Open Enlightenment

It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?

My absence has been due to the bad customer service I’ve received from a certain broadband service provider, but as frustrating as this experience has been, it has given me time to take stock and reflect on the purpose and value of this blog.

I haven’t been lazy in my time away; I’ve written a rather lengthy two part article on morality and how it relates to wisdom, an article entitled ‘More Buddhist than Buddhist’ for the new Buddhist Geeks digital magazine, and a piece on the relationship between the Dharma and money, with an emphasis on how it relates to my future teaching plans.

But I doubt any of them will see the light of day.

You see, just as it took some time to fully understand the purpose of the Baptist’s Head project, so too has the purpose of Open Enlightenment slowly emerged. At first, I thought OE would facilitate what I felt was a necessary and beneficial conversation, and the aim was to try to explore the best way of understanding enlightenment and our relationship to it. This wasn’t always clear to many readers, and we spent a good deal of time arguing with detractors. As it became obvious that the conversation I hoped to have was never going to happen if we only ever repeated ourselves, I wrote the ebook to move the conversation along and act as a jumping off point.

But as time marched on it slowly began to dawn on me that this blog serves a rather different function. Both Duncan and I have posted our thoughts on enlightenment right from the word ‘go’, despite the fact the experience of awakening was still very fresh and we hadn’t enjoyed the benefit of allowing the dust settle. For some, this could be seen as a mistake that can easily lead to making embarrassing public gaffs; but if it wasn’t for this blog, which has acted as a focus for getting my thoughts down and sorting the wheat from the chaff, I would never have reached the understanding and view I know hold about enlightenment. If anything, blurting out what could have been premature and perhaps ill-informed comments about awakening (which, for the record, I don’t really believe we have done) as and when they arose has led to what I consider a much more mature view of the phenomenon than if we had remained quiet and careful. And for those with a genuine interest, there is perhaps more value to be found in witnessing what we have posted and how this has changed over time than perhaps in the actual content, something only an honest and regularly updated journal of post-awakening experience and thought can provide.

However, we’ve now reached a point with the blog where I feel we may start repeating ourselves (again), and I have to question the value of that. It doesn’t help that we still have to answer the same dull and ignorant comments we’ve endured since beginning this project, which sometimes feels like a constant uphill struggle. I still believe the conversation whose parameters I outline in the ebook is very important and worth having; I just don’t think many people are ready to have it yet.

Just as I felt it was necessary to write the ebook to answer the many common questions and objections we would frequently find ourselves dealing with, I now feel it is necessary to try and present a view of enlightenment that is both comprehensive and able to highlight and explain the common misgivings regarding the phenomenon that (I believe) frequently crop up during public discussion. As this view has emerged, I’ve found it increasingly difficult to discuss awakening, because what I wished to say would almost always require many more lengthy explanations before I could expect my comments to really make sense.

So I need to write another book, but this time it requires something more substantial than an ebook. But rather than write this blog off, shut up shop and spend the next year writing in seclusion, I’m going to utilise the wonderful power of maintaing a blog in focussing my efforts. Although there will no doubt still be regular postings here from me and Dunc (but probably mostly from Dunc), you can expect posted excerpts from the work in progress for your enjoyment and feedback.

My journey with Open Enlightenment has also led me to a particular conclusion regarding teaching and that rather thorny subject of mixing money with Dharma, and the material I am now working on will inform my future teaching in the form of course material. So this ‘new’ direction isn’t just about a book, but what I hope will eventually form the backbone of a new Western school of awakening.

I hope to have the first excerpt posted in the coming weeks.

(P.S. So the answer to the headline is, erm, ‘no’.)