As I launch my new Dharma Gaia Circle as a virtual Sangha (using Zoom) tomorrow evening, I wish to take this opportunity to answer a few of the questions that some who have received this invitation might have about what I am up to. So let's dive in...
1. Are you starting a new religion?
Heavens no! The last thing our planet needs is another religion! There are enough--probably too many--already! So Dharma Gaia Circle is a Sangha--a completely voluntary community of practice, open to anyone of all faith traditions, or none at all: Buddhist, Christian, Jew, Muslim, Pagan, Hindu, Taoist, indigenous, or whatever...It is intended as a supplement, not a substitute, to whatever faith tradition you may currently be affiliated with. And you don't have to "believe" anything to join. Conversely, you can "believe" anything you like, so long as you don't try to impose your own preferred religious ideology on others.
2. Do I have to be a Buddhist in order to join?
You don't have to "be" anything. Your question reflects a common misunderstanding. The term "Buddhism" or "Buddhist" is a Western coinage--the term was never used by the historical Buddha nor his followers. Rather, the Buddha referred to his teachings simply as "Dharma practice," open to anyone at all. There are no mandatory Buddhist "creeds;" nothing you "have to believe" in order to practice.
While I myself am a Dharma practitioner within the ramifying "Buddhist" tradition, with my own practices rooted in the teaching lineage of which Thich Nhat Hanh, the venerable Vietnamese monk, is the leading modern examplar, I draw in my thinking and in my practice on a variety of wisdom traditions, including Christian, Taoist, Tibetan Buddhist, Hindu, and Indigenous. I try to eschew labels, but if someone asks me for an honest answer to the question "What are you?" I answer, without hesitation, "a Gaian Buddhist." At the same time, I am also a proud member of a Unitarian Universalist church, here in Salem where I belong.
3. So what is a Gaian Buddhist?
There are, of course, many possible definitions. But over the many years of my study and practice, as both a Dharma practitioner and a passionate "environmentalist," I have come to see a strong coherence between the Dharma teachings of the Buddhist tradition and the Gaian teachings of contemporary scientists and visionaries such as Gregory Bateson, James Lovelock, Lynn Margulis, Francisco Varela, William Irwin Thompson, Fritjof Capra, and many others, as well as the practical implications of the holistic Gaian understanding of humanity's embeddedness within the web of life as a complex adaptive system--implications that were first explored by visionary Gaian activists such as Stewart Brand, the late Wangari Maathai, Joanna Macy, and Vandana Shiva, and that are codified and embedded in the practical discipline of Permaculture, as founded by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. This coherence between Buddhism and Gaianity was first clearly explored in the 1991 anthology Dharma Gaia, published by Parallax Press, the publisher of Thich Nhat Hanh's many books, established by his international Mindfulness Community. So this is the relatively recent tradition or lineage (starting in 1970s) within which Dharma Gaia Circle takes its place.
4. So what will we do in the Dharma Gaia Circle? As I see it, and as I hope, our Sangha will take root, ramify, and bear fruit in three phases, corresponding exactly to the three stages of the Dharma Gaia Mantra I have created as our core practice:
1. Breathe, Observe, Let Go. We will begin with instruction and practice in what Thich Nhat Hanh aptly calls "the essential discipline" of meditation: that is, the discipline of returning to our breath in the present moment (as our home base, so to speak), and through this, cultivating the ability to simply observe our continuous thoughts, feelings, and impulses, rather than letting them control us, and then letting go of our attachment to them, in order to return to our breath. This will be our primary activity in every meeting, followed by a mindful discussion of our meditative experience, using a "talking stick" (a Native American practice) to ensure that everyone gets to share their thoughts or feelings without interruption or cross-talk.
2. Be Well, Do Good Work, Keep in Touch. Garrison Keillor's wonderful sign-off (from his morning radio program, "Writer's Almanac") inscribes a useful generic daily agenda for Dharma practitioners. As such, they also describe the first fruits of a consistent meditation practice: (1) the ability to let go of afflictive emotions so we can take better care of our own bodies, minds, and spirit; (2) the ability to recognize and let go of distractions, so that we can focus on our tasks more diligently and do so for the common good; (3) be more aware of the effects of our behavior on others, and reach out compassionately to those in need, or those who simply would like to hear from us.
3. Learn Gaia, Teach Gaia, Heal Gaia, Create Gaia: These four injunctions inscribe a generic life agenda for serious Gaians: to learn everything we can about the living world we inhabit, so that we can discover our own skillful means for teaching others and healing the manifold damage inflicted on our planet through ignorance and greed. Finally, our ultimate goal is to become agents in the spontaneous remission of the Cancer of the Earth, by creating Gaian alternatives to the dysfunctional status quo in whatever ways fit best with our own talents, skills, and interests--by growing gardens, growing community, and growing awareness.
I hope this addresses whatever concerns you might have about joining us. If you have any more questions, feel free to contact me at tiellis@gmail.com.
