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Zuky, on “that kind” of Buddhist please read the whole thing - there is so much more to it than this quote. :) i think i will come back to this post several times. but the reason i pulled this particular quote was because of the issue raised about being “harsh” or “alienating”. first off, i don’t happen to feel that Zuky or brownfemipower are either of those things. i have always found both of them to be open and very giving in regards to how they share their practice and explain their thoughts on spirituality. but also, i know what they are talking about and it is really tiring to be told all the time that you are “alienating” because you point out phony and ignorant behavior/attitudes in others. in my practice, what Zuky calls a “sparkly-eyed Westerner” is called a “spoofy-sufi”. if you don’t know or understand from the quote above, it references those who look to non-white cultures and romanticize the spiritual practices. not only are there issues of appropriation (i feel this most keenly in relation to how i retain indigenous spirituality also) but also of idealizing. Zuky gives the example of eating meat, and i think a good example from my Islamic tariqa perspective would be how people react when they see that i am listening to Lit or Janis Joplin on my Blip station. We are talking about a certain kind of person who has very rigid ideas about what a “real” Buddhist (Zuky & BFP’s case) or Naksibendi mureed (my case) is. Not only is it ignorant because it displays a lack of understanding about the variances in practice, but it also attempts to strip us of our humanity. We are put on display instead, marked as specimens, expected to perform for others. i’d like to say that we are subverting the assumptions and rebelling against expectations. And i think that is still true. But more than that, i think we are just living examples of a spiritual path and that path isn’t quite as confined or fenced in as people want to believe. What i always find simultaneously amusing and maddening about the “sparkly eyed” sort is that they have not only pigeon-holed us but also are great pretenders. They are trying so hard to be this defined and “perfected” spiritual being - and completely missing the real lessons in our practice. It all becomes so contrived and artificial (and might i add, these are the same people who tend to tie their practice to a certain kind of spiritual consumerism). In the end, these are the sorts that either become phony watered down versions of the path, or whose stricture drives them to a fanatical bent that confines them to a close-minded religion rather than a beautiful and healing spirituality. Being told that we are harsh or alienating might actually be a compliment. The sincere seeker is not going to be put off (at least not permanently) and maybe there is a necessary lesson for them if they do feel alienated. In my path, we work to put our egos in check and de-emphasize our baser instincts and selfishness. Maybe a little bit of “alienation” is a good thing if it helps them put things into perspective. (via thingsimreading) |
Yes, you and I have in the past made fun of the “sparkly-eyed” Westerners, the new-agey types, the appropriators, the image-projecting spiritualists, and I still find them worthy of some mockery. It’s probably a bit harsher and possibly alienating than it needs to be, and maybe I’ll try to tone that down; but then, mainstream culture freely mishandles fundamental aspects of my culture and my inner life and I can’t apologize for my feelings about that, in a racist world, in a society which makes orientalism part of its own fun and mockery.
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