The Centered Path: Entering the stream without drowning in a cult, DIY

In the news recently there have been a number of Buddhist organizations and teachers that have closed up shop or changed leadership and have been 'shut down' because of accusations of abuse sexual impropriety and other tomfoolery. Here I will discuss briefly how we can better deal with the idea of gurus, cults of personality, and our own progress learning about and practicing Buddhism as a way of being.

In the news recently there have been a number of Buddhist organizations and teachers that have closed up shop or changed leadership and have been 'shut down' because of accusations of abuse sexual impropriety and other tomfoolery.
The majority mentioned were ousted because of physical and mental abuse. There are many that also abuse power in other ways, financial, ethical, etc. Each one of these stories are about the personality getting too into themselves and believing they are the bringer of the teachings or the 'chosen' one.

Some examples are the closing of the Dharma Ocean run by Reggie Ray, The excommunication of Noah Levine from the group that ordained him, Spirit Rock. Sogyal Rimpoche's sexual abuse claims, Sakyong Mipham Rimpoche's investigations into the same, and the restructuring of Shambala... That is to name but a few!! (I will put as many links as I can below).

Each one turned into it's own personality cult...
The main point I would like to get to is that Buddhism is and has never been designed as a personality cult. In fact, it was very rare to see a drawing or statue of 'The' Buddha well into the common era. One must also realize that every Sutra begins with 'Thus I have heard', or 'Thus it was said' thereby taking the speaker out of that limelight of being the originator of that teaching. I also see many times that some traditions really do not rely on one on one teaching but by having the student realize themselves through study and practice. Another way to reduce this problem is that monks all have the same uniform and hair cut just for that purpose (in part). It is also an interesting fact that all of these are mainly related to Vajrayana practice in which the 'Guru' is valued above the teachings and is considered the source of teachings.

This brings me to one of our (The Centered Path's) main anchors in teaching and practice of the Dharma... The Advice to the Kalamas. This is a well known but seemingly rarely practiced sutra. (The Kalama Sutra)

Here are the most basic points...
1. Rely on the teachings not the teacher or his or her personality.
2. Rely on what is meant not the words spoken.
3. Rely on the real meaning and intent, not on partial understanding, logic...
4. Rely on your OWN wisdom that you develop, not on your yet-to-be-wise judgement.
5. Do not accept the words on faith...or preconceived notions.
6. Do not believe them because the teacher said them
7. Do not believe them because it comes from tradition.
8. Do not believe them because of hearsay.

No need for a guru. In fact, I would consider it a bit of an insult to be called one and here is why. People believe a guru knows it all, and is the only way to get the info they need. This person needs to be sought out, away from it all... I disagree, I think the only guru is your own mind, developed through practice and meditation. Even His Holiness The Dalai Lama commonly states, 'I am just a simple monk'. This keeps us from thinking he is 'all that'...

(Watts, podcast spiritual authority #1 of 4, min 4:20…

"If you feel the need for a guru, you may go ahead. What is the source of a guru’s authority? He can tell you he can speak from experience. He has experienced states of consciousness which would make him profoundly blissful, or understanding or compassionate or whatever it may be. And you have his word for it. And you have the word of other people that may agree with him. But each one of them and you in turn agree with him out of your own opinion and by own judgment and so it is you that are the source of the teacher’s authority. That is true if he is a n individual or the representative of a religion or church. You may even take a book. “They say so, if you follow it, you too say so” What basis does this have weight? “When I was younger, so much younger than today, I didn’t need anyone’s help in any way” But there is a certain feeling of helplessness in a world of happenings …"

Dark Buddhism...

I am not really talking about the book that combines the concepts of Ayn Rand and Zen, or the idea that some seem to have that Buddhism is a dark and pessimistic philosophy. I am getting at the darkness that can show up in any group. That’s a pretty catchy phrase isn't it? “Dark Buddhism” Seems like something hidden or something at its core has an evil aspect to it. There is no dark Buddhism and by that, this is what we mean.

You can almost think of the term ‘Dark Buddhism; as a kind of click-bait term that hooks the reader or listener into taking the time to see what is up with a phrase that seems contradictory… darkness and Buddhism… Many times I have people come to me and ask why Buddhism is so pessimistic… I mean, the first statement that many come across is that ‘All life is suffering’... Well, you can certainly get lost in a pessimism spiral that can really end up disturbing you. It was the whole idea of the teachings to explain that even though things can seem terrible, that there is no hope, I will get into why and how that happened. (it is one of the same things that kept people going to church in the old days, a story of death, betrayal and damnation with really graphic stories kept people coming in every Sunday for the rest of the story. Remember, there was no TV and few could even read…) What I want to discuss here for this idea of ‘dark Buddhism’ is some of the problems Buddhism has currently.

Sure there are controversies, every group of people that get together eventually have some controversy but because of that it doesn't mean the concept or philosophy is bad. It is the people in it.

Think of the example of a closed box. It is full of darkness but when you open it it does not fill the room with darkness, on the contrary, it is immediately filled with light.

That is how it always happens, light will always clear away the darkness. And even the smallest bit of light can eliminate a great darkness. At least allow those who can do something the ability to see something go so far.

The confounding factor is people and greed or craving for what they want, whether that is money or power, influence control. We see this all the time. Look at politics and the media, someone always stands in the way of the ‘light’ to maintain what they stand for. They do this to keep it in the darkness. It is only when we move the light or have more points of light do we see what they hide in that shadow.

In recent months some very prominent and influential Buddhist leaders have been brought into the light to show they were predators. They concealed that darkness behind them by being in that spit light and manufactured the way things are in that group so that you didn't even want to look at anything else but them. This is the personality cult that even the Buddha himself warned about- He said on his ‘deathbed’ … Follow your own minds be an island unto yourselves.. Rely on your own mind as he had done. This is why I do not ascribe to or promoted the idea of a persona guru like we see in some of the traditions. Now don’t get me wrong, having a good teacher is important. Like having a good trainer for a sport, but although we are thankful and respectful of their work, we do not need them with us forever, eventually we become coaches and teachers and parents ourselves and we have to b the instructor, the guru not only to others but eventually to ourselves.

So how do we put this into action as a regular person (as opposed to the monastic etc…)? We try to look at things passively at first, just like we look at our breath or thoughts in meditation. Without judgment, to see them AS THEY ARE. We look to see and understand then we develop understanding and wisdom. This is the trick. We TRY to be better moment by moment. If we need guidance we use our own minds. We can use the ‘Eight Fold Path’ as our map for these things.

Quote from Buddha at his death. "...be islands unto yourselves, refuges unto yourselves, seeking no external refuge; with the Dhamma as your island, the Dhamma as your refuge, seeking no other refuge." (MahaParinibana Suttra 33)

What that meant, in my opinion, is that we need to look to ourselves for our own salvation. There is no omnipotent or omniscient being that can or will do it for us.

The Buddha found the answers himself and we can too, he just spelled out the formula. This is the exact way we try and approach the Buddha-dharma, we live it as best we can, where we are, how we are. There are certainly many challenges to this, we are not monks, provided for, living in a peaceful place with lots of time for study. We have to make our daily lives study and practice, even when adulting; paying bills, taking care of children and pets, fixing our own meals, having a social life, etc.

If you can read, you can ‘do’ Buddhism.
Remember that Buddhism was largely transmitted by memory, monks had to spend years memorizing the sutras. Also, most of the people that heard and practiced Buddhism over the past 2500 years did not know how to read and did not have the time to memorize any of the Sutras. This is one reason there are so many numbers of things in the teachings. Buddhist philosophy was not widely distributed to the west until at least the early 1900s if not the 1950s. SO it is incredibly young academically in the west. England, Germany and France and Portugal all did send missionaries to Asia to work, some documented Buddhism in the early 1500s, but it took almost 450 years for the first books to be published in the west for public use. And, in the 1500s there were very few Westerners that could read and write. Especially when you compare to today’s literacy rates.

When a teacher is useful.

1. To become a sounding board to get some info on the practice and how to best amend it for our own tastes and personalities.

2. To offer details on the teaching, as well as guidance on what to practice and how.

3. As a reference for readings and other modes to get information on the subject.

4. As an example of what to be or not to be like. (even the fallen teachers can still offer a lesson)

What the Buddha says about that...
The Buddha explained that the Dharma should be taught in certain ways...
1. Spoken step by step,
2. Having the sequence of cause and effect explained
3. Spoken from compassion
4. Not to be spoken for material reward (Although, then life was different, there were far fewer bills to pay. Consider helping your teacher, center or temple with donations of time or money)
5. Is taught without talking down others or oneself.

Now, here is a list of what a teacher should NOT do or those to avoid. ... (it's a doozy)
1. Avoid those that state their own enlightenment.
2. Avoid those unable to discuss issues with the group or take criticism.
3. Avoid anyone that denies accountability for their part in an issue.
4. Avoid teachers that focus too much on enlightenment, nirvana, or some unattainable end goal and not the process and practice.
5. Avoid those that do not practice what they preach, or are over insulated from accountability.
6. Avoid anyone that takes credit for a system or technique. (It has pretty much all been done before, they should at least tell you where they got it from)
7. Avoid those that require you prostrate before them or encourages or permits adoration from followers and those that demand love and devotion for themselves.
8. Avoid teachers that live in opulence, Not supposed to do this for money remember? Also beware of those that are flashy, fashionable or glamorously portrayed.
9. Avoid those that run expensive miracle, abundance, or enlightenment seminars or courses.
10. Avoid anyone that takes sexual advantage of others, flatters you or others and tells YOU you are special to get you closer to them.
11. Avoid those with self given titles, or false claims of lineage.
12. Avoid those that have access only through a hierarchy, or upon a completion of a class.
13. Avoid those with many angry ex-followers, easy to find on the web these days.
14. Avoid those that need you to buy anything while on the process of practice. There are, of course tools that may help, but they should not be mandatory.
15. Avoid those that are paranoid or angry often. Crazy Wisdom is a thing for stories to learn not to abuse people.
16. Avoid those that promote an 'us vs. them' attitude, or any paranoia in or out of the group.
17. Avoid public shaming, verbal abuse, any physical abuse whatsoever
18. Avoid those that disparage another system or religion. Focus on what YOU do.
19. Avoid those that promote any means to justify an end. Especially violence.
20. Avoid those that are too fundamental and read teachings too literally.

The argument that the teacher.gives the lesson the student needs to hear is a poor excuse for any abuse or misbehavior. I think that they can be told as allegories but do not have to be experienced by the student directly. (think of the woman that lost her child and came to the Buddha to revive him). This goes for 'crazy wisdom' and many people's interpretations of some 'zen' teachers that have been sketchy or downright abusive. There is no place for it in the modern study of Buddhism.

Be your own teacher, we can study together. Buddhism really is a 'serve your self' religion/spiritual path/philosophy Think of teachers more like tutors, that way you know they are not the original source, but a way to better understand the lesson.

Now go study...

Sean

https://info-buddhism.com/Abuse_and_Buddhism-Behind_the_Smiling_Facade-Anna_Sawerthal.html

https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/karmapa-ogyen-trinley-successor-to-the-dalai-lama-faces-money-laundering-charges-in-india-234627.html