The Best Buddhist Writing 2010 - Melvin McLeod [134]
It’s not an easy thing to challenge your cultural conditioning, to break through its constraints, and then to go further and penetrate the more subtle conditioning of your own mind. But that’s the nature of the search for truth that frees you from illusion. When I think of that freedom and finding the courage to break through the icy formalities of my own perfectionist Asian culture, I always recall the ancient Indian prince, Siddhartha, whose accomplishment still stands as a perfect example of a revolution of mind: a one-pointed search for the truth that led to his full awakening and freedom from all cultural and psychological bondage. He wanted nothing from the outside world. He was not on some emotional trip with an agenda of personal glorification and power. He simply wanted to know what was true and what was mere illusion. His sincerity and courage have always inspired me, and they can be an inspiration for anyone’s search for truth and enlightenment.
This search is what Rebel Buddha is about. We all want to find some meaningful truth about who we are, and we’re always looking for it. But we can only find it when we’re guided by our own wisdom—our own rebel buddha within. With practice, we can sharpen our eyes and ears of wisdom, so that we will recognize the truth when we see it or hear it. But this kind of looking and listening is an art we must learn. So often, when we think we’re being open and receptive, nothing is coming in. Our mind is already full of conclusions, judgments, or our own version of the facts. We’re more intent on getting a stamp of approval for what we think we know than in learning something new. But when we’re genuinely open-minded, what happens? There’s a sense of space and invitation, a sense of inquisitiveness and of real connection with something beyond our usual selves. In that situation, we can hear whatever truth is speaking to us in the moment, whether the source is another person, a book, or our perceptions of the world itself. It’s like listening to music. When you’re totally into it, your mind goes to a different level. You’re listening without judgment or intellectual interpretation because you’re listening from the heart. That’s how you need to listen when you want to hear the truth.
When you can feel the truth on that level, then you discover reality in its naked form, beyond culture, language, time, or location. That is the truth discovered by Siddhartha when he became the Buddha, or “Awakened One.” Awakening to who we really are beyond our personal dramas and shifting cultural identities is a process of transforming illusion back into its basic state of reality. That transformation is the revolution of mind we are here to explore. After much thought about my own training, it is what I have tried to present here for modern readers: a culturally stripped-down vision of the Buddhist spiritual journey.
BEYOND CULTURE
In my role as a teacher, my intention is simply to share the wisdom of the Buddha and my experiences in both traditional and contemporary settings of studying and practicing those teachings. In my teachings in recent years, I have also been trying to clarify frequent misunderstandings about Buddhism—especially the tendency to make Asian Buddhist culture stand for Buddhism itself—by pointing out the true essence of the teachings, which is wisdom joined with compassion. While not always easy to sort out, my various experiences have led me to see the almost blinding influence of culture in our lives and thus the importance of seeing beyond culture altogether. If we’re ever to understand who we are as individuals and societies, then we need to see the interdependence of culture, identity,