up straying off course simply to be able to exist."
As if the temple were a movie theater...that needs to show more sex and violence just to exist.
@@Teller3448 Not what I was saying … don’t appreciate you putting words in my mouth. Any temple or center needs people to participate and financial support. And, sadly, this means compromise. You are aware of how the world works, right? 🤣
@@dr.jeffreyzacko-smith324
Yes, compromised to the point where its no longer recognizably aligned with the source texts.
Thats how 'your' world works.
Thanks for making this video - it does clarify where you're coming from a lot better. However, it still doesn't address how with practice, why one may inevtably feel called to activism as an extension of bodhisattva practice, and how this could be addressed within a sangha
I’m currently reading the book: “Old Path White Clouds”, The life story of the Buddha by Thich Nhat Hanh. Based Sources: Pali, Sanskrit and Chinese. According to this remarkable good biography of the Buddha he was active when he had to be active.
I made a possibly insulting comment in the last video comparing "ethnic" Buddhism to "white" Buddhism, trying to make a point in a terrible way. But, when you say that a zendo should be a "sacred space", as an "ethnic" Hindu, I can't help but observe how we "ethnic" Hindus view our temples compared to those (perhaps of the "white" persuasion) who see them as a "sacred place" to develop Hindu spiritual practice. When I see white guys take Hindu spiritual practice so seriously, I feel like man what a crappy Hindu am I, lol.
Maybe there's a difference in perspective here about what Hind (or Buddhist) temple is. In one sense it is a place of serious study and practice. In another sense, as a Bengali, the Bengali temple is the only place I can hang out with other Bengali Hindus (separate from Bengali Muslims, who are culturally similar but also very different). The black church is similar. It isn't just a church, but an institution that a vessel of black culture.
We might be witnessing Western Buddhism transforming from a practice to a culture of its own, in which case, like the Hindu temple, Zendos might end up looking a lot more like cultural centers.
That's an interesting perspective. The early version of what became the San Francisco Zen Center was an ethnic temple attended mainly by people of Japanese descent. Shunryu Suzuki was apparently a bit frustrated because most these folks didn't really like to practice zazen. He was pleased when some non-Japanese folks started coming around to practice with him. Eventually, the non-Japanese started to outnumber the Japanese and the atmosphere of the place as a space for Japanese folks to hang out got spoiled. Which is unfortunate in some ways. But, then again, if you think of the temple as a space for Zen practice, maybe not so unfortunate in other ways.
But, yeah, changes happen. Maybe that's unavoidable.
@@HardcoreZen Here's a funny story that you might relate to, since you seem to have a passing acquaintance with ISKCON. Srila Prabhupada came to the United States in the 1960s and somehow found a bunch of white hippies to practice Krishna Consciousness with him (including, for some bizarre reason, George Harrison). By the 1970s and 1980s, after a bunch of scandals, the movement began to die off, with only a few of the real dedicated devotees remaining.
But around that same time, Indians started immigrating to the United States, and they found the previously established ISKCON temples, which became convenient community centers for the early Indian immigrants. Slowly, the Indians began to outnumber the original white devotees.
However, Srila Prabhupada created a real organization with actual spiritual training principles and a teaching mission, so ironically these white Hindus became spiritual teachers to Indian Hindus, and got a bunch of Indian Hindus to mediate who just wanted a place to hang out.
Changes happen, but you can never know how things pan out at the end. Like the old Buddhist story goes, "Good, bad, who knows?"
Thank you! Now that you fleshed out the explanation I no longer see it as a criticism, but as a comparison.
Bernie Glassman is the name you forgot.
You presented a grade school level of understanding of his teaching.
Not Knowing - is exactly as you think is Buddhism is... Not creating a self - not carrying a self forward to create the world!- not carrying forward even a tiny percentage of the created 'self' - Just This!!
Then one is able to Bear Witness - which is no-self seeing no-self and
Action that Arises from not knowing and bearing witness- because it happens naturally --- like the left hand putting out the fire on the right hand without thinking --- "gee, I might hurt myself if I try to help" or "gee, look what a good Buddhist I am,
That is NOT Bernie Glassman's teachings that you describe.
I agree with you about the confusion and feel your frustration.
I am just a dharma holder of one of Bernie's successors so don't take my word for it. Read Glassman's books and my teacher's new book! "Opening to Oneness" by Nancy Mujo Baker
I believe the activist Zen Master you were mentioning was Bernie Glassman.
Yeah. I thought of his name as I was editing the video.
Oh, wow -- You've got the Shohaku Okumura translation of Zuimonki. That one was expensive!
Incidentally, you gotta love 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo if like Vincent Price.
I actually haven't started on 13 Ghosts. I got it at a thrift store because my nephew said it's good. But when I got it home I discovered it's missing disc #1!. It looks like that series isn't available on streaming so I gotta hunt down another copy of the DVD.
I certainly understand the point you are making about activism and Buddhism, and I have not read Shobogenzo, however, I did take the vows to become a lay Zen Buddhist and one was to be a bodhisattva, to live for the benefit of all beings. I took that vow seriously. I do a great deal of charity work/activism which I value and feel that I am living up to my vow. gassho
what does "virtue signalling" mean ?
And boy are you proud of it.
Who is the I that is doing all this activism?
@@joshu4780 a woman with an inflated sense of self, if you can believe that
I agree with your perspective, and am a little shocked by some of the kneejerk responses to your understated comment.
Another great talk Brad -- again, Zen should just be Zen; activism should just be activism. The two may intersect in life, as they are a part of life, but they are still each their own.
This video explained what you're saying, at least to me, more clearly than your previous video. The Abbott of the temple closest to me is a martial arts instructor, jazz musician, and professor at the University of Toledo. This would be as if I went this coming Sunday expecting a Dharma talk on the death of the historical Buddha, but instead hearing a talk on jazz music theory, martial arts takedowns, or a sales pitch for the U of T. He occasionally posts videos about martial arts or jazz music but always on his personal channel, never the Temple channel .
Christian churches have the same problem
and then the scooby gang catch the villain. fred pulls off the guy's goofy monster mask. zoinks! it was karl marx all along...
Oh no!
Laughed very, very hard at this.
You're closer to what might be true than you realize lol
'I would have brought about a proletarian international revolution if it wasn't for you pesky kids.'
Thank you Brad. Your analogy really clarifies and supports your point. While there may be as many Buddhisms as there are Buddhists, the sanctity of the zendo indeed deserves at least as much respect as the dojo. I sympathise with the motivation for activism, as you articulate, it is often inspired by a moral imperative. But that doesn’t make it appropriate to blur boundaries in the way you describe.
So to sum up..Brad knows a lot about Scooby Doo...gotcha 👍
Where does dogen say that thing about how practicing compassion should be like reaching for a pillow in the middle of the night?
In the essay Kannon, which appears in Book Two of the Nishijima/Cross translation of Shobogenzo. It is essay number 33. I also paraphrased it in my book It Came From Beyond Zen as The Thousand eyes of Compassion.
@@HardcoreZen thanks so much. I feel like that metaphor really encapsulates zen practice. “Intentionless intent” and “skillful means” and whatnot.
Analogy makes no sense. Karate and Scooby Doo have nothing to do with each other. Zen is about everyday function and purpose, which is why we have vows and precepts. It takes some nuance and you can't just be an asshole in the name of virtue, but that doesn't mean you should throw the whole thing out, Brad.
Buddhism is activism on suffering. If you see a man who is shot with an arrow, do you stop to analyze the arrow, the trajectory of the shot and how far the shooter was? If I meditate regularly and become more aware of the suffering homeless woman on the street, what am I to do? If there is a law making it illegal to feed her, what am I to do? Isn't the suffering of the world what led the Buddha leave the world to find an answer for it?Also wasn't Buddha against the caste system in India? And isn't Buddhism a protest against the way life is usually lived? It adopts meditation to end suffering of the mind, the noble 8 fold path are practices that are counter culture, even the practice of accepting donations for their food forces people to practice generosity. I take problem with your suggestion that zen centers should go through all the exhaustive teachings of Dogen first before any type of action should be taken is kind of like analyzing the arrow for like two hours before pulling it out. And it can lead to a spiritual elitism apathetic and unresponsive to the suffering of the world. What's the point of being enlightened if you never help anyone with it? Which is why the Buddha chose to teach rather than just stay in his enlightenment. He saw the suffering of the world and acted. It seems like the Zen center is doing it's work in the world, just like cleaning, washing dishes and putting things away they are cleaning the dirt of suffering in the world then returning back to their practice.
So much of Buddhism is realizing that things are impermanent , not self/controlable, and duhkha. Activism involves a great amount of want, directed towards things that are totally beyond your control, and carries the belief that achieving what you want will bring happiness. It's really the opposite of everything the Buddha taught. I couldnt agree more that activism should remain "extracurricular" and official time should be used for the study of the dharma.
I think this video does a better job of conveying Brad's concern. I've never seen a Zen center forget itself in pursuit of some cause, but I suppose it could happen. In fact, I think we've seen something like this in the relationship between Christianity and right-wing politics in the U.S. In my view, anyway, some of these Christian churches are so contaminated by right-wing politics that they are functionally a bigoted, fascist cult. While such churches are not (yet) a majority, they are so loud and public that they tarnish all of Christianity in the eyes of many looking for a religious home. Buddhism should be careful to not make the same mistake. But Brad's analogy, while helpful in some respects, fails in one critical respect: While there is no association (that I know of) between karate and Scooby Doo, there is, as many here have noted, a real association between Buddhism and activism through the Bodhisattva ideal. Thus, I think Brad is right to warn that Buddhism not ally itself with one or another political party or to allow a political party to reshape the philosophical content of Buddhism for the party's benefit. But compassionate activism, even if naturally aligned with the agenda of one political party or another, isn't a danger and shouldn't be discouraged. To do so, holds Buddhism hostage to politics in a way that neuters the Boddhisattva in all of us.
"some of these Christian churches are so contaminated by right-wing politics that they are functionally a bigoted, fascist cult."
But what are these churches WRONG about...specifically???
@@Teller3448 Theologically, a host of things, including militarism and white supremacy. But the point holds whether these churches are right or wrong in some sense; they're unpopular and, thus, are in ongoing decline in the U.S. and across the Western world. Buddhism should aspire to a better, more stable footing than politics.
@@BoulderHikerBoy
By 'militarism' do you mean the churches believe the government should have a military?
I dont know how 'white supremacism' would operate in Christian theology...seeing as everyone in the Bible is Semitic.
I remember reading about a fringe theory called 'Christian Identity' which holds that Eve mated with the serpent in the Garden of Eden and thus gave birth to the Hebrew race. But who takes that seriously among the mainstream churches?
@@Teller3448 By militarism, I mean a casual embrace of violence, including military violence. I don't think militarism or white supremacy is Biblically rooted so I can't explain or defend it; in fact, my point is that this distortion of theology is often what happens when religion and politics become bedfellows. Nor do I claim that these are "mainstream" churches; but they are loud enough that they tarnish the entire religion in the eyes of many. I think Brad is absolutely correct to warn of that danger, but I don't think activism, per se, is the concern. Buddhism isn't activism, but activism is part of Buddhism even if the form of activism one engages in is the teaching of Buddhist ideas through a TH-cam channel. Other forms could be feeding the homeless, working at a hospice, or fighting for protection of the environment. Plum Village shows that this sort of activism need not corrupt the religion. No one can credibly claim that Plum Village, as closely associated as it is with activism, is all Scooby Doo and no karate. They are a philosophically rigorous Zen community with books and online teachings galore that also cultivates and supports activism among their practitioners. Moreover, activism is often a great way to directly experience non-self, so it can directly contribute to spiritual growth on the Buddhist path.
@@BoulderHikerBoy
Well said...but one more question if you can spare the patience.
What is it that directly experiences non-self???
If you take twenty dollars out of your pocket and give it to someone who needs it badly.
Aren't you just transferring twenty dollars from one self to another self?
Buddhism as a cultural form was always impacted by the fashions of the social environment.
I strongly belive that the Root of the Buddha can not be touched or formed or corrupted anyway.
However if based on woke ideas zen centers exclude people of any kind or they push this ideology on practitioners mind, that is not the Way. It is just shameful.
Any ideology sucks sooner or later.
Thats why zazen can be a refuge for many people who want to seek something beyond fashionable thoughts and to return to the source of our True nature.
I can understand what brad means, since the Zen practice is pretty one-pointed and rigorous - sometimes people take the simplicity of zen wrong, and don't reallize that this simplicity demands full attention and devotion, but I don't know about focusing uniquely on what we would call "zen stuff". Can we define zen?
Studying is not the case here, I think it's really important to go through Shobogenzo and other teachings but relying uniquely on a intelectual or style oriented thing seems a bit tricky to me. We should be aware of our surroundings: while whe shouldn't take activism for buddhism we should be open to the possibility that the Dharma may show up in a gesture of compassion from other "sources", and this can well be in the group of activists next door.
Swami Vivekananda was asked a lot about his political opinions and very often his reply was: "God and truth are my only politics. All else is trash"
Good one!
I find it peculiar the the "woke" activists seem to be hateful and mean spirited. To me it was a big tell not to folow the movement, it's a cult of anger.
It's not even a singular movement, but okay
@@hailhummus No, just a loose group of assholes
Anger and hatred
I came to this channel for insights on Buddhism and a got a lecture on Scooby do. 🥴
And it was a good one!
I cant imagine a more inclusive place then a dojo... if you harmonize with the sangha practice, you are welcome!
So a zen dojo is the "wokest" place ever 😄
wow cool opening! I like Scooby Doo too! :) Dogen also might be good for weight lifting!?
I think Dogen would be great for weight lifting!
Quasi-religion infiltrating religion proper. It's essential to empty your teacup from whatever is inside before getting some tea at tea ceremony. Maybe wash it too...
ok, begs the question now; what did you think of the series Velma?
I haven't watched it. I'm kinda scared to after seeing how everyone hates it.
Excellent metaphor.
100% agree with you! 😀🙏 luv the metaphor!
Thank you so much for this:).
I, too, believe Be Cool Scooby Doo was a worthy successor!
Politics (under various euphemisms like social justice) is about POWER. Hard, material, control freaking POWER. It is antithetical to Buddhism.
Power and influence, no doubt. Strongly agree with what you've said here.
Yup!
Those dodgy Buddhist teachers would have gotten away with it, if it hadn’t been for that pesky Brad Warner! 🤣 Love it, Brad!
Great follow-up - love the metaphor - 😂
Some centers have segregated zazen sessions. Imagine that.
If it helps people get into it, then it's beneficial. Can be taken too far for sure, but having heard the lived experiences of African Americans who feel intimidated by all white and/or Asian centers, I support it as an entry point and hope it sparks further interest and sincere practice.
Segregation is illegal.
When I brought this issue up with my teacher a few years ago, it had to do with Trump at the time. She said I wasn't the only one who felt this way. I think they're trying to appeal to the people who were freaked out by Trumps win. It's all about putting butts on the cushions.
I don't think you should force someone to support a political stance they don't agree with to take part in the sangha.
Yeah. That's a big problem too. I try not to assume anyone's politics. Someone once asked me, "Well what if there was a white supremacist attending your Zen center?" I said that I'd probably never know because all we do is sit zazen together and then talk about Buddhism. I doubt it would ever come up! But secretly I would hope that if someone like that did show up and if such a person kept on coming, gradually aspects of the teaching would seep in and they'd drop their white supremacist attitudes without ever being confronted directly about them.
Well, it's not enough to just not be a racist asshole Jon, you have to be a loud anti-racist asshole with these folks. Apply that to everything else they infect every aspect of their lives (and the lives of those around them) with.
You were thinking of Bernie Glassman (friends with the Dude) : )
Yeah. I remembered his name, but it was too late to fit it into the video. Anyway, I figured a lot of viewers would know who I was talking about.
Woke Buddhism is a symptom of this era of Dharma degeneration.
Zoinks! They would've gotten away with pushing propaganda, if it wasn't for this meddling bass player!
Good one!
Funny!
"The Dude" Jeff Bridges?
Many people choose Buddhism as an activist stance against the religion in which their families raised them. Later it becomes an activist badge.
Buddha challenged the caste system. Is the current system a caste system, yeah in some ways. Activism is a counter caste system to the dominant one.
Pretty sure another youtuber back in the day said real Buddhists didn’t vote for trump. Love the video Brad. The willingness of centers to endorse specific political stances/parties has been a real turn off for me and prevented me from going to my local center.
Your metaphor doesn't seem valid, because karate, Scooby Doo and BLM don't have anything to do with each other.
But we can work the martial arts metaphor. Consider Aikido. Aikido has a lot of material to learn. The techniques are very complex because the philosophy of Aikido is not to obliterate your opponent, but to gracefully redirect attacks to deescalate. An Aikido dojo is a place to master this art.
But, let's say you have some students who think that Aikido isn't really as effective as it could be for self-defense. Maybe they want to mix in some grappling techniques or striking techniques, because MMA channels have been pushing the idea that's what's effective on the street. If this is indulged, the Aikido dojo isn't really dedicated to Aikido anymore, but is turning into an MMA gym. Worse, an Aikido organization thinks this is a good idea, and Aikido/MMA starts proliferating.
A serious Aikido practitioner might take offense at this, because you're not doing real Aikido anymore and going against the philosophy of Morihei Ueshiba. Instead, you have people who think they are Bruce Lee (a Wing Chung guy) who taught that being a "complete" fighter meant letting go of the "traditional forms" after they outlive their usefulness.
At the end of the day, people choose where they practice martial arts based on the "culture". Some people are hardcore traditionalists and want a hardcore traditional dojo. Some people see martial arts as a way to fight, and aren't afraid of "extracurriculars". The dojo is as "sacred" a space as its members want it to be, and there's a dojo for everyone.
Your metaphor is better, but maybe a little harder to relate to.
"But we can work the martial arts metaphor. Consider Aikido."
Your metaphor has already happened within Aikido. The founder of the art stressed that striking (atemi) was an essential part of its effectiveness...just as activism is an essential part of the Mahayana. But over time, the striking has been dropped from many Aikido schools in favor of arm-locking and throwing take downs.
Imagine if there was an Aikido school that only practiced striking. This would be like a Buddhist temple that only practiced activism.
The Scooby-do analogy is...WAY off the mark.
Considering that in his private life Ueshiba was a borderline Fascist, it's kind of difficult to draw the line on what his "philosophy" really was.
Also, what Ueshiba _himself_ did technically was not to "receive and redirect" but more like "unite the two ki's of the Heaven and the Earth by standing on the Floating Bridge of Heaven": to obliterate any incoming force with co-axial spiral forces twisting through the body.
@@Veepee92 I dont think anyone of Ueshiba's generation in Japan even knew what representative democracy was. His philosophy is a difficult question because he didnt write books...but his cult leader did write volumes. It all there online. Aikido techniques are largely an attempt to neutralize arm attacks and weapon attacks with complex rotating footwork. The trouble is...feet move a lot slower than hands. You can see the results in competitive Tomiki Aikido.
You’re turning into a ranty old man Brad
With all the “woke” talk he can probably get on Tucker. I don’t hear political talk at my Zen center. In fact, I hear very little talk at all.
buddhism in the west really needs more full time monks and nuns... only a lay tradition gets into silliness like this.
I disagree. Lay tradition where they are all academic white progressive types gets into silliness like this.
Some monastics in Myanmar aren't exactly shining exemplars of Buddhism either
The issue isn't lay vs. monastic. It's that we have something that is VERY important to our culture in America, at least, called the American civil religion. This is as important to us as Confucianism is in East Asia. Just as Confucianism didn't go away when Buddhism was introduced in East Asia, the American civil religion will have a hard time going away even if Buddhism becomes dominant here.
@@hailhummus I think 'monastic' just means living by donations... there is no supposition that they know anything.
But how do you really feel 😅
But what if your karate instructor instructed you on how to beat the shit out of cops?
For someone who sees early Buddhism as too rigid in it's definition of what Buddhism is you seem awfully interested in defining what Buddhism is or not. I do happen to agree with you I just see it as unimportant
sister-in-law; culturally you must be right in the thick of catholicism ! john of the cross you would find interesting
Scooby Doo!
Karate man bruise on the *inside*!
💚
Karate is not ancient lol
I had this on in the background and was only half listening. The main gist I got is that Brad likes Scooby Doo. Did I miss anything?
No. That's pretty much it.
What's funny (to me anyway) is I do this kind of thing from time to time. I only got into Scooby Doo fairly recently -- like within the past year or so. But I got really into it! I had to dig into the whole history of the show. I mean, I'd watched Scooby Doo on and off since I was a little kid, but I never really dug into it before about a year ago.
"buddhists with a t in the end" so buddhistst??????????????
im sorry
Yes!
I'd like to hear some names. Who are the leaders and masterminds of this woke, activist Buddhism in America? Just curious to see if my theory is correct, based on the names. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, it's the same demographic that has introduced so many other radical ideologies into the world, all based on an aggressive "world-fixing" metaphysics, activist politics and moralistic philosophy. Examples: Christianity, Marxism, Objectivism, Neoconservatism, Satanism (Satanic Temple), Wokeism. The main issue is their inverted metaphysics: this group believes spirit must be materialized, that heaven must be built on earth, that works matter more than faith--contrary to just about every other religion in the world--and they retain this belief no matter what ideology they invent or adopt. I know how this probably sounds to many of you, but it may be the critical insight that will provide the missing piece to the puzzle of woke American Buddhism.
i think the idea of heaven on earth can be a very motivating philosophy if thats what you meant, but i wouldnt be surprised if utopianism is used to push extremist ideologies
"Heaven on earth" is where they all go wrong. You can't build a utopia around inherently flawed human beings without a micromanaging authoritarianism to enforce the ideology you want. Uptopia, in short, will always end in dystopia.
Sounds like you're a Nazi
@@AlexanderJWS Nope, just someone who likes to get to the metaphysical root of things.
Which demographic is that?
Wow.
Rant away, dude. Don't let the bastards get you down.