This and That And a Blessed Rohatsu to All!

For the first time in, oh, I don’t know, fifteen years, more, I am not at Rohatsu sesshin, a Zen meditation retreat honoring the Buddha’s great awakening. Auntie who has been ill had to have an exploratory surgery and so Jan and I stayed home, while our friends flocked to the temple in Worcester to stare at walls for hours upon hours, and days upon days. What can I say? You have to have done it to understand how I miss it.

And then, just to put a bit of frosting on the cake, today, which is the actual Rohatsu day, I’ve spent in bed with a bug. I’ve only just crawled out of said bed. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for the sleep, hours upon hours. And, now, for the shower that followed…

Yum…

Still, Jan & I miss the gang and those lovely walls and the sounds of silence…

But there’s always something for the monkey mind, whether I get to paint it on a wall or it just runs around inside my skull…

When I went to Youtube to see if I could find something interesting regarding Rohatsu, also known as Bodhi Day, I was amused to find some business calls itself Bodhi Day Spa. And this right after a brief email conversation touching on the issue of cultural appropriation.

People can get really worked up over the subject of appropriation. Now, I think there is a grain of truth in the concern. And there are lines to cross. Still, I am of the opinion much, probably most of what gets tagged as cultural appropriation or misappropriation is done for silly, wrongheaded, and on occasion oppressive reasons, attempting to silence emergent syncretistic spiritualities. I’ve also noticed how often offense is held on behalf of people who couldn’t give a fig about the subject. Or, if they do, take their offense with a grain of salt.

For instance taking the offense down a notch or two, I have an old friend who collects examples of Buddhism (not itself an artifact that can be claimed by one culture, so the “cultural” part isn’t the deal in and of itself.) being used for shall we say nonspiritual purposes. He calls ’em Dharma Burgers.

Dharma burgers are themselves usually not very nourishing, but, like the bar not too far from where I live that features an image of Hotai, the so-called laughing Buddha holding a martini, they can be amusing.

Oh, and here’s a brief clip I found on Rohatsu…