Summary of chapter 10 of the book: ‘After the ecstasy, the laundry’ Jack Kornfield / Rider Ransom house, 2000
The first step in attending to any problem is an honest appraisal of what is so. In collective spiritual difficulties we have to be courageous enough to end our isolation and to question our beliefs, our community, our teacher and ourselves. What is needed is the spirit of discriminating wisdom: it means seeing clearly, telling the difficult truth, but always in the spirit of compassion and in the knowledge of interconnection. Every tradition and every teacher (Guru) has strengths and weaknesses.
Major areas in which difficulties arise:
Why difficulties happen.
We may find ourselves, like Icarus in the Greek story, imprisoned in a labyrinthine life of our own making. The part of us that knows its limitations can navigate the dangers of liberation’s flight. We should never forget we are human when we try to be a perfect being. The world of the gods is enticing- when we taste the fruits of freedom, the experiences can sweep us away. Yet problems arise if we believe we can stay ther, never returning to the realities of time, of earth of our human life. In most cases where the role of teacher is abused, the teachers are not purposely dishonest. Surrounded by crowds of disciples who want to think of them as perfect, they have come to believe their own press releases, to identify with the authority of being a “master’. Within this climate of unreal expectations it is easy for the teacher to get disconnected and out of touch. Both teacher and community sets itself apart from the world, isolation coupled with inflation becomes fertile ground for delusion, thought control, and transformation from practice community to cult. Our patriarchal cultures have conditioned us to look up to authorities, to distrust our own bodies and feelings, to follow the ones who “know better”. We have not been encouraged or empowered to think for ourselves.
The longing to be rescued, to find someone who knows the truth in this confusing world, is the basis for many communities of mindless followers. Idealization and isolation lead to a culture of shared denial. Most traditions warn against misuse of the teacher role. Yet, many followers in the community cannot imagine or believe these warnings apply to them. Our human capacity for self-deception is almost as vast as our capacity for awakening.
In the name of “correct” religious practice in history, the abuse of power by organized Western and Eastern religions is well known. The teachings were always twisted and abused to foster conflicts, theft, war and killing.
Certain spiritual traditions, both Eastern and Western, teach that it is best not to have any personal needs or desires. This ideal of otherworldly perfection does not recognize the value in ordinary relationships and needs, and expects teacher, abbots, and masters to be above the world, to maintain a saintly simplicity and ascetic purity. One sign of a healthy purity is this: The person taking this role has not simply suppressed his or her needs or denied that they exist. If the needs of body and humanity are not acknowledged, they can be demonised and projected onto others, fueling paranoia, witch-hunts and inquisitions. The community will live in fear of many aspects of life.
Asian-based traditions in the West face another difficulty: cross-cultural confusion. Teachers coming from an environment where dress is modest and the sexes are strictly separated can lose their sense of what is appropriate when suddenly immersed in Western culture. Much harm and pain is produced by teachers who expect their students to serve them sexually or otherwise.
The resolution of the journey to enlightenment comes when we recognize that both our suffering and our awakening are in the service of a higher good. Unless we serve the Devine, our unfulfilled needs can become entangled with our quest, and our spiritual experiences can work only to create a more expanded form of ego. A teacher who is overidentified with spiritual energy may subtly believe that, as the one who carries the teachings, it is he or she who must be served.
A wise heart knows that whatever spiritual energy we discover is not ours, it is only entrusted to us. The bodisattva vows and the Prayer of St. Francis advise us to dedicate whatever blessing we receive to the benefit of others. A wise heart also acknowledged that on some days we are more connected to the blessings of awakening than on others.Every wise religion recognizes that a foundation of human virtue, honesty, and integrity is necessary in spiritual life. Whether it is the Buddhist precepts, the Hindu Yamas and Niyamas, or th Muslim or Judeo-Christian commandments, the care we take with our conduct underlies all spiritual development. These guidelines must apply to the teacher as well as the students, for if masters put themselves above virtue, then they are destined to create suffering. Creating a spiritual community is a recipe for betrayal. The values of compassion and love that underlie all great traditions rest on our commitment to virtue.
Betrayal is a surprisingly common theme in the journey. It functions as an uninvited initiation into the complex truth of humanity, of the shadows cast by the light. The grief and the lessons of spiritual betrayal can last for years. But sometimes a long process of grief and anger, reflection and inner work leads to the students understanding that the biggest betrayal was that they had given away their own authority.
Eventually it is not the betrayal by teachers that shocks or awakens us most - it is the growing recognition of the ways we have betrayed ourselves. We pretended we did not see the shadow even when it was in full view. Through our needs and idealism we abandoned our heart’s wisdom, our own true nature. No teacher or outside authority can give us the truth or take it away. In the end we will find that our heart holds the simple wisdom and unshakable compassion that we have sought all along.
Betrayal itself becomes our teacher. We must bow to betrayal, because it brings us back to the truth. It demands that we learn discrimination wisdom, that we speak honestly, that we examine our ideals and our faults, that we wrestle with forgiveness.