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January 25, 2014 · 4:52 pm

The Social-Self: Ethics Without A Creed

By: David Xi-Ken Astor, Sensei

When we speak about the Buddhist principle of non-self (anatman) we attempt to envision the notion of a self as expressing Universal realities without making the distinction that we are independent of all other Universal expressions. Never an easy exercise. One example of this would be that our human expression is only different from other animals simply by the complexity of our behavior — not just behavior, but our ability to reason. Our ability to learn, gain knowledge that promotes wisdom, and thus act with reasoned intent, is what advanced human specie development. In general, most individuals work to understand knowing something by penetrating what lies behind the appearance of things. This approach is good enough most of the time perhaps, but considering how our mutual causal Universe expresses itself, we need to work hard to find the change that is presented in each moment’s situation in order to awaken to truthful-realities that consistently challenge the view we have of the world around us as having some kind of permanence. Our quest for “truth” can never be fully realized when we ignore that change is always a factor in everything we encounter, so “truths” are only momentary, and a state of permanence is only an illusionary concept.

This brings to my mind several questions. Is our knowledge of things sufficient to understand how they really are? Is the language we use to describe how we are interconnected to things capable of fulfilling our needs as realistic as how they actually can? Is our Buddhist practice, as manifest in our intentional actions, able to help us realize a better future for ourselves and others? Is there such a thing as unconditional obligations in a Buddhist practice? When considering ethics pragmatically, I have great doubt about the suggestion that anything is unconditional as the driving force of self-interest is a natural aspect of the human condition. When we introduce the element of social relationships weighted against the distinction between routine and non-routine civil behavior as judged by cultural norms, we encounter possible inhibitors when we act from a feeling of what is natural to “us”, but interpreted as unrealistic to others, even when we are both using the same set of ethical expectations. These inhibitors come into play when our personal needs begin to clash with those of others.

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Tagged as anatman, Buddhist philosophy, Buddhist Precepts, Buddhist principle of self, David Xi-Ken Astor, generosity, karma, social self

January 17, 2014 · 8:46 pm

Considerations on the Monastic Vocation

By: David Xi-Ken Astor Sensei

“To be a person implies responsibility and freedom, and both these imply a certain interior solitude, a sense of personal integrity, a sense of one’s own reality and of one’s ability to give himself to society…”

Thomas Merton from Thoughts In Solitude

Living a traditional monastic life could be viewed as being very scandalous in that a monk, Buddhist or Christian for that matter, seems to have no specific task that could be considered a job in the secular sense of the word. That can be a mistake if you think monks are free from work tasks in order to spend all their time in meditation and scholastic activities. In reality though, the life in a monastic community has many tasks and organized routines so their world is very much similar to the social life like everyone else’s. This is especially true when the monastic community is living outside the walls of the monastery. This kind of social life can become complicated and overly active in a way. Living as a monk does not shield you from all the life challenges of an ordinary life. In reality it is filled with all the ordinary life tasks plus enhanced practice ones too. A growing number of monks now work outside their houses in order to share in the support of their community. The monk is not defined by his tasks, job or secondary profession, but by his commitment to his practice as shared with his dharma brothers under the guidance of his sensei. In a certain sense the monk is supposed to live an unstructured life because his mission is to be ready to engaged the dharma in whatever form it is presented in the moment, with little family or social distractions. This means that monasticism aims at the cultivation of a certain quality of life, a deeper level of awareness, an awakened consciousness which is not usually possible in an active secular world these days. In this 21st century we have so many distractions to keep us from our practice.

I do not mean to imply that the secular lifestyle is somehow totally about self centered priorities, or that there can be no real understanding of the importance of developing an interior awareness. But it does mean that more immersion and absorption in worldly business will take away from a contemplative mind state that is of utmost importance in gaining readiness for experiencing awakened moments. There is much to be said about a sustained practice over one that experiences fits and starts. Monks are not weekend warriors, but seek to be free from what William Faulkner called “The same frantic steeplechase toward nothing” which can be the essence of a Buddhist practice when engaged for a few hours a month.

As a monastic community lives together, either in groups or alone but connected, they do so with a sense that they are not separate from the lay community they live side by side with. We should avoid any notion of “inside or outside.” The concept of “separation from the world” that can arise in a monastic community is yet another illusion. Even for those monks within the walls of a monastery/temple. We must never forget we are social-selves and agents for change. We do not take vows to become a different species of being.

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