Well the website for Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche’s upcoming book, “Rebel Buddha” is online and I’m having lots of fun with the Rebel Poetry application!

Oh but the site is so much more than this. It features blog posts from Ponlop Rinpoche as well as guest bloggers who offer up their perspective on a variety of topics relevant to today’s Western Buddhist experience. There are also details on the book tour – Toronto and Halifax represent for the Canadian dates.

If you haven’t yet seen the first video released on the Rebel Buddha YouTube channel, here you go….

Brad Warner’s new book, Sex, Sin, and Zen: A Buddhist Exploration of Sex from Celibacy to Polyamory and Everything in Between, tackles a subject that is rarely discussed in Buddhist circles: Sex! Honestly, I can only really think of two teachers that are willing to discuss this topic, Noah Levine (author of Dharma Punx and Against the Stream) and Mr. Warner himself. Before I start talking about the book, it might be interesting to some of you to first discuss how Brad has been involved in discussions on the idea of “right livelihood”. Brad was a columnist for the alternative porn site Suicide Girls, this created much criticism in many Buddhist circles, that a Zen monk would write for such a website. I have found myself “defending” Brad more times than I wish to remember, I find that people are quick to judge others on the decisions that they have taken. People seem to put their teachers on pedestals, seeing as they represent the Buddha’s teachings they are meant to be held to this unrealistic ideal, they are still human after all. Also, I find that it is the critics that are creating their own suffering by clinging to these closed views, I am sure that Brad would say that he is responsible for whatever karma he may be accumulating from this work and was completely accountable from whatever may arise from this job. I don’t really want to get into it too much here, I find that I have discussed this enough and that it is time that we move on, if it makes you feel better, he no longer does the column. Brad also has a great explanation of why he decided to do it, so go get the book and check it out for yourself, and then you can form your own opinion.

Sex is a controversial topic, but it is such an important part of our lives (I mean, most people are obsessed with sex, how could we not be? It’s so much fun and feels so great! However, it is also the source of many headaches!), and there are not many texts out there that take such an honest look at the topic in relation to the dharma. Brad covers all topics, from masturbation to the porn industry to BDSM (that’s an acronym for the S&M industry kiddies) to LGBT issues and more. I find that Brad is really coming into his own as an author, I have always been a fan of his books, but he is able to present very wise and deep teachings without losing his pop-culture references and wit! (his footnotes are still the source of most of his zingers!) I don’t want to give too much away, so I have decided to share with you all one of my favourite passage from the book in hopes to entice you to go to your local independent bookstore and pick up a copy. I am sure that Brad could use your coin!

The book begins with his retelling of a talk that he gave in Montreal (514 represent Whoot!) at Casa Del Popollo (Probably one of the best bars in Montreal, go support local businesses that create community kids!) when someone asked him if Buddhists could “jack-off”. Pretty big first question after a talk if you ask me. Brad decides to respond this question by demystifying some widely held misconceptions about Buddhism in the West. Sin is a concept that is really ingrained in our collective Psyche, we were all mostly raised Christian (at least in Canada) or in Judaism and Islam where sin plays a big role in all that is morality. What we must remember however, is that Buddhism is from the Global East and does not have the concept of sin, this is something that the West brought to morality. This can been seen by how the Japanese view porn and the other facets of the sex industry. He also takes the time to clarify that Buddhism is not a religion, you may be wondering “What about all those temples with statues etc?”, but Buddhism as such is not spirituality it is realism. (I know, this book was probably in the spirituality section of the bookstore) This makes total sense when we look at the history of philosophy, which its history can be divided into two categories: idealism and materialism. Spirituality is seen as a kind of idealism “It takes the view that the spiritual world, the world of ideas, imagination, and mental formations, is the true reality.” This brings to mind the common notion in religious circles that we are souls trapped in bodies, but this is not at all a Buddhist concept. Materialism, instead of seeing material matter as nonexistent, sees it as primary. “Materialists, on the other hand, see matter as primary and spirit either as nonexistent or, at least, as negligible.” Buddhism believes that neither materialism nor idealism is correct: “We are not immaterial spirits trapped in material bodies, nor are we mere permutations of essentially dead matter who only imagine we have a spiritual side.” I am sure, if you have dabbled in Buddhism before, that you have heard the famous line out of the Heart Sutta “Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form.” “Rather, the experiential, internal, subjective, spiritual side of our day-to-day existence and the hard, external, objective, material world we inhabit are manifestations of one underlying reality that is neither spirit nor matter.” This is how we are able to perceive Buddhism as realism; so as Brad finishes this discussion by saying that when you are jerking off, just jerk off, and when you are not, then don’t.

Brad is able to give us some real-world wisdom on a topic that is definitely controversial, but I find that he has done a great job. The book brings you on an interesting journey in the world of sex: masturbation, dating, gender identity, pornography and so much more. I must admit that I found certain passages to be very interesting, there is a chapter that discusses a group in the Bay Area (that is San Francisco, Oakland, Berkley, etc for those of you unfamiliar with California) that practice Orgasm Meditation (Some interesting observations and stories that’s for sure!). He interviews Nina Hartley (porn star from the 1980s who was raised in a Zen family and is now a registered nurse and sex activist), and I really enjoyed his defense for writing for Suicide Girls. His defense is very eloquent and well thought out, he makes a great argument that we should have much more problems with people pandering base desires with instant enlightenment seminars and meditation machines, than what is being presented on the Suicide Girls website. I find that this also goes back to our Western understanding that sex = sin. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is curious about sex in Buddhism and is sick of always getting the same answer from their meditation teachers (you know the one that I am talking about, when they refer you to the rules of sex for monks in monastaries). Brad gives us insights and answers that we are able to apply in the real world, a much more pragmatic approach if you ask me!

Multiply my happiness tenfold when the magic hat that Nate selected partners from paired us up together. I’ve been a big fan of Nate’s blog for some time and appreciate that he enjoys his music more on the Yngwie side of things rather than that of Yanni. *no offense to Yanni lovers out there.

Now to the interview….

1. How did you discover Buddhism? How did you get involved? What group(s), book(s), teachers(s) did you first encounter when starting out on the path?

I had just turned 30 and was starting to feel like something was missing in my life. Although I had a full and satisfying life at the time (I am married to a wonderful woman and I have great kids) I still felt like there was a void that needed to be filled. Religion/ spirituality was the last thing I thought it could be but after spending some time online I began reading more and more about Buddhism. Oddly, upon reading about it, it started answering questions I had about life and stuff, the void did not feel as empty while reading and studying. So I kept testing the waters out, I went out and bought some books. The first I read was Thubten Chodron’s “Buddhism For Beginners” and it was great. The book is written in more of a question and answer format and the answers she gave to the questions made more sense than a peanut butter and banana sandwich.

Where I was at the time, Knoxville, Tennessee, there was not much for groups and teachers around, at least not that I knew of. We moved back home to Cape Cod after realizing we wanted to be back at home. There are some groups here, but none of them really seemed to “fit”. After reading Noah Levine’s “Dharma Punx” and “Against The Stream”, some people I knew who were into Buddhism, but lived a more “frays of society” lifestyle, got together every two weeks for some community chit chat and group meditation. This was great for a while but we took a hiatus as the “membership” was down for a bit.

Here and there teachers have come to the Cape for classes and empowerments, and I’ve tried to get to as many as possible. Recently I went up to Boston where there is obviously a diverse Buddhist culture (spread out all over the city) and took in a session at Drikung Meditation Center. I’m going back up in September when the head of their lineage will be in the states giving empowerments and transmissions. I’ve found, after extensive studying, that so far the Tibetan Buddhist path is right for me, at least for now!  :)

2. Describe your progression or regression on the path. What are your sore spots in study/practice? Are you hard on yourself sometimes?

I read somewhere that as we become more aware and mindful of things, some of them can be more difficult to deal with. I can answer all three of these questions with one word, anger. I’ve never been an angry guy, and am not really now, but seeing the anger for me is the hard part. I know it’s there, I can feel it building at times when irritation is present, but for some reason, it’s harder to deal with now. And yes, because of this, I am extremely hard on myself. I’m not an angry guy but when it gets a hold of me I get even angrier with myself for letting it get to me. I guess it’s what I need to work on most in practice, and I am truly working on it. I SAID I’M WORKING ON IT, OK?

3. What motivates you to practice/ study / sit/ blog?

My motivation is small at this point, to make the lives of those around me better. We always here about people’s motivation for practice to benefit all sentient beings, and that’s a fantastic goal, someday I hope I can make that the motivation for my practice. I believe though that we can’t work on our neighbors’ yard until our own yard is clean and tidy you know? Once my shit is clean and stench free, than I can work on the ultimate goal and change the world. I think we all hope that, but sometimes we bite off way more than we can chew.

As for the blog, I’ve found it to be a great tool for progression along the path. I use it to look back and see where I was at the beginning. I post a lot of my opinions on practice and have received quite a bit of feedback from other practitioners, that helps a ton especially when the person commenting has more experience and I can learn something from them.

4. What advice would you give to n00bs?

Being a “n00b” myself I’m not sure how valid what I have to say is but, never give up would be the best advice I can give. I know I have hit walls in my practice, and will continue to do so, but the key is to not allow these walls to hold you back. There are always ways around them, or better yet, to push through them. There is a reason they call this a practice, because we have to keep trying it out, to eventually get it right. Many monks and great teachers still consider what they do as a practice.

5. What would you say are the benefits to being a Buddhist Daddy? How does being a Buddhist enhance or conversely detract from your role as a father?

So far, no benefits yet. Well, maybe that’s not true. Since my children see me studying and reading a lot, they have become avid readers. They are also very inquisitive, which is fantastic because knowing they are able to question me, I know they will have no problems in life questioning other things they are curious about. My 6 year old has asked me to teach him meditation, and I’ve tried. But, rather than pushing it, I wait until he asks me to do a session. It usually only last a few minutes, the attention span of a 6 year old is that of a gnat. My daughter, when she was younger, was curious also and asked me to take her to a couple dharma for kids classes. Again, I didn’t push it, but after a while she lost interest. Religion is not something I will push on the kids, if and when they are ready, they can ask me and I will assist in any way. My parents raised me the same way and I’m glad I was given a choice.

6. How do you reconcile the passion, aggression and speed encountered in heavy metal with the Buddhist way?

The music is just music to me. But, at the same time, I did partially leave my old band because of my practice. It got to a point where I felt like the lyrics I was singing (barking) were not conducive to the lifestyle I was trying to lead. Vocalizing stories about murder and mayhem did not put my mind in the right place, you know? When I was with the band, we started to write new music, and I tried writing songs with a more Buddhist flare. I used the Angulimala Sutta as the idea behind a song, since Angulimala was such a powerful being before and after his transformation. But, the guys in the band didn’t know this was why I wrote the song and I felt like I was being untruthful to them as they were not Buddhists and I didn’t think they would agree with where I wanted to go lyric wise. So I had to call it a day.

Metal, though, is a very tight knit community. When you are at a show, in the mosh pit, for the most part no one is there to inflict harm on another. If a guy, or gal, goes down people will quickly help out to get them back on their feet. People automatically assume that because the music is so loud and aggressive that the fans are as well. I can’t say shit doesn’t happen, cause it does, anywhere people that are drinking alcohol something is bound to happen when one guy has to much and decides to act up. But, for the most part, it’s a community that is there for one another.

7. You had experimented a bit with sitting meditation in Second Life and are currently part of the Online Meditation Crew Twitter group. What benefit have you received from participating in the digital sangha? Do you see this as different from ‘meatspace’ (aka In Real Life) sangha?

Both Second Life and the #OMC have their places. The folks that participate, very much like the metal scene, are just trying to be part of a community. Some of us don’t have real life places to practice, and some do, but this is a great way to bring people together internationally, to sit together and create merit on a larger scale. There is definitely a difference than a real life sangha, but it fills a void and is very beneficial for all those involved. I am excited to be part of both!

8. Are there any areas of Buddhism that you find hard to accept or seem a bit too “out there” for you to relate to?

At first, yes I had some issues. While finding my way here, I never understood the idea of deities, especially in the Tibetan Buddhists traditions. But, maybe my understanding is still off, I accept it now after coming to terms with the fact most are used as visualizations. I hear lots of folks have a hard time with rebirth, this for me wasn’t as difficult. I have always felt like I “have been here before”, and while I didn’t understand why I had that feeling, it never creeped me out enough to not believe it couldn’t be possible. It makes sense you know, when we die that energy has to go somewhere.

9. In your next life, describe your ideal rebirth. Form. Location. Lifestyle. Anything that comes to mind.

Ideally, I’d love to come back as someone who has the capability to spread the dharma out farther. Whether that be a monk, or a lay teacher, just to come back and truly understand this path enough to help others navigate it. But, if I had to choose another form, it would probably be a humpback whale. Growing up on Cape Cod I’ve learned quite a bit about these majestic mammals. I’ve been on many whale watches and really envy the “loose” lifestyle they lead. Minus the Japanese whalers in the southern oceans, they don’t have much to worry about and can just live

10. Thanks for all that you do to bring the digital sangha together and for adding an honest and truthful voice to the mix. The mic’s yours so it’s your turn to add anything that you’d like to wrap up this interview.

Not much else to add except a thank to you as well Tanya. When I first came onto the Buddhist blogging scene you were always nice and helpful, I appreciate that! To all the others out there, thanks for what you bring to the table as well, please keep sharing your stories!

You can expect a guest blog post coming up shortly by my buddy with the Twitter handle @Dharma_Sean who is a core member and teacher with the Dharma Punx community here in Montreal. He blogs over at Spirit of Rebellion and is someone who is just generally an all around cool guy. He’s been kind enough to help me out in reviewing Brad Warner’s latest book “Sex, Sin, and Zen: A Buddhist Exploration of Sex from Celibacy to Polyamory and Everything in Between”. I’m just too sensitive for it.

No the book isn’t too hot for me to handle.

It’s fresh off the presses and I seem to be reacting to it with some wonky environmental sensitivities. I could wear latex gloves while reading it but I figured it would be best to hand it on over to someone I know will do a great job writing from a male feminist point of view – a view I’m particularly interested in hearing.

I’ll wait for the ebook version and as I joked with a fellow Tweeter, waiting for it will be a form of foreplay for me.

Rawr!

The film itself was a very well developed examination of the experiences of several Western tulkus and the paths they have taken since being recognized as reincarntions of Buddhist masters. Several of the tulkus featured in this film have continued to study in monastery settings, while some have chosen to ‘be of the world’. Watching, made me think of how much responsibility has been put on “these chosen ones” and I developed a case of judging mind towards the unfairness of being plucked from your family and plopped into India to be a participant in something that you really might not have any interest in. Eat your peas and study your sutras and you’ll grow big and strong!

Then I thought of how this structure is no different than that of Western society in that it’s an amalgamation of teacher and parent manifesting in both the spiritual master and monastery that the tulku’s are placed. That being said, I was particularly struck by one tulku’s recount of the monasteries being filled with petty jealousy, sexual abuse and other nefarious activities that we don’t usually associate with monastic life and Buddhist behaviour. A quote by Gesar in response to this particularly rang true when he said in response “”There’s a difference between Buddhism and Buddhists.”

I highly encourage you to check out this film as Gesar and his team did a great job in presenting a snapshot of a group of people who are presently in the right place at the right lifetime.

The film can be seen at select showings or purchased from the National Film Board. Visit the film’s website or Facebook page for more information. If you’re on Twitter, you can also check out the chat session by searching the hashtage #tulku or you can follow Gesar’s twitter name @chewyguru

The one experience that we all go through (but no one wants to think much about) is death. We’re going to study all the latest information on what happens to consciousness during the process of death. We wanted to look at what’s supposed to happen afterward based on all the confessions we can study and understand.

Morrison’s work has often featured religious and Buddhist themes and comics such as Animal Man and Swamp Thing highlighted his commitment to the cause of animal rights and environmental issues. (hat tip to Jer at Simian Uprising for nothing this in a tweet recently).

On the Grant Morrison tip, Open Buddha posted about him a waaaay back. Check it out here.

Coincidentally after watching the film “Tulku” a few days ago, I’m beyond excited to hear that it will be shown this Thursday on the CBC as part of their series “The Passionate Eye and to go even one step further, there will be a live tweeting event with director Gesar Mukpo during the broadcast.

Throughout the broadcast, viewers can direct their questions to @chewyguru and use the hashtag #tulku to follow the conversation. If you’re not on twitter, have no fear, you can follow the conversation on the CBC’s website as they’ll be streaming the discussion via widget on their Tulku page.

Check out the trailer here:

“Journey of a Dream” describes itself as “a heavy metal story of a Tibetan refugee” – that refugee being Shenpenn Khymsar who created this documentary as a means to tell the story of the Chinese occupation of Tibet through in a thoroughly modern and ear splitting way. Directed and produced by Shenpenn, it is his story of returning to his home in exile, Darjeeling, India after a decade of residing in the West and his journey to breathe life into the rock music scene of this region. The film profiles many rock musicians as well as spiritual leaders from Tibet so the middle way is well maintained here!

Journey of a Dream from JOURNEY OF A DREAM movie on Vimeo.

Shenpenn’s message:

The vision behind this film is to raise more awareness of Tibet’s sad situation under the Chinese government in a way that has never been done before by a Tibetan along with advocating and defending the very misunderstood genre of heavy metal which society is very judgemental about. Being a Tibetan refugee and finding peace through heavy metal gave me a new outlook towards everything in life, it became my outlet and the best way to deal with the inner demons. The illegal occupation of Tibet has been going on for many decades now and the way most of the developed and powerful nations are cow towing to the Chinese government is a very scary situation that we are creating for our selves and the future of the free world. As the director of this film my intention is to make people realize that Tibet’s independence is not just a fair cause but also very crucial for world peace and humanity. I have tried to create an artistic and entertaining way to arc the story in the film without losing its underlined message which being “why be mainstream and succumb to the norms when we all can make a difference?”.

A tip of the hat to Rod at The Worst Horse/Shambhala Sun for posting details of Tattoos for Tibet , an event to be held on October 7th, 2010 in which tattoo artists around the world will donate their wages from at least one tattoo to Students for a Free Tibet to commemorate the Tibetan people’s nonviolent resistance to Chinese occupation.

For more information, please visit their Myspace page: myspace.com/tattoosfortibet or check them out on Facebook: Tattoos-for Tibet