August 31st, 2011
In this delightful and frank discussion, Rinzai Zen patriarchs Jun Po Roshi and Doshin Roshi discuss why meditation and spiritual insight alone cannot transform ourselves or the world. From an Integral point of view, simply "Waking Up" isn't enough. We are also being called to "Grow Up" (mature emotionally), "Clean Up" (engage in shadow work), and "Show Up" (embody our insight in our daily lives). Jun Po's unique Mondo Zen process is a nondual approach to emotions, in which our angst, informed by Zen mind, becomes our liberation. Provocative, insightful, and deeply transformative, this discussion lays bear the dilemma around Integral spiritual practice—and offers one powerful solution.
"Mondo Zen's linguistic tools and integral framework allow insight and growth far beyond what conventional or post-modern Buddhism can offer." –Ken Wilber
In this delightful and frank discussion, Rinzai Zen patriarchs Jun Po Roshi and Doshin Roshi discuss why meditation and spiritual insight alone cannot transform ourselves or the world. From an Integral point of view, simply "Waking Up" isn't enough. We are also being called to" Grow Up" (mature emotionally and psychologically), "Clean Up" (engage in shadow work), and "Show Up" (embody our insight in our daily lives).
Jun Po points out that traditional Zen addresses these concerns—the problem is that it "grows" us up for 17th Century Imperial Japan (i.e. autocratic, hierarchical, sexist, and repressive). This simply doesn't work for modern, postmodern, and Integral minds. Traditional Buddhism doesn't touch our psychological shadows, our ignorance and apathy about our environmental choices, or our painful misunderstanding of our emotions. Being Awake just isn't enough.
That's why Jun Po developed Mondo Zen. This unique practice honors the most crucial imperative of Zen: Waking Up to our true nature. But it also directly addresses our emotional and psychological maturity. Using the centuries-old Koan process, Mondo harnesses the power of Zen mind to re-inform our emotional bodies. We learn to embody wisdom and compassion everywhere in our lives—especially the tricky spots. With a ferocious dedication to truth and hearts broken wide open, Jun Po and Doshin stress the importance of better understanding our emotional bodies (including anger, shame, and dissociation), the impact we have on each other (relational maturity), and our environment (sacred stewardship). Mondo Zen shows how this can be done.
Provocative, insightful, and deeply transformative, this discussion lays bear the dilemma around Integral spiritual practice—and offers a powerful solution.
"From this point of view, Enlightenment is essentially two embodied realizations. First, Enlightenment is the direct realization of your Bud -- the naked pure consciousness found deep within your ordinary mind. We call this realization wisdom. And second, Enlightenment is the realization of the fearless heart found in the profound depth of this wisdom. We call this realization compassion. But please be aware: Enlightenment is also the philosophical and emotional re-indoctrination and reformation following this discovery. To accomplish this philosophical and emotional maturity we offer Mondo Zen. Zen Enlightenment is the marriage of this wisdom realization and the unconditional love realization—all embodied in our daily lives." –Jun Po Kelly Roshi
