Dear all
This morning I read 75% of the book On Tyranny by the historian Timothy Snyder which looks at historical precedents of authoritarian governments and what they teach us about the world today. It is only around 120 pages long and I highly recommend it.
One passage struck me on page 38:
‘Just practice’ here means honest or fair practice but clearly has a double meaning in reference to Zen.
It reminds me of these words of Dogen from the Shoaku Makusa (Not Doing Wrongs) fascicle of Shobogenzo:
Or, as Uncle Brad Warner puts it in Don’t Be a Jerk:
I believe that the words in both On Tyranny and Not Doing Wrongs can be applied to political situations but also in all places and times that take on their own culture.
If you are in situations when people are racist, homophobic or misogynistic, there is power in not following along.
In a workplace where sloppiness is the norm, there is power is being diligent.
In a society where greed and individualism is rampant, there is power in taking just what you need and looking out for your neighbours.
In our relatively brief history of western Zen, there have also been instances of abuses of power by teachers. Although the responsibility for those wrongs ultimately lies with those teachers, I cannot help but think (whether fairly or unfairly) that often those abuses would not be allowed to happen without senior sangha turning a blind eye. I know that in several cases, the behaviour of the teacher was an open secret. By refusing to be complicit in those wrongs, perhaps entire wrongs can be prevented from being committed.
The essential message is to hold to your practice and not to doubt that doing the right thing does has power and will resonate throughout the ten directions and three times like a bell being struck. That is not to say that standing up and standing out is always easy, but insisting on adhering to ethical rules and norms reminds others that they are there and that there is a choice.
Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-
This morning I read 75% of the book On Tyranny by the historian Timothy Snyder which looks at historical precedents of authoritarian governments and what they teach us about the world today. It is only around 120 pages long and I highly recommend it.
One passage struck me on page 38:
When political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become more important. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-law state without lawyers, or to hold show trials without judges. Authoritarians need obedient civil servants, and concentration camp directors seek businessmen interested in cheap labour.
It reminds me of these words of Dogen from the Shoaku Makusa (Not Doing Wrongs) fascicle of Shobogenzo:
[W]e hope not to commit wrongs, we continue enacting not to commit wrongs, and wrongs go on not being committed; in this situation the power of practice is instantly realised… For people of just this reality, at the moment of just this reality – even if they live at a place and come and go at a place where they could commit wrongs, even if they face circumstances in which they could commit wrongs, and even if they seem to mix with friends who do commit wrongs – wrongs can never be committed at all [when we hold to our practice].
Even if you live in a place where you could act like a jerk, even if you face circumstances in which you could be a jerk, even if you hang out with nothing but a bunch of jerks, the power of not doing jerk-type things conquers all.
If you are in situations when people are racist, homophobic or misogynistic, there is power in not following along.
In a workplace where sloppiness is the norm, there is power is being diligent.
In a society where greed and individualism is rampant, there is power in taking just what you need and looking out for your neighbours.
In our relatively brief history of western Zen, there have also been instances of abuses of power by teachers. Although the responsibility for those wrongs ultimately lies with those teachers, I cannot help but think (whether fairly or unfairly) that often those abuses would not be allowed to happen without senior sangha turning a blind eye. I know that in several cases, the behaviour of the teacher was an open secret. By refusing to be complicit in those wrongs, perhaps entire wrongs can be prevented from being committed.
The essential message is to hold to your practice and not to doubt that doing the right thing does has power and will resonate throughout the ten directions and three times like a bell being struck. That is not to say that standing up and standing out is always easy, but insisting on adhering to ethical rules and norms reminds others that they are there and that there is a choice.
Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-
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