Guest post for the Bayou City Buddhist
As part of the great Buddhablog swap, I wrote a little something for Andy over at the Bayou City Buddhist blog on the topic of Online Teachings.
As usual, duality got the best of me and I flip flop in my response. As someone who has both benefited and been led astray by online teachings and someone who has felt a big sense of community, yet also felt frustrated by online behviours (both others and my own), I’m working through how technology and the dharma intersect in my life.
More often than not, I’m distracted by everything and adding a layer of augmented reality to a reality that I am already working through understanding fully does pose its challenges. Mindful consumption of everything is something that I perpetually struggle with.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on if technology has helped or hindered your practice.
I find that sometimes I end up scouring all the usual web suspects hoping for some earth shattering ka-boom(Nirvana, Satori etc.) to happen. I do have to say that some of the online Sanghas although they try real hard, sometimes nuance is lost and perceptions can be taken out of context. For me, off the beaten path I end up relying on the internet for sangha most of the time.
Brian
it is possible to abstract and then reflect back from any vantage point, any referential situation - and it is possible to lose oneself in the infinite hall of mirrors without any aid whatsoever from the world outside
the aspect of self-image which constantly reflects upon itself is at the root of attempts to resist the ever changing and temporary nature of all phenomena
essentially - nothing can help you, and nothing can hinder you - except yourself
we only ask where the ripples in the pond come from because we have decided to ignore the rock we threw moments before
people are always so concerned with the world and the conditions which have been thrust upon them, how they have changed so much with the passage of time, and how they compare to conditions which have come before and are yet to come… it is all distraction, it always has been and always will be that way - nothing special, until we decide to make it so
Actually, my teacher was just talking to us about this yesterday. He offers us the online teaching option all the time, but he does stress that if you can come to the teachings in person it’s better to do so. Unless it is geographically or financially impossible to attend a live teaching, you have to ask yourself “am I relying on the online recording because I have to or because I’m being lazy?” If it’s a matter of breaking the bank, maybe just committing to attend at least one face to face teaching a year is something attainable. I think we just have to be honest with ourselves and make the best choice based on the answers we come up with.
In your post you talk about the danger of Digital Dharma Overload (or DDO). That’s definitely one I have to watch out for: aren’t I just grasping at more and more, trying to gobble up the whole Dharma in one bite? Again, I have to turn the light of introspection back on myself and ask: why do I need more? Wouldn’t it be better to just read Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind or The Words of My Perfect Teacher one more time by a quiet, bubbling stream?
All in all, I think the opportunities we now have to receive the teachings are amazing. Like you said, we can now survey a huge number of different teachers, schools and styles at the click of a button, allowing us to quickly find the teachings that work for us. I just don’t think we should rely on the technology as our only way of understanding and practicing the Dharma.