CBC’s Tapestry
My radio was broken in my last car, may the green machine rest in peace, so for years I drove around in silence. I am really enjoying listening to the CBC again while driving. Today, driving back from a jaunt to Rathtrevor Provincial Park near Parksville, which is an incredible spot and only 30 minutes from Nanaimo, I caught the below broadcast on Tapestry which I found thought-provoking.
The Upper-Middle Path
You’ve heard about the "Middle Path"? It’s one of Buddhism’s key teachings: steer clear of extremes; find a balance between indulging the senses and going overboard on deprivation.
But what happens when the Buddha’s "Middle Path" becomes the "Upper-Middle Path”? Meet Kobai Scott Whitney, a writer and Buddhist prison chaplain. He says North American Buddhists are turning the great tradition into some kind of Buddhism Lite: taking what they like and leaving the rest. Newbie Buddhists, Kobai says, simply ignore anything too demanding, preferring to zone out on their comfy meditation cushions. Mary Hynes meets Kobai Scott Whitney (the name means Old Plum) on Tapestry.
Here are a couple of other references to Kobai Scott Whitney’s thoughts and work:
http://www.wildmind.org/blogs/on-practice/kobai-renunciation#more-454
http://www.prisondharmanetwork.org/
