Thich Nhat Hanh Jewish Roots The Better Way to Live Alone in the ...

sangha NEWSWhen the center manifests, the community is ready to step in andlive harmoniously.”And every time we come to the end of the working weekend,we realize the effects of such a process: we had arrived as individualsand we leave as community members. What an experienceevery time! Now we know that it will happen next time too,but each time we repeat the experience again and again, to oursurprise and joy.We feel “there is no way to community: community is theway.”And it is along that way that my smile becomes brighter andmy heart full of gratitude.Silvia Lombardi, True Wonderful Mind, invites you tolearn more about Progetto Essere Pace by visiting www.centrovitaconsapevole.org (follow the link to pages inEnglish). Or contact Silvia Lombardi, gioiadelcuore.silvia@tin.it or Stefano Carboni, stefaning@fastwebnet.it.Jewish Roots continued from page 11prayer space, usually divided by a mechitzah, a screen or curtain.Sometimes the women’s section is even in the back or upstairs.More liberal branches of Judaism do not follow this practice.The issue of separate seating divides the Jewish communitybecause it is an indicator of separate and often unequal genderroles in the religion and culture. So for me to be shooed off to thewomen’s section in a Buddhist context was jarring. [See SisterAnnabel’s commentary on “Sitting Separately” in the sidebar.]What To Keep and What To Let Go OfAnother powerful experience for me during the retreat was thepractice of touching the earth. As we lay prostrate on the ground,our teacher instructed us to hold on to what we valued about ourancestors and let go of what caused us pain.My rigid mind resisted this instruction at first. “No, it’s all ornothing. You have to take the bad parts if you want the good parts.”But then a voice of compassion arose: “Who made up that rule?Just try and see how it feels.” I took a deep breath and let some ofthe negative legacies from my ancestors flow downward and seepout of my body and into the earth. I felt cleansed and liberated.Those of us exploring and embracing Buddhism who alsowant the richness of our root tradition in our spiritual lives can dothe same thing. We can experiment with what we keep and what welet go of. These might shift over time, re-assembling themselvesin new and perhaps surprising ways. As we work to integrate ourpractice of Judaism with our practice of Buddhism, we are honoringour roots while letting our branches reach upwards to bringforth new leaves.Laureen Lazarovici, an “alumna” of the WeepingCherry Sangha in Arlington, Virginia, now sits withthe Malibu Sangha in Los Angeles, California.SittingSeparatelyWhen in the meditation hall men and women sit on differentsides, we could call this “sitting separately,” but if youlook deeply, you will see that there is no segregation. In otherwords, one group is not being excluded from the principalgroup. Clearly there is no discrimination. Both sides of themeditation hall are equally peaceful, have equally beautifulcushions, and an equal access to the altar.In Mindfulness Training recitations and transmissionsand in formal meals and ceremonies where monks and nunswear the yellow formal robe, we sit separately. There areseveral reasons for this. The first is purely formal. The monkshave their order of ordination and the nuns have their orderof ordination; in these ceremonies we sit in order of ordinationto be aware of who is our elder and who is our youngerbrother or sister.The second reason is a matter of energy. A man’s anda woman’s energy differ in certain significant aspects. Thisis something physiological and psychological. For all of itsbenefits, the movement for equality of the sexes has very oftenmeant a woman has had to push her way into a man’s worldand compete with men on the terms of a man’s world. Thishas been very stressful for many women.Personally, I am very happy to be a Buddhist nun where Ican be truly enlightened as a woman and do not have to try tofulfill the enlightenment of a man. When we sit separately, Ilook over to my brothers and my heart is filled with appreciation.I know they support my practice and I wholeheartedlysupport theirs.During sitting meditation and at any time when deepconcentration is needed, our being is very finely tuned. Sexualfeelings can be very disturbing both to the person who hasthem and to the person who is the object of the feelings. Thatis another reason for sitting separately. Our physical proximitycan water the seeds of these sexual feelings.In more traditional Buddhism, sitting separately is alwaysde rigueur. Thay has loosened this considerably by allowingthe Thursday mindfulness lunch to take place without sittingseparately. There are retreats in which practitioners practicesitting meditation with men and women sitting next to eachother. We have the right to enjoy both ways and feel the differentenergies for ourselves, so that in our local sangha wecan choose how we want to organize ourselves. Many of usare very happy to have the best of both worlds.—Sister Annabel, True Virtuethe Mindfulness Bell 43