Seeing the world as it is, part 6/n

Hey, can we talk about money, capital, the economy and practice? I hope so.* I feel this is appropriate given the world as it is. Money talk is a good example of how liberalism foregrounds individualism and backgrounds the architecture of the world as it is. Race talk does this too but in a different way. Back to money.

Buddhist practice in the U.S., particularly among convert Buddhist communities, has its own particular wrinkles layered in to the world of liberalism and money as it is.

There are ideals in practice, or I have heard idealism in contemporary Buddhist practice about money…. often from the vantage point of individual circumstances, “I have just enough,” (and of course we all have different ideas about exactly what is ‘just enough’), “I don’t want to touch money or be trans-actional because in the old days, monks did not touch money” (btw, here’s a link to my paypal account), “is it possible to really make a living being a Buddhist teacher or priest?”, “what is a reasonable way to share/teach dharma and make a living…”, exactly what is not included in right livelihood, besides the obvious criminal activities….?” “Does practice imply an anti-capitalism?” “I work 4o hours a week and practice ZZ two hours a week…. should I change my lifestyle?” “Buddhists live modestly….” (and there are values about what is and isn’t modest).

Here’s an simple and perhaps obvious takeaway: These judgements we hold, conscious and unconscious about money, are deeply ingrained in our family histories and the historical/epochal periods in which we live. Epochal histories…. matter. And right now, this moment …. there are two economies. To be continued…

• maybe five years ago, I gave a talk at SCZC which I dubbed the “money talk.” I like to think I am on point and keep abreast of contemporary issues. I roamed from individual money values and practice to FINCEN, RICO, and fraud in the global economy. FINCEN was not in the news five years ago. My talk went over like a lead balloon…. with the exception of one person (Gassho Laurie Bair). Most people were “but Buddhism is a separate issue from the economy….”.

Seeing things as they are, part 5/n

The nature of liberalism is to be flexible and adaptive at the same time it always secures a certain kind of past for the future.

In Zen communities across North America, there are awakenings afoot about inclusivity in sanghas. We must be careful to understand and recognize the limits of simple representation, naive words, and questions of attitude.

I have been an advocate of history, more history, and still more. Seeing things as they are now, particularly with respect to inclusivity issues, involves history. This moment includes all previous ones across time and space.

Hypo-descent (also known as the drop rule) is a figurative part of the contemporary moment. Sure, the U.S. has gone from hypo-descent (and blood quantum) to ethnic and racial categories (and genealogy), and exclusion policies are generally replaced by notions of assimilation, integration, inclusivity.

But the foundational work of hypodescent is recognition of the humanity of others.