Studying the Self with Help from Contemporary Filters

Friday morning, driving to work in the dark, I listened to a talk by Bodhin Kjolhede of the Rochester Zen Center. Bodhin compares Zen to one of those plastic sheets that art books will sometimes have, that superimpose something on the image. 

The Zen plastic overlay, though, is completely transparent.

In the process of studying the self, there are lots of contemporary methods that give perspective, that have good stuff on the overlay, that emphasize, organize, and develop a point-of-view. 

Indeed, listening to Bodhin’s talk (on the Yunmen’s Barriers, another sort of overlay) I was on my way to a training in just such a system that focuses on personality type and communication.

Reminds me of something attributed to old Mark Twain, “There are two types of people. Those who think there are two types and those who don’t.”

Well, the school district I work for is firmly in the first group and is making a big effort to improve the functioning of the administrative team through Process Communications Model (PCM). It’s similar to the MBTI (or Myers-Briggs) but based on behavioral observation rather than psychological theory.  

Table 1. Personality Types—Characteristics and Needs

According to the exhaustive PCM inventory (I’ve been digging around and can’t find a short form online, sorry), my most predominant styles are the Rebel and Reactor – that was a surprise to me. As we worked through the types, however, I could see how they fit … and some ways they didn’t. 

Most people in administrative positions in the corporate world and education are Persister/Workaholic types. One ah-ha moment was lining this up with how I often feel in these environments – that I’m marching to a different drummer. 

Personality type looks like one reason this is so.

Also prompted many reflections about those near and dear to me and also my relationships to those in the Zen world. My guess is that most Zen teachers have strong Persister and Dreamer elements, especially in Soto Zen.

And again some insights arouse into how I fit (and don’t) in those groups.

One avenue that I’m just starting to explore is how these types might be useful for what practice would work best for different people. Dreamers and Reactors might find following the breath to be most in line with their basic style because it would ground them in the body. 

Rebels, Promoters and Workaholics might find koan practice most compatible. You need some fight in you to wrestle with mu and all the many koans, koans are about doing, and it takes some Workaholic to deal with koan after koan. 

For Persisters, shikantaza – just sit down and become Buddha.

More on this as it develops. I welcome comments, of course.