Hi y'all. Kinda quiet around here. I know deardenver has been blogging elsewhere, and the writer (still?) known as Beryl B. has been traveling. But where is everyone?
I've been pondering: does becoming mindful mean we become blissed-out, all-forgiving, calm zombies? Or can we still be snarky, too?
A recent column by Judith Warner stirred this issue up for me. I was surprised to see Buddhists on other sites taking her to task. Tricycle has the whole story here.
For me, this is one of those places where I feel Nichiren Buddhism is just really, really different in its approach than other Buddhist traditions....
"Polish your mirror" is the phrase I always go back to. Nichiren urges his followers to chant daimoku to "polish the mirror" of our mind/life so it accurately reflects the true nature of existence. Instead of going out and trying to build a Buddhaland, the point is to reveal and reflect the Buddhaland that is constantly present.
Generally, I think all traditions of Buddhism agree on this basic point. We're all on the path of awakening to and revealing this enlightened Buddha presence. Some say silent meditation is the way to get there. Some say chanting is the vehicle. Some say it's a combo of meditation, chanting and various other exertions (vegetarianism, etc.)
A lot of us Nichirenites feel that, yes, we are deluded common mortals. More often than not, our chanting is fueled by delusion -- material desire, "I need a job," "I need a lover." HOWEVER!! Our state of delusion is integral to our path of becoming non-deluded.
We're chanting from a standpoint of delusion. We're small, greedy, angry, wanting, all of it. But the act of chanting is what "polishes the mirror." What we're chanting about and why is not as relevant as the fact that we're chanting.
Some critics say we are reinforcing our delusion by chanting from a deluded place. Are we?
OK, so I'm snarky. Some Buddhists have told me that snarkiness is not indicative of mindfulness. Basically, I need to cut out the snark if I want to be a credible Buddhist.
But damn. Snark is almost inseparable from my personality! Nichiren assures us that we can attain Buddhahood "exactly as we are." I always took that to mean, I can awaken, snark and all.
Do I really have to squelch my snark before the "mirror" of my life can reflect Buddha nature?
Do I really need to transform my entire personality?
Nichiren urged us to "reform the tenets" we hold in our hearts. If I do, does it mean I can no longer have and express a biting, ironic opinion?
What do you think, you, out there on the Nichiren web?
12 comments
Doesn't it all depend on the Snarkist's intent?BTW, thanks for writing "tenets"!
Nuts! I thought I was the worst Buddhist in the world.Anyone who is calm all the time is annoying. They are like those people that are always reading your body language.
I have thought so much about this and have so much to say, but don't want to bore you all. So, here is a first thought:What an interesting topic, Brooke. I have missed much discussion on BJ. As for Judith Warner's take, the popular one nowadays, on "mindfullness", as an ND Buddhist, it makes me sigh. Pardon me some comments. Judith says,
Armchair: Okay. ND mindfullness. "I am stuck in this airport for a long time. Do I want to contemplate my bored and miserable navel. NO. I have hours here. Crap. I practice my ass off. Must be some reason. Buddha nature? What the eff are we doing here? Are we supposed to read something that I would never encounter otherwise? Please direct me, BN. "Yep. Go to news stores." I go to news stores and look at magazines. Foo foo bores me. I see "Ecologist" magazine. Who the hell reads that? I pick it up, as a concerned Buddhist. Lots of interesting stories.I sit down to read. There are only 700 Mountain Gorillas left on the planet and Congo has been in an uprising by an insane, lying, deviant, Laurent Nkunda, who preaches peace but who doesn't stop his soldiers from shooting innocent people and raping women. The Congolese government is practically paralyzed. Millions are on the run. Should Congo allow troops from Rwanda to help them when there are complex lingering issues from the genocide where Hutu rebels macheted 600,000 people to death and the U.N. and no world government did anything? Should maybe I be snarky? Do I care about the "Buddha's Land". What Buddha's Land? My family, my work, my city, my planet? I mean, shit, who has time? We need to calm down here.Oops, here's another article. It's about the organgutangs. There are only 1700 left on the planet and in Borneo and Sumatra they are cutting their forests down so fast, they only have 2 years leftto exist. They are of a good color to hide in the ditches. Does anyone care? Who is doing this and why. Ah, the Chinese. They are planting palm oil to add to all our global products. When my "O" peanut butter tasted like crap the other day, I looked on the ingredients. Palm oil. Do I care? What can be done? These maniacs ruining the planet. I have enough to worry about.Hmmm. I am tired about reading about all this global crap. My husband has lost interest. Why don't I think about that? He has lost interest because I think he is an unethical asshole. What am I going to do about that? I have been married to him for 30 years. He is always plotting things and doesn't give a rip about me. That's mainly why I am miserable. I am not being "mindful" and thinking about this. Not in real life, not in paying attention to the moments in my life and choosing my life condition according to understanding the 10 worlds, in general. Shit. What am I doing? I am living reactively, completely like a victim. Can't divorce the bastard, we sorta get along. Karma. Nichiren talked a lot about that. Not that my org does.What if I apologize to the Gohonzon and to Life to have a husband like this. The mere thought of him makes me miserable. Could I have treated him so callously in a past life? Just let it slide into disaster? Or, many husbands? Doesn't matter. "If you want to know why you are suffering in the present, you must know you have made specific causes in the past to get this effect and you must change that in order to change the causes you are recognizing and using to create the future." Well, I have obviously not been paying attention to a lot of things. I am going to chant recompense ("On Prelonging Life") to apologize to mates I have neglected in the past and for Sammy, whom I know I have neglected in this life. I will chant daimoku like this in this chair for the next 2 hours and clean some of this garbage up. How could I have been so dense. What a benefit! And, I will find some time to chant for the Mountain Gorillas, the Congo, the Orangutangs, and heaven knows the Chinese. And my family and associates who are suffering.I have lots more to say about Judith's article, from an ND standpoint. See what you think,ArmchairWhoever said it depends on the snarkist's intent, I agree with that. Intent is not always conscious intent. How often do you say to yourself, well, I'm about to snark, but my intent is that all beings will awaken to buddhahood and my words will lead to enlightenment. More likely, you just go with your gut. You snark on the spur of the moment. It just comes out of you in a way that I would call unconscious. I would also call it a gift, so don't transform your personality on account of people who think Buddhists shouldn't say anything but Om.If you're reacting, if your buttons are pushed and you're lashing out to defend your ego or damage someone else's, maybe you need to re-evaluate your snark. But if you're responding in a way that feels natural, I wouldn't worry about it. If people are offended by your snarky response, that's their problem.In that Warner column she tells her friend that everything will be OK, and her friend is offended at being offered a platitude. Warner should've snarked right back at her that uncertainty and self-pity can turn you into a hopeless pessimist if you let it. How fun is that to be around?
Possibly, it would be helpful to define "snarky"? And which combination of the 10 worlds that might be? It could be Enlightenment/anger. I don't understand what you mean, Brooke.Kathy
Snarkiness is smartass commentary or opinion. Auntie once called it being a wiseacre. A little bit sarcasm, a little bit irony, a little bit bite.
Does it correct their behavior?Armchair
Armchair, I'm a snarker, not a schoolmarm. I'm not so full of myself that I presume to go around correcting people's behavior. I just snark. Why does it have to mean something?See, that's an example of my snarkiness.
Brooke,How do I feel after you talk to me like that? All is energy. Where is the barrier between me and you?A.
Honestly, Armchair, I feel perfectly OK talking to you "like that." Since when is it my job to "correct" the behavior of others? Since when is it yours?It's presumptuous and condescending to act as if "we" are so "enlightened" that "we" have cause to go around lecturing people to change their behavior. Good luck with that, as they say. Speak your mind -- I rarely hesitate -- but don't assume people will or should conform to your expectations.Maybe that's the "barrier" you're talking about -- your rigid expectations for how people "should" communicate and behave.
Brooke, you just lost your dharma connection because of snarkfulness. No enlightenment for you. May the buddhas have pity.
Brooke,I miss DD. Do you know where she is blogging?A.