Comments on: Heating Up the Dharma: The Container Principle

By: Susan

Susan — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 01:13:04 +0000

Thank you Tanya – this is a great link and it bridges your blog, and Rev. Danny’s discussion of intra-faith community.

I’m struck by the trust, faith and respect Thich Nhat Hahn demonstrates towards his students and an unknown on-line community. It’s pretty fearless to hand the teachings over to a bunch of young, lay, computer geeks, to see what they can do with it, and to encourage your monks to roll with it. He has a profound confidence that dharma, timeless and formless, can’t be “ruined” by non-monastics and he has a genuine openness to the diversity of human expression. Thich Nhat Hahn also has this amazing ability to always sees the best in those around him. It’s no surprise then that the people around him tend to rise to the occasion and give him their best.

I love the “Ask a Dharma Teacher” idea. I wish there was a site where practitioners could ask questions of experienced yogis or mediators, or where practitioners could simply share and discuss their practice with other mediators.

By: SvR

SvR — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 23:30:48 +0000

LOL – great use of a dharma quote to cut through our grossness. Sorry to have spoiled your lunch, but I guess this thread shows the editors are tending towards tolerance in what they will tolerate for comments. I was holding my breath to see if they would post my musings on the relative properties of non-chocolateness . . . I’m happy to climb back out of the gutter now.

By: Tanya

Tanya — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 17:02:15 +0000

This link came my way last week and I wanted to share it as an example of an online sangha.

Would love to hear your thoughts…

http://geofflivingston.com/2010/10/06/case-study-plum-village-builds-an-online-sangha

By: Tanya

Tanya — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 16:45:11 +0000

That’s a pretty good question and I think it all comes down to how we define container.

I tend to agree with the idea of the internet being a support or facilitator for study and practice, but on the other hand, it can also distract and keep us (me- in particular) from these activities. Ah duality!

I’d be interested to hear what Buddhist masters have to say on this as ultimately they are the ones filling the cups.

From your question, I just starting asking myself:
- If there was no internet, would Buddhism still exist?
- If there were no dharma books, would Buddhism still exist?
- If there were no teachers, would Buddhism still exist?

Thanks for helping me to do a bit more self inquiry Mike.

By: Tanya

Tanya — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 16:32:03 +0000

On the topic of poop and chocolate… I was just reading about “the yoga of one taste” in Ponlop Rinpoche’s book “Wild Awakening”.

“The is one taste because there is only one emptiness, one reality- one absolute truth.”

Now I will get back to eating my lunch… which I recognize as lunch…

Thanks for weighting in. I appreciate the discourse.

By: SvR

SvR — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 11:44:47 +0000

Agreed “Thanks but” – if I shit in your hand, it would be foolish (and unkind) to pretend it was chocolate. The point is to recognize shit as shit – and that there’s no real difference between shit and chocolate, except the relative experience of taste, texture, temperature and smell. Until I reach enlightenment, however, I’m sticking with my expresso.

By: thanks, but..

thanks, but.. — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 05:25:55 +0000

It isnt about comfort or pain, thats the point. It isnt about what is helpful or learning awesome new things. As you say, they are just another illusion along the way.

Endless consumption is its own reward. Enjoy whatever you wish.

But dont shit in my hand and call it chocolate.

By: Guest blog post : Rebel Buddha – Full Contact Enlightenment

Guest blog post : Rebel Buddha – Full Contact Enlightenment — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 16:11:06 +0000

[...] wrote a post over at the Rebel Buddha blog last week on “Heating up the Dharma: The Container Principle” so do pop over there if you want to check it out or add your comments. There’s a decent [...]

By: Philip

Philip — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 03:40:20 +0000

I think the least important container for dharma is the “dharma center”. The container is in it’s practice. If we are in practice and mindful to come back to the breath, or whatever object/non-object of practice regardless of whether or not it’s sadhana, mahayana, or simple meditation practice, that’s one cantain,er, hmm. But, isn’t the best container, what we do every moment in the so-called post-meditation practice? Everyday dharma. The dharma of brushing teeth, the dharma of driving to work, the dharma of spreadsheets, the dharma of laying bricks.

Sh*t, Tiliopa crushed sesame seeds during the day and was a pimp at night, as a practice, specifically to achieve realization of mind. And, when he guided his own student Naropa to see his mind, Tilo’s initial “pointing out” instruction was to slap the dude up-side his head with a shoe!

I think we forget with live in a realtive world, not some sort of utopian heaven. That worn out axiom “be here now”, really -is- the main practice! Meditation and the rest; tis all grist for the mill in knowing our minds. I think there is little doubt that it’s a lot easier to sit when I’ve laundered my clothes, cleaned the house and even had a good nights sleep.

I think such tasks are just as good a practice than our more formalist Buddhist practices. Maybe, no matter what we do or where we are, the container is there, as long as we stay mindful of it. Otherwise we may fall in to the trap of such activities being just another samsaric habitual pattern. It is the same mindfulness to keep in practice. Intentions aside, practice itself can become a mindless escape, and we wind up with just another OCD like habit, only disguised as dharma practice. Ergo, probably the container is simply mindfulness itself.

By: Perplexity

Perplexity — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 02:41:46 +0000

Not sure that the Internet is a “container” for Buddhism — but as a communication tool, it is certainly letting people communicate with a much wider group than they would have at any other time.

Tanya — I totally agree with you that the problem is not the support or the medium of communication that we use, but how we use it. I’m not sure about online Buddhists, but some people get so “hooked” by being online that their “meatspace” (as you put it) relationships suffer…and some people use the Internet to project an “alter ego”. Are we being honest online? Our we really being who we are? Are we acting online with compassion or does being online “liberate” us to act like jerks?

The Internet (I think) can be a great support for people who don’t have a teacher or a sangha nearby. It can be the source of new friendships, challenging discussions, encountering new ideas…but I don’t think that it’s a replacement for face to face practice. I think it’s best to practice with a sangha in person, if you can, along with our time spent online. While I’m honest about myself online, I’m challenged during face to face encounters in ways that I would never be challenged if not practicing with others in person — facing others and chanting with others and speaking in front of others is a good challenge for me, an introverted type. I also wouldn’t have anyone to tell me I was slouching, or correct my hand position when sitting…

By: Mike Munro

Mike Munro — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 16:41:35 +0000

Hi,
I am wondering what people think constitutes a genuine container. Personally I don’t feel the internet is a real container. To me it is more of a support or facilitator. When I think container for the lineage of the Buddha I think of practice materials, practice space, genuine teachers, practitioners, even organizations that support these. The internet is an aspect of how people practice and communicate, yet it doesn’t really constitute a container does it? Or does it? Assuming you agree that a container is necessary, what then is a genuine container?
Mike

By: Sven

Sven — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 03:38:14 +0000

Hang ten, Palderbum.