The Zen practice of zazen (sitting meditation) is subversive. In our gun-promoting, militaristic culture, sitting on a cushion and practicing metta is a practice that undermines the foundation of that culture.
I live in a so-called progressive town that has many fine attributes. We use re-claimed water on our lawns. We have the highest quality re-cycling system of any town. We drink reverse osmosis water. Our city attorney pioneered the idea of impact fees for developers.
But visit downtown and what do you see? A huge, obnoxious banner exhorting us to support our troops. Why is murder against the law in our town if it is OK on the other side of the ocean? When a U.S. drone strikes a wedding party and kills scores of people, why is that OK? And why are medals and promotions awarded to those who did it? And when a whistleblower exposes wanton murder of civilians, why is the whistle-blower prosecuted, and not the murderers?
Why isn’t Bradley Manning a national hero? He released videos of U.S. military murderers laughing as they slaughtered foreign (that makes it OK) children and he is the one who goes to jail? And is tortured? And declared “guilty” by President Obama before he has had a single court hearing? And PBS asks: Why did he betray his country? And the murderers go free and we are expected to support them and thank them for their service?
The military serves only the plutocrats who profit from war. The military is turning our country into the most hated country in the world. Thank you for your service?
We have to stop feeding the monster. We have to open zendos everywhere and we have to publicize them. We have to make zazen a part of our mainstream culture. When practitioners of loving kindness outnumber the bullies/warmongers, we will reach a tipping point.
We can use meetup.com to start new sitting groups. Obviously, if every zen practitioner in the U.S. starts two new sitting groups per year, in ten years the country will be saturated with zendos on every corner. The warmongers will be outnumbered and their recruiting attempts will fizzle out.
If you start a sitting group using Meetup.com, send us a link to it and the Zen Practice Foundation will reimburse you for the first six months (Meetup.com bills every six months).
It is well within the power of each of us to start two new sitting groups each year for the next five years. I will do my part. One thousand others can do the same and five years from now the mean-minded culture of today will be transformed.
How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Mind
