Buddhist Romanticism

authentic encounter with what is most vital and mysterious in life,
then they surely need to be unclouded by either dogma or
prevarication.…
“As far as anyone knows, we are alone in an inconceivably vast
cosmos that has no interest at all in our fate. Even if other worlds like
this exist elsewhere in the cosmos, they would not be mere repetitions
of the awesomely complex configuration of biological, cultural and
psychological conditions that are generating this world now. The
path that has led you here and beckons you into an unknown future
has likewise never appeared in exactly this way before and will not
do so again. You are free to go straight ahead, turn right or turn left.
Nothing is stopping you.”
* * *
11) One of the many ways to cultivate a receptivity to all things is through
erotic love.
“The separation of the spiritual from the sensual, of the sacred
from the relational and of the enlightened from the erotic no longer
seems desirable. Certainly seeing how impossible the division has
proven for the countless spiritual teachers of every tradition who
have stumbled over their own longings has been instructive. In
addition, having a family and a relationship has made it abundantly
clear to me that they require the same dedication, passion and vision
that a spiritual life demands. Now that spiritual life is in the hands of
householders rather than monastics, the demands of desire are front
and center, not hidden from view.”
“Buddhist texts are filled with stories about the impurities of the
body, just like those you would find in the Catholic Church. And so
there is a lot of confusion, because the body isn’t seen as a vehicle for
sacredness, but more as something to transcend. In the lay
community, we are not taught how to make it a deliberate part of our
practice, guided into making sexual activity a wise part of our life.
But the body could be, and it’s time for it. Sexuality can open us
beyond ourselves, to grace, ecstasy, communion, oneness, and
natural samadhi. Let us teach sexuality as a domain of practice and
health instead of a realm of pathology or anti-spirituality.”
284