They also believe that I should take a softer “public” approach on social justice and religious accountability issues, so that the former benefactors, who have essentially financially destroyed our community in the past four years, might change their views and begin supporting us again.
I’ll be the first to admit that the attire I am personally most physically comfortable, since I am not a big fan of clothing in general, wearing my Benedictine (Camaldolese) habit. But the fact is that having lost a considerable amount of weight, due to my medical condition, the one I have is too big, and being white, it was more practical in a traditional monastic setting. My work takes me out on the streets too often now, so white ends up filthy by the end of a single day.
But there is another reason I resist wearing it… and that reason is more important to me…
It’s all about fighting against appearances. I dislike and disapprove of the way in which we treat those in religious or spiritual garb “better” than we treat the guy in “grunge-wear” from the local biker’s club. My message is post-denominational and post-religious… so wearing religious attire can be counter productive in most settings.
This week, after making the decision to disassociate myself from a self-described Buddhist discussion group, in which I found far too many armchair-gurus, and not enough substantial conversation going on; and in which I was tired of having to deal with the vitriolic bullshit of one woman, who felt it was disgraceful “fence-sitting” for me to consider myself a successor to the apostles, a Franciscan and a Buddhist monk/lama, I began to consider addressing our judgmentalism based on appearances.
Appearances get us in trouble. Last week, we talked about the legendary resurrection, and how the ultimate message, I believe, was that death could not kill the love that became incarnate in the Christ, and which lives on in his disciples. In the Buddhist tradition, although Buddha Sakyamuni no longer appears to be living corporeally, the Buddha-Mind (Christ-Consciousness) lives on in the Sangha.
Last Saturday night, hundreds of thousands of Britons tuned-in to watch the programme that gave way to the U.S. hit, American Idol, and watched incredulously, as an apparently frumpy, physically unattractive woman told the judges, she wanted to become a professional singer.
Watch the video clip below, and then consider how you and I allow appearances to cause us to forget that our perceptions are nearly always mistaken, and little more than our opinions and judgments. Consider what you can do to finally allow for a new awareness to awaken in you… a Divine Mercy, if you will… a mindfulness of the Oneness that is the Ultimate Reality, and awareness of our responsibility to show compassion, support and kindness toward every being.
I was deeply moved by this video clip, and applaud Susan Boyle for being a remarkable teacher… and encourage you to watch what happens to the judges throughout the clip. It’s a sight we don’t often see in the U.S. version, but even Simon Cowell clearly shows a depth of emotion that is stirring and humbling.
Click here to watch the video clip (opens in a new window).
-- Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato
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Copyright ©2008, Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato). All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire blog, including by-lines, contact information and this copyright remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.
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