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Okay. First, there are, of course, many different animals out there but a couple predominate. The most common is the domestic sheep. They tend to get a bad name but they\u2019re the bulk of most groups most of the time. We all depend on the sheep to produce the wool that we all need to keep warm (i.e., they\u2019re largely responsible for keeping the temples and Zen centers going and have been for centuries).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/span><\/div>\nThe main reason being that sheep are easy to keep in line. As soon as the word \u201cneed\u201d is barked \u00a0(as in \u201cthe center needs\u2026\u201d or \u201cyour practice needs\u2026\u201d), a sheep will snap too and do what\u2019s asked. It is convenient for any spiritual group to have a nice sized flock. Congregants are even called \u201cflock\u201d in Christianity and you-know-who is the shepard. Anyway, the virtues of sheep are often presented as the only way to be \u201cspiritual.\u201d That\u2019s a limitation due to the eye sight of sheep.
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<\/span><\/p>\nStrangely, though, Zen sheep don\u2019t think they\u2019re sheep and don\u2019t even notice that they\u2019re getting sheared (a.k.a., \u201cfund raisers\u201d and \u201ctemple positions\u201d) from time to time. Make a motion at your next sangha meeting to change the word \u201cmembership\u201d to \u201cflock\u201d and hope the path to the exit is clear.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\nZen sheep tend to think they\u2019re not sheep \u2013 they might even bleat the\u00a0<\/span>Diamond Sutra<\/span><\/span>\u00a0to this effect. Zen sheep are especially strange in this way. Zen practice, after all, calls for a lot of conformity (on the surface) and yet attracts \u00a0sheep who think they\u2019re lone wolves. This all creates an odd inner dynamic. Especially when conformity is convenient and quite benefical (in the short term) for the group and for the teacher.
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<\/span><\/p>\nIn the midst of most groups there is another type, the little baby wild fox.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/9\/96\/Fennec_Fox_%40_Africa_Alive%2C_Lowestoft.jpg\/180px-Fennec_Fox_%40_Africa_Alive%2C_Lowestoft.jpg\")
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<\/span><\/div>\nOriginally, they get taken in by the sheep out of compassion. The sheep care for these little ones in their sheep ways, although that isn\u2019t quite what baby wild fox need. Still things go well for a while.
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One thing that goes especially well is zazen. That\u2019s one way to spot a wild fox puppy. The Zen teacher is also often quite fond of the little wild fox because Zen teachers (often grown up canines of some kind) are interested in those who are crazy about zazen. And the little fox pups throw themselves into sitting with an uncommon spirit of enthusiasm. The sheep will follow the form and baaa on and on about the form, but their spirit is often rather baaaa.
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<\/span><\/p>\nSo the little baby wild fox begins by totally identifying with the herd but a nagging feeling emerges that s\/he is different in some basic way. By the time the wild fox reaches those trouble teenaged years, s\/he tries even harder to be a sheep \u2013 even harder than all the sheep try to be sheep.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/span><\/p>\nBut then the wild fox grows up and sooner or later something happens where the wild fox gets a glimpse of her\/his wild fox nature. That\u2019s when things get interesting. In some groups, the wild fox is then shown to the door. In others, the wild foxes\u2019 wild fox nature is pathologized and sheep kindly approach and say, \u201cSorry to hear you aren\u2019t feeling well.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\nThe teacher\u2019s animal type is pretty important here. As I said, most teachers are some kind of canine, but we all aren\u2019t foxes. There are sheep dogs, of course, some collies and yes, there are wolves among us some of whom are hungry for things other than sex (fame and money, for example) \u2026 but that\u2019s another story.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\nI learned from Wikipedia that a bunch of sheep can be called a flock, a herd, or a mob. When a student\u2019s wild fox nature becomes clear, the mob nature of sheep becomes clear. They are domesticated and the wild fox is wild. The sheep define the boundary of the group and the wild fox is often exiled to just the place the grown up wild foxes like to hang \u2013 the periphery.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n\u201cAlways on the outside of whatever side you\u2019re on,\u201d sings Bob D. about some gangster.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\nYou might think, \u201cIf only I could find a wild fox community.\u201d But a whole group of wild foxes become a bunch of sheep acting like wild foxes. There is no escape. A mass of sheep is necessary for any group to function. That\u2019s just the nature of groups.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\nAny one Zen student may also seem to be a sheep but shape shift at some point and there you have it \u2013 a real wild fox. A thorough wild fox also ought to be able to selflessly shape shift and be a damn good sheep \u2026 for a while.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/2\/2c\/Flock_of_sheep.jpg\/250px-Flock_of_sheep.jpg\")
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