No Soul Left Behind

“May I attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.”

-          Bodhisattva Vow

 

One reason I am attracted to Buddhist thought has to do with this ideal of the Bodhisattva.  A Bodhisattva is a being who has not only undertaken the task of becoming enlightened but, once enlightened, has vowed to remain in the realms of suffering in order to liberate others.  In fact the vow or intention is to remain in samsara until all beings are liberated.  So the bodhisattva (i.e. one who has taken the vows) forgoes the bliss of ultimate transcendence in order to be of service to others in their spiritual awakening.  The realization of our interconnectedness and the compassion that arises from this is a core aspect of Buddhist doctrine.

I was brought up as a Christian (although I doubt that Christianity as now defined and practiced has much to do with the actual teachings of Jesus Christ.)  As a child I was taught that certain of us would be saved both because we held the correct belief system and because we tried really hard to be good.  Of course, even if we were bad, we were forgiven by virtue of adhering to the correct belief system.  I even heard the idea expressed that those of us who made it to heaven would look down upon those poor bastards in hell with a justified sense of superiority. 

The Bodhisattva is ready to descend into hell in order to help those poor bastards out.  I’m sorry but this is a core distinction in spiritual thought.  It is the difference between dualistic vision and nondual awakening.  As a facebook friend and teacher, Shambhavi Sarasvati, puts it, “Everyone, without exception, is a small fish in a small pond. That is, until you realize there is only one fish, but then size doesn't matter.”  (And all this time I was worried about size.)

Seriously though, compassionate love, or agape, as Jesus taught is about recognizing our unity within our diversity.  It is realizing that we are all here as a temporary stopover on an eternal journey home.  We will only get “there” when we realize that we are one and already home. 

Another Disintegrated Idol

“Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth because they don't want their illusions destroyed.”

― Friedrich Nietzsche

 

Some of you will laugh but I had to put my guru’s picture away to day.  I had been fighting for some time to come to terms with allegations of his sexual and physical abuse of his followers.  After all he preached love, nonviolence, truth and yoga as a spiritual discipline far beyond the studios that are popular these days.  I believed in him as a living saint, a true yogi and master.  Although I have been separated from his organization for many years I still kept his picture mounted and prayed to him when I practiced meditation.  And, honestly, for me he was a benevolent guru who taught me wonderful practices, guided me in spiritual philosophy and, up until now, represented the model of a true realized being.  However, a recent first-hand account of his sexual and violent misuse of some of his followers hit home hard.

I am incredibly embarrassed and at the same time grateful that I was unable to fully commit myself and my family to him and his organization.  At one time I sincerely wanted to, however I encountered some of his followers and some of the sick politics of the organization which put me off.  Somehow, though, I clung to the belief that he was not part of that.  It was all just the unenlightened garbage of his disciples.  However it is now clear that he himself was at the center of the abuse and dysfunction of his organization. 

Did I mention that I am a licensed family therapist in practice for nearly 30 years?  Honestly, my intuitional guidance system was alerting me from the start.  I originally studied yoga with one of his closest followers who came here to the US.  He impressed me with his calm manner, apparent nonattachment to material wealth and his charisma.  However he pressed me to accept his guru as mine as well.  I looked at his picture and felt uncomfortable.  I passed it off though as a reaction of my “ego.”  I was already accepting indoctrination in the philosophy of ego-surrender. 

Watch out for any teacher or organization that tells you that you need to surrender your ego.  In fact watch out for religious organizations and leaders in general.  Here is a good article which applies as much to organized religion as it does “cults” http://www.spiritscienceandmetaphysics.com/10-reasons-you-should-never-have-a-religion/   Never, never, never surrender your sovereignty to another person or organization.  Not even to seemingly benevolent aliens, angels or archetypes.  The individual sense of self-hood is a miraculous gift.  Don’t relinquish it to anyone except maybe God herself.  You can transcend your limited ego-identity in meditation and come to an understanding of your interconnectedness with all beings.  That is enlightenment.  To massage guru’s feet while he sits on a throne and you take his or her abuse is darkness. 

The guru system, the priesthood system, the authoritarian system is and always was spiritually bankrupt.  It is a con that appeals to our deepest longings to have someone else responsible for our difficult existential search.  Spiritual awakening means taking responsibility for our own search, condition and selfhood.  As soon as we do that we are well on our way!