How I Found My Buddhist Path ...along the Infinite Corridor
By Jim Rosen, Technology Review, March/April 2006
Massachusetts, USA -- I was first introduced to Buddhist practice as an
undergraduate in the early 1970s. In a sense, I had already been primed for
this interest. The "Summer of Love" had ushered in a broad interest in Eastern
religions, and books like Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind were widely read.
During my sophomore year at Pomona College, I encountered my first
Buddhist meditation teacher, a young Zen monk from Japan who had been sent by
his abbot to find out why all those American hippies were drawn to the
monastery's doorstep. One day I arrived at his small apartment for a private
meditation interview, and there he was in his monastic robes in front of a
television set, watching a football game with his full attention. The image I
remember most, however, came after I knocked on the door of his den, when he
immediately and effortlessly turned his attention from the football game to me.
I learned in that moment a Buddhist lesson in "nonattachment."
I left Pomona for MIT to study architecture. Though my encounter with
Buddhism had touched me, I was uncertain how great a commitment I wanted to
make. I didn't have the motivation or time to actively seek out a new Buddhist
teacher. But as happens in life, on a crisp autumn day in Cambridge, I came
upon a yard sale in front of a house that turned out to be shared by a group of
American Buddhists. On one of the tables was a flyer detailing their ongoing
meditation classes. I attended a class that very night, thus beginning a
lifelong connection to Chögyam Trungpa, my principal teacher.
The demands of the MIT program were rigorous. But somehow I found time to
participate in weekend programs and even took a trip to a retreat center in
northern Vermont for a week-long solitary meditation retreat.
While I found that my MIT professors and fellow students were tolerant
and supportive, I never came across any Buddhist activities at the Institute.
Furthermore, although Buddhism is popular and even hip in some circles today,
back then the Jonestown massacre was fresh in people's minds, and many viewed
Buddhism as a cult. As a result, I was largely private about my Buddhist
experiences.
These days, however, MIT has a growing Buddhist community. Tenzin
Priyadarshi, an internationally respected Buddhist teacher, serves as MIT's new
Buddhist chaplain. And he's known to roller-skate through the halls of the
Institute in his flowing red robes. I am heartened that MIT students don't feel
the need to draw the line that I felt I had to draw between my practice of
Buddhism and my MIT pursuits. Today, Buddhist activities are much more
integrated into community life at the Institute.
For instance, the MIT campus regularly hosts Buddhist programs, including
meditation, arts, and social-action programs. In 2003, the Dalai Lama appeared
on the Kresge Auditorium stage before a packed hall of more than 1,200 people
to kick off a conference cosponsored by MIT on "Investigating the Mind:
Exchanges between Buddhism and Biobehavioral Science on How the Mind Works."
Events featuring the sand mandala, a traditional Tibetan art form, have
attracted more than 5,000 people in the past two years and have been
instrumental in building awareness of MIT's Buddhist community.
The fact that the demanding pace set at the Institute continued into my
career years made the continuation of my Buddhist practice all the more
important. I've been involved in several high-tech startups, which are known
for their fast-paced, constantly changing, and stressful work environments.
While meditation practice doesn't eliminate these challenges, it does teach you
to work with them in a spacious and peaceful way.
I believe that the more visible presence of a Buddhist community at MIT
is a good thing. Buddhist training, after all, is a millennia-old tradition
that teaches Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike how to uncover the natural
compassion and clarity that is at the core of our true nature.
----------------------------------
Jim Rosen '79, MAR '82, has worked in the technology business for more
than 20 years and cofounded two successful software firms. He can be reached at
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To learn more about Buddhist activities at MIT, please visit
http://web.mit.edu/metta/www/ or e-mail Tenzin Priyadarshi, MIT's Buddhist
chaplain, at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing
http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/b0VolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
** MABINDO - Forum Diskusi Masyarakat Buddhis Indonesia **
** Kunjungi juga website global Mabindo di http://www.mabindo.org **
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MABINDO/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
