Sunday, October 8, 2023
Via [GBF] New Talk: A Funny Thing Happened in My Practice of Awareness - Bill Weber
Do we have the ability to laugh at ourselves?
Bill Weber shares that this is a terrific way to work with one of the foundations of Buddhist wisdom: the concept of Non-self. The allure of our sense of self can easily lead us to become overly attached to our identity. We become competitive, demanding, and obsessive about the way we are treated.
To counter this, Bill encourages us to instead find humor in the demands that our ego makes of us (and others). If we observe our mind playing these games, it allows us to lighten up and disconnect from our sense of self. We gain the ability to laugh at embarrassing situations rather than see them as personal failures. It helps us connect with who we really are behind our social facade - the observer, rather than the performer of acts.
This ability to find the absurdity in the human condition is actually a deep practice, one perfected by the late Wes Nisker, a teacher, author and Buddhist comedian.
Bill speaks about the tradition of Crazy Wisdom and its role in breaking through the illusion of reality. He encourages us to find the clown, the trickster, the jester and the fool within and learn how not to take ourselves so seriously.
He also mentions the organization, "Clowns Without Borders" and reflects on the work of Bernie Glassman, founder of the New York Zen Center. Although Glassman founded a retreat where participants lived among the homeless, and one that took place in Nazi concentration camps, he later pursued humor and went on to found the "Order of Disorder" and the "Zen Peacemakers."
Bill closes with Wes Nisker's poem "Why I Meditate"
https://inquiringmind.com/
LISTEN TO THE FULL TALK HERE:
Love & Light,
Tom Bruein
Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Mindfulness and Concentration: Establishing Mindfulness of Body and Abiding in the First Jhāna
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Via Daily Dharma: The Vastness of What’s Inside
The Vastness of What’s Inside
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Via White Crane Institute // Today's Gay Wisdom: Rev. Nancy Wilson
Today's Gay Wisdom
2017 -
"In such a toxic environment, the poor, the minorities, and the politically vulnerable populations will be the first to exhibit signs and symptoms of the deteriorating immunological picture. It is the canary-in-the-mines syndrome. When miners wanted to know if a particular mineshaft was safe from poisonous gases, they sent a canary in first. If the canary returned, the miners felt safe to go in. On our planet today, poor people, people of color, women and children, and gays and lesbians are the canaries (or sitting ducks if you prefer). Those who have any kind of privilege (gender, race, class, sexuality, age) are better able, for a time, to buffer and insulate themselves from the toxic environment — from AIDS, cancer, and other diseases. But not forever.
"There is also a moral and religious toxicity in reaction to so much upheaval, change, and worldwide political challenges. This phenomenon is called in many religions fundamentalism. In a century of increasing relativity in values, morality, and religion, fundamentalism provides absolutes and identifies the enemies. It is a kind of collective mental illness that includes obsessive thinking, tunnel vision, and functions much like other addictions."
- Rev. Nancy Wilson, Our Tribe: Queer Folks, God, Jesus and the Bible
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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute
"With the increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson
Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989!
www.whitecraneinstitute.org
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