Separating culture from method from insight is key, in meditation and spiritual pursuits. The same as separating your love for your teachers personality, from the spiritual insights they have to teach.
Oftentimes, we confuse the worldly wisdom with the spiritual wisdom of our teachers. the worldly wisdom is absolutely influenced by spiritual wisdom, but in truth, they are different. When we see the twinkle in a teacher's eye or the quiet of their thoughts we are seeing how the divine insights of their practice are interweaving with their life's personality. Some personalities are shy. Some are outgoing and charismatic. Yes, through spiritual breakthrough, we can shed blocks that keep us shy or keep us craving a captive audience, but we will also just be who we are. When we meet a teacher we love, we may project that they have the spiritual answers we are seeking. Ultimately, most of the time, they have the life-experience answers we are seeking. The same is true for a spiritual path. If we follow Zen, we will learn lessons of the Japanese. We will learn about containers and containment, group and individuality, form and rigidity, flow and emptiness. If we practice in the Mahayana we will learn about color and shape, heat and cool, poverty and the wildness of our bodies. While there are profound insights in the dance of the Dharmakaya through all Nirmanakaya and Sambogakaya phenomena, ultimately, we also learn the gifts and limitations of the culture and the time and history the insights were woven through form for transmission.
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November 2021
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