The Zen Studies Podcast

Grief in Buddhism: What are the teachings about it, and how are we supposed to practice with it? It's often easy to suppress or bypass our grief, leaving us stuck in one of the early stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, or depression), or unable to face reality or live with a fully open heart. Unfortunately, some Buddhist teachings may seem to suggest it's better if we don't feel grief. I explore the question of grief and how we can practice with it in Buddhism in a fruitful and beneficial way.

The Lotus Sutra is one of the oldest and most central sutras in Mahayana Buddhism. The sutra states repeatedly that people who perform small acts of devotion, such as making an offering at memorial to the Buddha, "have fulfilled the Buddha Way." What does this mean? I think the Lotus Sutra, and Mahayana Buddhism more generally, is saying that we can transform the universe in an instant, that the smallest of our actions matters, and that the key to all of it is the state of our own mind and heart.

I continue in a second episode with my reflections on Chan master Hongzhi's "Guidepost of Silent Illumination. I discuss the interdependence of absolute and relative and why that matters in real life; how skillful bodhisattva action arises out of zazen; how silence is the supreme mode of communication, and how serenity and illumination - calm and insight - are both contained in zazen.

In this episode and the next, I riff off of 12th-century Chan master Hongzhi's short text, "Guidepost of Silent Illumination," one of the most positive and encouraging Zen teachings a know. By "riff" I mean I'll play off of, and spontaneously elaborate on, Hongzhi's words, as opposed to explaining or analyzing them in an exhaustive or comprehensive way. I take this approach because it's more fun, but also because "Guidepost of Silent Illumination," like most Chan and Zen writings, is essentially poetry.

Buddhism's central point is nothing other than impermanence, or the "Great Matter of Life-and-Death." Our practice goes far beyond platitudes or beliefs meant to make you feel better about the whole affair. Instead, our practice is about a direct and personal exploration of the experience and implications of being alive in a world where there is absolutely nothing for us to hold on to. Except, of course, that very fact, and the fact that being fully alive means we don't hold on to anything at all.

Fear is a natural response that helps us protect ourselves and our loved ones, but it can also be inappropriate and debilitating. Buddhist practice offers many ways to help us manage our fear. We start with mindfulness of fear in and of itself, and then become mindful of what feeds it versus what decreases it. We then act in ways that increase our equanimity. We also let go of expectations, assumptions, and narratives in order to decrease suffering and ground ourselves in the absolute aspect of reality.

Self-esteem is absolutely essential in Buddhist practice, but it may seem like self-esteem has no place in Buddhism. The Buddha taught us to stop identifying anything as I, me, or mine, because doing so leads to suffering. In Mahayana Buddhism we say the self is empty of any inherently-existing, enduring, independent self-nature. What exactly is it we're supposed to hold in esteem, or have confidence in? If the main point is to transcend self-concern, isn't self-esteem the opposite of what we're going for?

Taking Action is the second area of practice in Crisis Buddhism. It means working to help alleviate or prevent the suffering we witness in the world by leaving our homes, interacting with others, and engaging in bodhisattva activity in an active, tangible way. In this episode I begin addressing three reasons we resist Taking Action: We don't think it's "our thing," we don't have the time or energy, or we don't see anything we do that's also worth doing.

Crisis Buddhism requires us to mindfully balance three essential areas of practice: Bearing Witness, Taking Action, and Taking Care. In this episode I discuss Bearing Witness, or exposing ourselves to the suffering of the world in all its forms in order to make wise decisions, activate our natural compassion, and awaken a sense of urgency. How do we Bear Witness without becoming overwhelmed, depressed, or despairing? We embrace it as a noble practice of compassion and wisdom.

Crisis Buddhism is a new formulation of practice to help us navigate our everyday lives as we face ecological and climate breakdown. We mindfully balance three areas of practice: Bearing Witness, learning about the suffering of the world to make wise decisions, activate our compassion, and awaken a sense of urgency; Taking Action, participating in a tangible way to help alleviate or prevent the suffering we witness, and Taking Care, engaging in activities, relationships, and practices that sustain us.