Shaving the head is a superficial act, and selfies are egotistical, but I noticed since I hit a certain age, I stopped posting pictures of myself, just posting others. And even if it's a placebo to shave my head, I'll take the placebo effect.
Thinking about believing, like seeing the Bodhisattvas as deities instead of archetypal personifications of enlightenment, you can feel the deep meaningful versus not knowing and the tension and anxiety that engenders. Comfort versus adventure, the classic non-choice. Psychology versus metaphysics another non-choice. Monastic v lay?
I was at an AA meeting and I realized if you really believe in Christianity, boy that would be a great thing to just turn it all over to god. I could use more other power, stronger devotion. Fire and brimstone! I long for that kind of devotion in the higher power of my choosing--the dharma, the sangha and the buddha. They say substance abuse is a spiritual crisis, nihilism has won. It doesn't matter what you do.
My conclusion on going to the dark side, was that what you does matter, for you and everyone, since we're all interconnected. Just be nice. And when you can't be nice, be very careful. Trungpa may have thought he was just doing wild Dharma, but an 8 year old kid does coke at his party as a result of his actions. Unseen consequences, unexpected consequences.
I come back to something I was exploring in 2007, in Bodhipaksa's essay on confrontation or comfort?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment