On What Is Most Important
Contemplative
traditions are in steep decline—or so we're told. Nobody meditates
anymore. They're too busy playing Candy Crush or writing screeds in the
comments section below YouTube videos. As Tricycle readers, you know
better. This week we look at how Buddhist teachings and rituals remain
vibrant in our time.
Before
we examine the teachings that thrive today, however, we must get a
sense of the ones from the past that are worth holding onto. We offer a
perfect example in our latest magazine piece, "On What Is Most Important,"
in which the Tibetan master Kenchen Thrangu elaborates on eight
classical Indian verses from the yogi Padampa Sangye. Together they
emphasize practicing the dharma in every moment, no matter the
circumstance. Then, and only then, they say, can we make the most of our
lives.
In "A Quiet Subversion,"
we hear from a modern-day Buddhist trying to do just that. By
romanticizing the cave-dwelling recluse, says writer Leath Tonino, we
perceive his lifestyle as an exotic one far different from our own. In
this humorous yet insightful piece, Tonino erases that divide by showing
us how a solitary spiritual life is possible even for a young
city-dweller with a job, a girlfriend, and an obsession with Seinfeld.
Both of those magazine articles are available to everyone this week, but join as a Supporting or Sustaining member
to read the entirety of our latest issue. In it, find out how to escape
from jealousy's clutches, feel good about what you've got, and actually
celebrate your friends' success with the issue's special section on jealousy and envy. It features a Zen teacher who cops to those green feelings, a writer who says they don't deserve such a bad rap, and a Tibetan Buddhist who offers five steps to free yourself from them for good.
As
the Buddhists know, nothing lasts forever. That makes our choices about
which teachings to hold onto and which to leave behind all the more
important. In a provocative blog interview with longtime Vajryana
teacher and practitioner Sangye Khandro, "No Adaptation Required," she speaks candidly about this tension between tradition and renewal.
Every
generation—every person—resolves that tension differently. There's no
easy answer. But by virtue of our mere rumination, perhaps we invent the
teachings anew.
