Quaker & Other Religions: Other
QUAKER & OTHER RELIGIONS: OTHER
207. A Quaker looks at Yoga (by Dorothy Ackerman; 1976)
About the Author—Dorothy Ackerman has been a member of the Twin Cities Meeting in [St.Paul] for 15 years. [Beginning with] her husband Eugene in the Conscientious Objector group at Brown University, [she became part of a family of Conscientious Objectors]. Having been addicted to creativity for 50 years she is curious about the source of it all. She was fortunate to have 2 Yoga teachers—Swami Radha and Swami Rama—who were knowledgeable about modern psychology and meditation research. This pamphlet developed out of a search for the “missing ingredient” and ideas presented during her year at Pendle Hill.
[Introduction]—[I have been discontented] with the meditation in our meeting. Out of this a small worship group was born [that went for about 3 years]. I have wanted to combine Yogic wisdom with Quaker beliefs & experience. Only when the Yoga experience is sympathetic to Friendly tradition have I suggested Yoga’s use. I have learned to look at things upside down in imagination if not in posture. Getting in touch with the Still Small Voice should require at least as much effort as making [& participating in a meaningful] phone call. In accepting Yoga’s challenge to participate and experience the results, I have found it a helpful way, but not the only way.
Traditional Centering Devices—Religion has developed many ways of communicating with the Spiritual Source. Are we today in danger of losing the experience because we do not reach out and knock on the door or make that call and wait expectantly? Early Quakers were clear that these souls seeking together in spiritual communion were the church with Christ in its midst. The spiritual intensity experienced in group worship comes partly from the artistry of the service & partly from the group’s reaching a strength beyond its own.
Occasionally I nourish the artist in me by experiencing a high church service where all the arts join together in celebration. Early Friends [had much more Bible & prayer in their family life than most do now]. They met whenever they felt the need, & whenever a visiting Friend came to town. Children were an integral part of the Meeting. Their spiritual bond was a personal experience of the Light. Lacking their intimate Christianity, we can use Yoga to help us contact the Spirit by whatever name we call it.
Yoga Philosophy—The aim of both Yogic and Quaker meditation is a mystical union which involves such a strong awareness of the Source of Life that action flow directly from the Spiritual Center. Yoga says that contact with the inner divinity is blocked by our subconscious which casts its shadow in front of the Light. Yoga is divided into 8 “limbs” or skills for overcoming obstacles.
Abstinence: non-injury, non-lying, non-theft, non-sensuality, non-greed. (“Non”=“absence of”). Non-injury requires harmony before meditation; unintentional injury must be avoided.
Observance: cleanliness, contentment, body conditioning, self-study, God-attentiveness.
Cleanliness includes physical cleaning & its ritual significance. Contentment is recognizing situation for what it is & working it out.
Posture: Part of conditioning is the familiar Hatha Yoga postures. “Ha”=sun; “Tha”=moon; Hatha balances the polarities.
Breath control is the link between body and soul connecting the body with its energy (Life Force)
Withdrawal of the 5 senses is tuning out everything distracting us from meditation.
Concentration is the skill of focusing
Meditation is the act of focusing
Contemplation is the step beyond meditation where beauty, truth, and light are experienced
Adapting Spiritual Practice; Practical Application; Centering for Meditation—In learning to know myself I have discovered my abilities & limitations [and what fits for me]. Hatha Yoga is feasible in the afternoon or evening, not pre-dawn. I haven't eliminated meat from my diet, but I enjoy it less. Yoga considers reviewing the day passed or planning the day coming a necessary part of mental housekeeping. Yoga suggests having a specific time and place for daily meditation and to be quiet and relaxed. If I have been sitting most of the day I will need exercise before I can relax. A leisurely walk will serve as well as Yoga, if I have a straight, tall back, and free-swinging limbs. I reach out to walls, ceiling, and floor as a stretching exercise; I do neck-rolls.
When I am comfortably settled I focus attention on my breathing. Yoga teaches me to close my mouth & breath through my nose, to filter & warm the air. Because slow breathing cools my body & calms my emotions, I deliberately slow down the rhythm for meditation; it sometimes naturally slows almost to a standstill. My hands sometimes relax in my lap. Sometimes my thumb & forefinger are joined. In Meeting I hold my palms open & up. Finally I am ready to relax my mind. [If I have trouble, I turn my closed eyes up so that they are pointed at the spot between my eyebrows while my mind is attending my breathing.
Gerald Heard said that meditation was the most important practice that we could use for the [evolution] of the species. Teilhard de Chardin expresses concern that we must develop spiritually or face the fate of phylum extinction. Gopi Krishna suggests that meditation can actually change our bodies. In a person of genius or great spirituality the cells become irradiated with this energy. EEG research suggests that in meditation we mentally shift gears to slower brain waves. In this state there is a freedom from the past, an openness to new ideas.
Special Techniques for Concentration—Yogis express the difficulty of harnessing mind by referring to it as a “runaway drunken monkey.” Of the ways for gaining control of a mind, chanting a mantra and gazing at a candle have received more publicity than understanding. I was always clear that the candle flame reflected the Divine light and was a symbol for my subconscious mind. I imagined that the flame was in me and filled me or that I became the flame.
If candle-gazing is auto hypnotism, it is better to establish a strong hypnotic relationship to the Divine Light than to TV heroes. A mantra is a centering device. It should be used calmly. When it has stilled the mind and fades away into a meditative silence let it go unless thoughts distract. For physical activity, Yoga uses the postures, Zen, the walking meditation, Sufis and Shakers, dancing; Early Friends walked. We must not let ourselves be imprisoned even by silence, but remain open to the spontaneous moving of Spirit blowing as it will.
Meeting for Worship: Preparation; Seating—Early Friends took daily spiritual practice for granted. The potential of Friends’ Meeting is so great that it is worth taking time to do our homework: reading, problem solving, daily meditation, and prompt arrival. Hatha Yoga and breathing exercises, or a quiet walk to Meeting will calm the mind. Breath watching can be used effectively, for centering and for gathering the group especially if Friends feel that each is a cell in the larger body of the Meeting, [each sending and receiving Spirit]. A straight back is best for meditation. Lanzo del Vasta said, “You must have a straight line between heaven and earth.”
Meeting for Worship: Centering; Speaking—In Meeting for Worship a mantra can be used briefly at the beginning, or on the way to Meeting. Latecomers are the greatest obstacle to gathering or centering. Meditation in Meeting for Worship can begin with a seed thought, or it can be an attitude of listening. [The seed of thought needs to be brief]. The tree will grow; we don't need to begin with it. Intensity of spirit doesn't necessarily flow from a small group; while intensity flourishes under persecution, it isn’t absent when life is comfortable.
Preparation does not mean coming to Meeting with a prepared message or a program for personal meditation. A gathered meeting is relaxed and attentive, calm and expectant. Early Friends did not believe in the power of silence so much as they realized the inadequacy of the spoken word to convey spiritual truth. Too often we wait for something from God out there which cannot manifest unless we use the God within us. Without God we miss our potential; without us God is not manifest. Vocal ministry at its best can be the seed of Spirit which grows and flows through the Meeting. A brief message leaves more room for growth than a sermon. Stan Zielinski in Pendle Hill Pamphlet Psychology and Silence (#201) says that Meeting for worship is composed of silence, communion, and the message, [in that order]. Gathering brings us into spiritual communion. [A collective of vocal ministry] flows from the personality of that Meeting. It cannot be contrived or programmed.
Initiation; New Members; Coming of Age—Early Friends did not lack initiatory experiences: upsurges of power; expanded awareness; personal awareness; personal revelation. How can we again get in touch with a feeling of expectancy? [How can we accept the unusual without analyzing or doubting it]? Formal initiations recognized by our Society are: membership; marriage, and memorials. The procedure of accepting new members into Meeting is not always straightforward; there is a tendency to say “yes” to anyone who asks. It more appropriate to explain things like the spontaneity of unprogrammed worship and how consensus works in Business Meeting in clearness committee before membership, than as criticism after membership is granted.
Emotional preparation for adult responsibility & the physical changes of puberty were an important part of initiatory tradition. Many customs involved the initiate’s withdrawal into solitude. Our own tradition has much to offer but it fails to challenge when we don't witness to our beliefs. For several years Earlham has had a “solo” experience available as a retreat for incoming students. Friends might like to consider a type of solo to fit their own needs & abilities. I would expect that the personal experiences would range from ecological to mystical.
Meeting Resources: Support Groups; Spiritual and Artistic—In an intimate group of 8-10 we can find sympathy for celebration of the daily initiation. Without a minister, Friends can minister to each other. As spiritual awareness expands, it can be shared with an intimate group of Friends. A support group that chooses to be honest is helpful in warding off false humility, which takes pride in self-denigration. A small ongoing support group can help in times of crisis because it has shared the hopes and fears.
Simplicity need not be sterile or ugly. With our expanded view of world history and religion there is a wealth of spiritual nourishment available. The artist in me is too strong to turn my back on beauty. I stand at the crossroads of culture. It can be a confusing place if I do not know where I’m going. If I do, it is a convenient spot from which to make connections. I have drawn from Yoga, Buddhists, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Quakers, Amerinds, Congregationalists, and Franciscans. The therapist says: Be open; Don’t limit yourself; Know yourself; Recognize the blocks to meditation.” The artist weaves all this together. In Meeting for Worship I use all I have to tune in to the Presence which I call the Christ Consciousness or the Inner Light. The challenge requires me to make wise use of all my skills and treasures.
Questions for Quakers—Do we consider what physical arrangement help relaxed meditation in Meeting? Do we provide instruction for new members and attenders who are beginners in silent meditation? Do we have enough confidence in the Inner Light to take from other traditions without fear of endangering Quakerism? Do we believe that a gathered Meeting depends on chance? On preparation? On Grace? Do we apply Quaker practices of centering in our daily lives?
220. A Fifth Yoga: the Way of Relationships (by Joseph Havens; 1978)
About the Author—Joseph Havens was educated at M.I.T. as an Industrial Engineer. WWII terminated that career after 2 years; he served in a Quaker C.O. camp. He continued his radical way of life in a Quaker commune. He worked with Blacks, work camp style, in desolate South Chester. He received a Ph. D. from the University of Chicago, & taught at Wilmington College & Carleton College in Minnesota. Although Quaker, he practices Buddhist meditation. The Way of Relationship is one which he practiced before he could name it.
[Introduction]—There are many paths to God. Seers of India described 4 broad disciplines, or Yogas, the Ways of: knowledge; devotion to a god; work or ritual duty; psychophysical exercises (what the West thinks of as Yoga). A “5th Yoga,” the way of human relations, is missing. Only gradually did I become aware of this way & its disciplines as a spiritual path. It has entailed: changing my understanding of relationships; evolving a discipline; greater reliance on the guidance of powers beyond my own. Personal relationships are a means of seeing. Central to the discipline of the 5th Yoga is the fact of Otherness. The matrix of the Yoga of Relationships is our life with others.
The more completely we recognize and confront the Otherness of other persons, the more potentially redemptive they become for us. Otherness is known in empathic and confrontational mode. Jospeh Havens
“To see the failings of our friends, and think hard of them, without opening that which we ought to open, and still carry a face of friendship, this tends to undermine the foundation of true Unity.” John Woolman
Seeing through Another’s Eyes: Empathy—My 1st teacher in the disciplines of the 5th Yoga was Carl R. Rogers, originator of Client-centered Therapy. Uncompromising honesty, [with oneself and with others] was the most important learning I gained. It is a cornerstone of the 5th Yoga. A specific discipline I learned was getting inside the frame of reference of the other. Rogers queries: Can I step into the other person’s private world so completely that I lose all desire to evaluate or judge it? Can I enter so sensitively that I can move about it freely, without trampling on meanings which are precious to him? Non-judgmental listening as a tool of understanding is a basic ingredient of the 5th Yoga discipline.
Rogers taught that discipline of seeing through another’s eyes is so demanding that it can take account only of what is in the other’s consciousness now. [Rogers indicated his question has changed to: “How can I provide relationship which this person may use for his own personal growth? All current relationships are potentially growthful for everyone involved; they are part of our schooling, & include parents, children, spouses, and lovers.
Taking Back Projection—Later I was a “religiously-oriented counselor” at Carleton College in MN. [I saw projection] in the confused feelings of my students. What wasn't obvious was that I was projecting. I had been putting some “religious conflicts” onto my students. [One thing I realized] was the pitfall of trying to comprehend another’s religious journey with mind alone. I needed a viable faith & a spiritual practice. [In talking about this with my wife], she said, “Oh, you are looking for a ‘Yoga’ for yourself.” Franklin Edgerton wrote: Yoga means method, means . . . exertion, diligence, zeal . . . a regular, disciplined course of action leading to a definite end of emancipation [i.e. union with a Cosmic Self or God]. It was indeed a “yoga” I was looking for.
Across the Mat—In the mid-1960s I became associated with a group of clinicians who introduced me to a whole new dimension of my discipline. [At 1st I felt inferior, but as I broke into the group I found that they were] not so comfortable as I thought. Talking in this group sometimes led to “the hot seat.” I was tortured with wanting to risk being in that position, yet frightened of the unknown things these probers would uncover in me. [As we helped one another], the love among us grew. Otherness can enter our lives and change us [as we listen] carefully and try to experience the world he or she lives in. [In the 5th Yoga] caring, direct, even angry confrontation can be healing. In the yoga of relationship, growth rests upon being confronted, sometimes against our will, by the new and unexpected dimension of another person’s being.
The 5th Yoga entails perceiving relations as means of true seeing rather than as instruments for our satisfaction. Otherness is more directly and powerfully known in direct confrontation. The aims of confrontation with Otherness are discovery of Truth and growth in love. Confrontation is relevant as a mode of knowing only if the truth contained in it can be heard and assimilated. A caring atmosphere is the element most necessary for this receiving and assimilating to occur. The controlled professional responsibility and skill of a group leader, along with a serious and responsible attitude from the participants, may provide a non-sentimental kind of caring quite appropriate to the 5th Yoga path; a deep affection and respect may grow out of such a soil.
Confrontation and Caring—In the working party on “The Future of the Quaker Movement” [we built up] good feeling and respect [without dealing with] anxieties, irritations, and latent jealousies. [Without realizing it, I tried to impose my definition of communication on a speaker & I was confronted about it]. Through their mediation I had met an Otherness. Frank criticism had not been programmed into our group, and came only after the deeper springs of our feelings had been opened by the earlier eruptions. The falseness of [avoiding strong emotions] & of programmed love is safer than running the danger of feelings which may be part bad and part good. We can trust the bad feelings of others first; then, having traversed with them the Valley of the Shadow we can more easily give & receive tenderness. In a confrontation where deep hurt surfaces & tears flow, [there is often] a coming together. It begins to dawn on us that at root our interests are identical, our destinies the same.
Corporate rituals [which follow such moments] seem to allow the universal or transcendent dimension of the event to be recognized and integrated without diluting the particularity of one person’s suffering or another’s need for forgiveness. Quakers have a long tradition of honesty in speech and action. John Woolman said: “To see the failings of our friends, and think hard of them, without opening that which we ought to open, and still carry a face of friendship, this tends to undermine the foundation of true Unity.” Without caring for another, criticism may simply raise the level of fear and anger, and Truth is shadowed.
For Better or For Worse—Within my marriage my wife Teresina and I have experimented with 5th Yoga disciplines, sometimes explicitly, sometimes unconsciously. Hermann Keyserling’s Book of Marriage expresses the 5th Yoga view of marriage as: “The intention of marriage is not to slacken but to intensify conditions. [From it] regeneration and new growth are made possible. . . Marriage is not a fixed state . . . but should be looked upon as a problem that has to be solved ever anew. Marriage is a lifelong pilgrimage.
A long-term partnership usually begins with each partner presenting those facets of him or herself which please the other. [Eventually] hurt & pain shatter the original oneness & the partners are forced to take another look at each other. The more one looks, the more unfathomable becomes the mate we thought we knew. [After a painful interaction triggered by a household disaster] we decided to re-enact the scene, & when Teresina entered the room, we should stop our words and let our bodies alone carry the action. [Her body language expressed feeling overburdened. She felt she could never meet my expectations; I was always calling for more]. We came upon the paradox that a genuine confrontation with the Other may lead toward becoming more at-one with her. To affirm our oneness and to understand it may be characteristic of a fully matured religious consciousness.
[In my marriage I tried to impose my rhythms of energy & activity on her, & she silently accepted it]; it was a hidden collusion we had never identified. I now let her care for her own rest & food needs without interference. Dealing with the Otherness over the years can unlock the vise-grip which a life-long companionship can place on us; real changes are possible. My wife is the Mirror which reveals what I need to know about myself.
The Light that Reveals—[By listening carefully, & with detached meditative attitude, I noticed] how much competitiveness & tenseness there was in Meeting for Business. Along with new seeing came compassion—for all of us caught in the self-concerns which cut us off from each other. It is part of Quaker genius to provide in worship opportunity for deeper seeing, but we too seldom use it—especially while doing business.
[A meeting was organized to reconcile bitterness & contention between 2 members. The presence of 2 or 3 members while they explored their feelings about one another] acted as a catalyst to better communication; the 2 principals began really to hear, to take in feelings of the other to which they had been deaf. Most of us are at the stage in our Friends Meeting where we need special situations to make full use of the spiritual potential of our mundane Quakerly affairs. It is an uphill struggle to see our Monthly Meeting proceedings as anything more than getting the business done. Our present-day Meetings & Churches, with all their tensions and blockages, can be arenas for the practice of this particular spiritual path.
Companions on the Way/My Own Otherness—Buddha said: “Having spiritual companions is not half of the spiritual life, Ananda. Having spiritual friends to share one’s journey is the whole of the spiritual life. A similar teaching is evident in Merton’s description of the life of the Desert Fathers. [My wife and I needed] to develop a sub-culture in which confrontation with Otherness is acceptable, a norm.
Temenos, our spiritual retreat, is hidden in the woods a mile from the road, with no electricity or telephone. Each summer, 10 or 12 of us come together for a week of mutual, unprogrammed search. In discussing someone’s dream, someone else ventured that dream might be saying something about what had been going on in our group. [What had been discussed on another occasion as a seeming minor irritation became a deep sharing of hurt]. Some of us became aware once again of how deeply we hurt one another.
At Temenos we intend to experiment with workshops, focused on the 5th Yoga. [On 1 occasion when 2 women role-played men, & 2 men role-played women, some of us were brought] in touch with parts of ourselves that we usually repress or relegate to the opposite sex. We envision Temenos as 1 of many cells in a network in which 5th Yoga practice will be nurtured & developed. Many of these already exist—in spiritual communities.
As I move in my own journey into a more meditative phase, I seek confrontation less than I used to. The stage of the journey which lies before me has to do with meeting and integrating my own inner Other-nesses. I am referring to my Shadow, my inner Child, my Anima, etc. I doubt if we can know Otherness racially and deeply within ourselves without dealing with it in engagement with other persons. The way of human related-ness described here means contending with the full Over-there-ness of other beings.
The 5th Yoga—The concern of this writing has focused on certain aspects of the spiritual way of human relationships. The 5th Yoga draws heavily on contemporary psychological disciplines which try to foster good communication, creative human relations, supporting & loving communities. It asserts the religious search is a lifelong one, & it involves disciplines which apply to all the situations & relationships of one’s life & not just specially designated ones.
My experience with the 5th Yoga leads to the conclusion that any attempt to make ourselves more wise or more loving soon brings us up against the high walls of our competitiveness, our self-conceit. Transformations do occur. The truth grows on us that we in the hands of powers which we don't understand. What began as an empirical observation evolves into a faith. When the visible fruits of our walking the path seem non-existent, remembering to open ourselves to guidance & support from powers beyond our own can sustain us in persistence & in love. The other sense in which the 5th Yoga is a spiritual path is its mystical element. [In the episode with my wife], I experienced a sense of burden in my own body. Beginning with attention to the many, we come upon the One. We begin to see in George Fox’s words, “that we are written in one another’s hearts.” The 5th Yoga then, is a contemporary path to Truth. It is a particular talent of the present age which we are meant to multiply.
About the Author—Martha Dart is a member of Claremont MM (CA) and Pacific YM, and has been active in both for many years. She and her husband have served as resident directors, Brinton Visitors and Friends in the Orient in India. Martha and Leonard have spent considerable time in India over the Past 22 years, [some 4½ years in the form of] full years, several summers, and 6 months in 1984. Martha spent her time there “proceeding as way opened.” She became interested in similarities between Hindu and Quaker thought.
We all know the fruits of the Spirit, and recognize the beauty of holiness in our own ancestral tree … The flowers of unselfish living may be found growing in other men’s gardens and … rich fruits of the Spirit may be tasted from other men’s trees. Marjorie Sykes
[Introduction]—[I have felt a deep sense of the Presence of God in: an old California Mission; a large Hindu temple; the ruins of an ancient Sri Lanka Buddhist Monastery; & an old Quaker meetinghouse in England. In India, the spiritual dimension of life is felt in the atmosphere. The worship of God has come down through the centuries there, & is still part of daily life today. I could feel the peace & a kind of vibrant joy [in their worship].
I will introduce some of the people most deeply involved in the Hindu-Christian dialogue. Dom Bede Griffith is a Benedictine monk who came to India more than 30 years ago and helped found a monastery and a Christian ashram. Henri Le Saux became known as Swami Abhishiktananda. He shared the ashram with Bede Griffith and spent time as a hermit. He has been trying to show how Hinduism and Christianity illuminate each other. Sister Vandana, an Indian Catholic sister, is a member of the Order of the Sacred Heart. She spends 6 months of each year near the holy city of Rishikesh with a saintly Hindu guru. Raymond Pannikar born in Spain of a Catholic mother and a Hindu father, grew up familiar with both Hindu and Christian scriptures. He wants Hindu philosophy to find place in Christian tradition.
I expect that in reality all of these approaches are beyond dialogue. From ancient times men and women have searched for God and for Truth. Studying the Upanishads along with the inspirations of the Bible and early Quakers, one finds that the Spirit has sent similar insights down through the ages. The Eternal Principle was incarnated in Jesus; early Quakers called it the light of Christ. The Upanishads called it Brahman.
Early Quakers believed that the Light was universal and that it was “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Fox says: “Take heed of judging the measure of others … there are diversities of gifts, but one Spirit and Unity therein to all … Several ways … hath God to bring his people our, yet all are but one in the end.” In the Meenakshi Temple at Madurai, an observer will see large numbers of individuals, each immersed in their own puja (worship). [When we see the variety of worship and aspects of God], we might wonder how Hinduism could have any similarity to Quaker thought and practice. Gerald Kenway Hibbert said: “Every religious system has its ‘Quakers’—those who turn from the outward, legal, and institutional and focus their attention on the Divine that is within; [there is fellowship between Friends and other mystics].” In my reading I found similarities between Hindu and Quaker thought, although similarity is not equivalent to identity. The Pure Principle, the Light, Unity, Silence, Simplicity and Guidance can be mutually appreciated.
THE PURE PRINCIPLE--The sense of [divine] Presence was demonstrated to us in India by Dr. Ghosh, a retired physician, whom we met while he was directing the building of a new stretch of road around a landslide. He was obviously loved and respected by the workers, and had a radiance in his expression. He had decided to help his people in as many ways as he could: farming; village industries; orphanages; prisoner rehabilitation; general health. Dr. Ghosh said: “What we worship, we become.” The Upanishads say: “Let one … keep the mind pure, for what a man thinks that he becomes: this is the mystery of Eternity” (Maitri), and “There is a Spirit which is pure and which is beyond old age and death [and suffering]. This is Atman, the Spirit in Man” (Chandogya). [Although Dr. Ghosh and his wife worshiped God differently than Quakers], the essence of their worship transcended all outward manifestations. John Woolman wrote: “There is a principle which is pure, placed in the human mind, which in different places and in different ages hath had different names . . . It is deep and inward, confined to no form of religion nor excluded from any, where the heart stands in perfect sincerity.”
THE LIGHT—The Pure Principle has led both Quakers and Hindus to the experience of the Light, expressed by Fox’s Epistles and the Upanishads. “There is a Light that shines beyond all things on earth, beyond us all, beyond the heavens … This is the Light that shines in our hearts” (Chandogya Upanishad). “Each man, woman, and child who sets himself to obey the promptings of truth and love is making use of the Inner Light, by whatever name” (Fox). The Inner Light as a symbol evolved in Vedic times (1500 B.C. – 500 B.C.). By the time of the Upanishads, the Divine Spirit was given the name of Light and interiorized.
Light as a feature of heightened awareness is common to mystical experiences of all religions. [Friends throughout Quaker history report “visions of light,” experienced when awake. Howard Brinton includes them in “Dreams of Quaker Journalists.” Thomas Kelly writes: “It is an overwhelming experience to fall into the hands of the living God, to be invaded to the depths of one’s being by God’s presence … Then is the soul swept into a Loving Center of ineffable sweetness, where calm and unspeakable and ravishing joy steal over one.” Damaris Parker-Rhodes said that the Power of Christ appeared to her as “the Incarnated Light streaming from the incredible Light and Energy Centre (which is the Love of God) that pours into every creature and into creation as its real life … The power of the spirit is becoming more available because the earth has need for it.”
UNITY—Swami Chidananda, an orthodox Hindu says: “Jesus dwelt in the awareness of saying ‘I & my Father are one’—the fundamental truth of the oneness of the life of the Vedas … [&] the Upanishads.” Whenever individuals respond to the Light, they have unity with each other [in] “the fellowship of the Light.” John’s gospel says: “In the beginning was the Word, & the Word was with God, & the Word was God. The Vedas say: “In the beginning was [Brahman]; With whom was the Word; And the word was verily the Supreme Brahman.”
Gradually Cosmic Power was no longer identified with ritual but with Atman. In the last book of Rig Veda, Atman means “breath” or “life.” In the Upanishads, Atman means “self” or “soul.” Abhishiktananda says that both John’s gospels and the Upanishads consist of “a succession of intuitions, each leading to the next by some mysterious and secret inner connection beyond the reach of conceptual logic, a sequence of piercing insights each drawing us more deeply into the abyss of the Godhead.”
There are 2 main streams of thought in Hinduism: Advaita [“not 2”] and Bhakti [relationship of 2]. Bhakti literature shows deep devotion. Thomas Kelly’s writing is especially close to the Bhakti tradition. He says: “Deep within us all there is an inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice … to which we may continually return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-worn lives, warming us with intimation of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto Itself.”
SILENCE—“Out of the silence will come the vision and the voice.” We Friends are used to cherishing the Presence with themselves, outpouring from the Source in silence; they feel a serenity of spirit.
SIMPLICITY—We had an experience of “reentry” once when we returned to the United States. [Compared to what we had become use to, there was an overabundance of “all the comforts of home”]. In a small tea stall in India, we had a restful, comfortable, and simple experience, with only the bare minimum of “creaturely comforts,” and an abundance of simplicity. A westerner is apt to confuse Indian simplicity with poverty. [There is real poverty], but there is also much that appears to be poverty to western eyes which is really only the absence of those things that we in the West feel are necessary to our well-being.
We were entertained by a college physics professor dressed in a cloth wound around the waist and women in simple, colorful cotton saris. We ate a vegetarian meal off of banana leaves that were recycled afterwards. We discussed Indian classical music and Sanskrit epics. Simplicity is the way of life in India. With more time spent enjoying simple comforts, and less energy spent on self-indulgence, the resulting serenity of spirit is one of the aspects of Indian life that we miss most on returning to the US.
[Thomas Kelly has this to say about simplicity]: “Walk and talk and work and laugh with your friends. Behind the scenes, keep up the life of simple prayer and inward worship … There is a way of ordering our mental life on more than one level at once. [We may deal with everyday] external affairs on one level [while] at a profounder level, we may also be in prayer and adoration … and a gentle receptiveness to divine breathings.” Tukaram, 16th century poet, says: “When thou art plunged in hurrying activity,/ Then, then preeminently,/ Thou must remember God/ Then, in the midst of busy work, Keep thou thy secret heart fixed firm on him.”
GUIDANCE—Doesn’t this all lead to guidance, the experience of being led? Kuni & Laurie Baker had been following the Spirit’s leading ever since their honeymoon in the Himalayas, where they saved the life of a baby, & stayed there for 16 years, starting with a tiny tea house & expanding into a hospital that Laurie built. Another Friend was led to share with Dr. Sanjeeva Raj, a person they were only slightly acquainted with, about demonstrating cyclone-proof housing. Sanjeeva Raj guided us to the place where the project was finally started.
Gurdial Mallik spent his life—long before he became a Hindu Quaker as well as after—following the leading of the Spirit. [He went to a strange home without knowing why, saved a young woman from hanging herself, and helped her get the necessary nurse’s training in spite of her high-caste family’s opposition].
William Edmundson (1627-1712) [had conflicting concerns]: go back to his shop to prevent it being robbed, or go on to Clough for some unknown service]. “I cried to Lord … & his word answered me that that which drew me back should preserve my shop … When I came in the house I found Anne Gould in despair … [she] revived for joy & gladness, & got up … the tender woman was helped over her trouble.” He found out later that robbers tried to rob his shop but the shop window had fallen down and awakened people and the robbers had run away.
Sister Vandana was about to spend her sabbatical year in the US, when she felt led by God to spend time sitting at the feet of a saintly Hindu guru in the holy city of Rishikesh. She gained experiential knowledge of Hindu traditions that she shared in the dialogue that goes to the Source. [As for Quakers], Alastair Heron says: “To the extent that, as individuals & as meetings, our lives, our decisions & our actions are no longer consciously & single-minded intended to be based on the guidance of the Spirit of God, we have squandered our inheritance.”
IS OUR GOD TOO SMALL?—This living Presence that one feels in places of worship the world over is the same Spirit that guides us in the living of our lives, the same Pure Principle. It is in the silence that we most deeply feel the Presence of God and open ourselves to God’s leading. We learn from India that leading a more simple life gives us more time to spend in silence and more serenity of spirit to respond to it.
God is beyond—& beyond—& beyond—beyond creed, beyond the limitations of our reason & text-books, beyond in the dimension within. We Friends might ask ourselves: Is our God too small? It is all the more important for world religions to illuminate each other so our combined Light can lead us & help us find ways to deal with oppression [of people and the earth]. [World religions are] “fellow wayfarers engaged in common search.”
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205. Sound of Silence: Moving with T’ai Chi (by Carol R. Murphy; 1976)
About the Author—She was born in Boston, MA., Dec. 1916 (died 1994). After a childhood of home schooling in rural Massachusetts, the family moved to the Philadelphia area; Carol attended Quaker schools. In 1928 the family became convinced Friends. She graduated Swarthmore Class of 1937 & earned an M.A. in International Affairs at American University in 1941. She began her association with Pendle Hill in 1947. This pamphlet is the 12th of 17 that she was to write, and tells the story of her work on T’ai Chi Chuan meditation.
... The hearing of the spirit is not limited to any one faculty … And when the faculties are empty, then the whole being listens. Chuang-Tzu
Preparation/ Beginning—There are 2 directions of the meditating mind: a focusing down to a point of contemplation; a wide-angle vision. [The latter] doesn’t shut out the world of the senses, but mirrors it clearly & without clinging. T’ai Chi Chuan is a moving meditation that also disciplines the restless body. I hope its quality will be unfolded as I relate my adventure into it. At times I feel physical & disciplined, at times inward & meditative; T’ai Chi has room for them all.
Try standing easily, feet firm on the ground, shoulder-width apart, knees a little flexed; feel your head and spine suspended from the sky, your shoulders and chest hanging easily. Swing your pelvis,[your center of gravity], a little. Let your hands be neither stiffened nor clenched but relaxed with a gentle convex curve of wrist through fingers. Let your arms rise slowly in front of you while breathing in.
The flowing grace of T’ai Chi form beguiles me esthetically while it makes me wonder whether I can ever do such floating movements. I flex my knees, which 1st protest, but later I get velvety, relaxed almost sensuous feeling. One’s head may be erect to the sky, but one’s feet must be planted on earth. We are mind-body creatures, & why shouldn’t a meditative discipline minister to both? As I learn to lower my center of gravity, & balance from that, I realize that the movements are shaped to the proper use of the body & endow it with dignity.
The 1st movement is to raise my arms slowly in front of me, bring my hands toward me then lower them gently by my side. This action is to lighten the upper body and set it afloat. For an intellectual accustomed to neat distinctions, the heavy substantiality of the material [realm] is divorced from the airy insubstantiality of spirit and meaning. Yet somehow the mystics and the Chinese Taoists have actually experienced the Original One behind the 2 divided realms of our everyday experience. In the movements I practice, I can sense the reconciliation, [the unity] of acting and being. Will T’ai Chi work its way through my limbs to my mind?
Grasp the Bird’s Tail/ The Single Whip—The 2nd movement is that I turn to hold between the facing palm of my hands an imaginary ball of air. I can imagine a field of force between them. I had a dream where I grasped at the tail of a whitish bird, only to miss. The paradox of the spiritual quest is that without perseverance you cannot start on your quest, but your very striving for a goal gets in your own path. Make a fresh beginning; be like a child learning a new game for its own sake rather than being impatient. You are shaping yourself to an objective requirement, with no room for private self-expression, yet this form derives from the inner meaning of the body’s true movement. I can only hope that by learning to move to the measure of the Reality of all things, it may become more real to myself, and perhaps a little more real to others.
A recurrent figure involves a pivoting of arms and body, then a wide step. Any distractions must be [dealt with by] looking over their shoulders and proceed. As this is a moving meditation, my centering must move with me. The mind must accompany the motions without becoming lost in thought or oblivious to the surroundings. I can have 2 levels of apprehension of T’ai Chi: the moving image of Eternity; a thoroughgoing re-education of every part of my body. Ideally, there is a carry-over into daily life, and this in turn should work hand-in-glove with practice to reinforce the spirit of the exercise so that it becomes a way of life. Fascination is the true and proper mother of discipline … ‘Tis slow enough to concentrate the mind and complex enough to require our many parts. A teacher can give hints, one can show you an example, but the listening to your own bodily feelings in practice is up to you; you must be lamps unto yourselves.
The 70-30 Stance—I move into a well-braced position in which about 70% of my weight is on the forward foot; there is strategic importance of this stance. We students are told of the flow of an energizing life-force which the Chinese call ch’i, running along the “full” [weight-bearing] leg to the opposite arm. It envelopes the body in a magnetic field; to align one’s self with its lines of force is to generate healing. Possibly through this awareness of the channels of energy, T’ai Chi can spread a beneficent influence throughout my body, I have already found the peacefulness that can spread from the relaxation of the hands in T’ai Chi. In learning T’ai Chi I will let my newfound abilities and awareness grow naturally into an unanticipated flowering.
Rollback & Press/ Deflect Downward, Parry & Punch—Part of the figure of Grasp the Bird’s Tail consists in a withdrawal and then a pushing forward with the hands as if pressing someone gently back. At its culmination, every motion rounds into the reverse direction. Jacob Boehme wrote: “In order to have anything definite made manifest there must be a contrary therein—a Yes and a No.” One can learn to see the yin/yang signature everywhere. The opposites are reconciled in action and interaction.
A beautifully flowing movement that manifests the basic self-defense structure of T’ai Chi [is when] my fist swings slowly forward toward the solar plexus of an imaginary opponent. [A joint exercise is when] each partner tries to absorb the push of the other & to take advantage of the other’s slightest dis-equilbrium. I would describe the 2-party political system as 2 opposing forces that alternate & cooperate in forming & criticizing an administration. One party is conservative, the other liberal, but [as in the yin/yang symbol] there is a little dot of the opposite quality in each. This keeps them from flying apart into irreconcilable enmity.
Conflict isn't to be eliminated, but kept creative. The survival of caribou & wolf is a function of [their interdependent] relationship. Jacob Boehme wrote: “I raised up my spirit … toward God … in a resolution to struggle with God's love & mercy without ceasing until God blessed me.” God blessed the Jews’ holy chutzpah, or sublime impudence, & gave them the I-thou experience. Florida Scott-Maxwell wrote: “[We say] ‘You are too different, you ask the impossible … Then God might answer, ‘Of course that is your duty. If I commanded any-thing less than the impossible, could you have recognized me as God? … Creation is the might and marvel of forever creating out of opposition.
Apparent Closure—After the long swinging punch comes a withdrawal, a brushing off of the imaginary opponent’s grasp. One must go with the opponent, not counter his thrust, and not be where he expects you to be. When I had an actual opportunity to try the single-handed form of push hands with someone, the slow circling of our touching wrists and the reciprocal sway of our bodies seemed a living enactment of the yin/yang symbol. In life itself, I had to learn at the bedside of the dying how to fight on the side of life only as long as was meet, and then to know when to yield to the necessity of death. In my practice of T’ai Chi I can begin to learn a kind of holy obedience to the flow and absorb the wisdom of living where I am; the form moves onward like a river and cannot be hurried. Alan Watts point out: “All that remains is the simple awareness of what is going on … It comes out of nothing as sounds come out of silence.” Take what comes, and Do not cling.
However solid I feel, I must trust the energy stream that creates me at every moment, & live more from my vital center of balance, & less from my analytical head which divides my self from the stream. By taking my distractions & quarrels with God as part of the Tao’s movement playing push hands within me, I seem to render more permeable the boundaries of my self-conscious ego, & become more relaxed about the flow of thoughts & feelings. Perhaps I can see a way of living that flows with God’s energy within & without the little ego we try to protect. When life is lived non-directively, the mind’s antenna is more tuned to the flow of happenings around us. The more we try to plan, the more we ignore the flow of the present. We can align ourselves with God’s energy field; our struggling & questioning are part of this field & can induce God’s current in our cores. Who then is wrestling within us? And is there victor or loser? And does not the victor wear a crown of thorns?
Cross Hands/ In the End is the Beginning—A t the end of the 1st 1/3 of the T'ai Chi form, and also at its conclusion, comes a wide sweep of the arms ending with crossed wrists and hands which reminds me of seraphim folding their wings. In the heat and preoccupation of learning to practice correctly, the impression of serene silence tends to recede into the background, but the possibility of it is always there. While strolling one early Spring morning, [I found] a tranquil silence surrounding every small chirp or rustle; it was only perceived so when I listened with patient waiting for sounds that never came. Now I understood that it was the expectant listening to the sound of any silence that brings liberation from restless thoughts and a silence between the ears. [One day in a meadow doing T’ai Chi, I felt one with the holly trees]; the final sweep of arms and hands seemed to be affirming that the whole wide world was in God’s and my hands.
Though the bird’s tail of enlightenment still eludes me, I am immensely grateful to the experience of T’ai Chi for its epiphany of divine harmony in motion, the wisdom it is teaching my inward parts, and the 1st intuition of the sound of silence as a substantial fullness to rest in rather than an insubstantial emptiness to be fled from. The Taoistic unity of opposites lures one along the never ending road to perfection in a possible/impossible endeavor. So it is with meditation, the possible/impossible waiting in God which we can never quite do nor do without. T’ai Chi meditation should be the focus of a life of inward vigilance, when physical silence becomes sacramental of the creative stillness before the Word of creation.
The flow of T’ai Chi is circular and brings one back to the beginning. I am very much a novice; now I should stop talking about it. Here I stand, rooted in the earth, head to the sky. My adventure is just beginning. As you move slowly about with circular motions listen to the silence of your movements. As the day continues, consider every approaching event as the next figure of the T’ai Chi form of life, and move with it neither hurrying nor lingering. The goal is a more complete way of being in God’s world and relating to it with serene sensitivity. Listen then, to the sound of silence, and move to its music.
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135. The Spiritual Legacy of the American Indian (by Joseph Epes Brown; 1964)
About the Author—Born in September 1920, Joseph Epes Brown was an American scholar whose dedication to Native American traditions helped bring the study of American Indian religious traditions into higher education. His seminal work was a book entitled, The Sacred Pipe, an account of discussions with the Lakota holy man, Black Elk, regarding his people's religious rites. Since the writing of this pamphlet, the author has taught American Indian religious traditions at the Universities of Indiana & Montana. He died in September 2000.
This is my prayer: That Peace may come to those people who can understand; an understanding which must be of the heart and not of the head alone. Then they will realize that we Indians know the One True God, and that we pray to Him continually. Hehaka Sapa (Black Elk)
[INTRODUCTION: Tragedies and Misunderstandings]—For centuries American Indian peoples have been involved in a struggle which resembles a tragedy; it is our tragedy as well as theirs. They have great riches in human & spiritual resources, which have been swept aside or actively destroyed by our educational system. By ignoring or denying the spiritual legacy left by the Indian we have contributed to his impoverishment [& our own]. We talk of "progress," "manifest destiny," of the inevitability of our way over all others. It isn't inevitable that the American Indian give up the spiritual values & rituals of their ancient religions. Those who remain faithful should be given encouragement to keep alive a rich & truly American heritage. It is hoped this booklet may clarify misconceptions concerning real & profound spiritual values which exist in American Indian religions.
Early on the American aborigine was depicted as a brutal savage, without civilization & possibly no soul, or as an innocent child of nature. An objective description of religious rites, social customs, and ritual objects can not give an insight into their spirituality; much of this wisdom has been lost. We who have lived close to these peoples for some 400 years should [go beyond objectivity] in our search for the spirit of the people in its deepest aspect. Frithjof Schuon writes: "The ... combination of combative and stoical heroism and priestly bearing gave the Indian of the Plains and Forests something of the majesty of the eagle and the sun ... There must be some cause for our lively, lasting, [and serious] interest in the Indian himself, for 'where there is smoke there is fire."
With our own over-emphasis on mental activity we are apt to think the Indian lacks [the ability] to worship a Supreme Being. Their "lack" may have prevented us from understanding the completeness and depth of his wisdom. [This "lack"] represents in the Indian a very effective type of spiritual participation in which the essential ideas and values, forms and symbols are spontaneously and integrally lived. St. Bernard wrote: "Trees and stones will teach thee more than thou canst acquire from the mouth of a magister." We have a prejudice against a nomadic life and do not realize that complex material achievements of the type which we possess, or rather by which we are often possessed, are usually at the expense of human and spiritual values. The contemporary industrial man is in danger of being crushed by the sheer weight of his civilization. A minimum of material possessions does not necessarily mean a poverty in mental and spiritual achievements.
[Great Plains Indian Traditions]—These traditions, with their intellectuality, great cultural beauty & dignity represent an especially rich development among Amerindian peoples. A secondary reason for using these traditions is simply my familiarity with them. The new understanding I gained from living with Black Elk (He-haka Sapa) & listening to him & Little Warrior, made clear to me why these old men, & others [constantly had] a nobility, serenity, generosity, & kindness that we usually expect in the saints of better known religions.
I found Black Elk in 1948. After a time of smoking in silence, Black Elk, speaking in Lakota, told me through his son's translation that he had anticipated my coming, and asked if I would remain with him. Over nearly a year's time he would speak every day until a veil of silence fell in which one could sense that he was so absorbed within the realities of which he was speaking that words no longer had meaning. The greater part of what I learned from Black Elk was from his very being, which seemed to hover between this world of forms & the world of the spirit. From the age of 9 he had received visions with an unusual frequency & intensity, & had the compulsion to bring back to life the "flower tree" of their religious heritage. Black Elk said: "I must say now that the tree has never bloomed ... I have fallen away & have done nothing ...It may be that some little root of the sacred tree still lives. Nourish it then, that it may leaf & bloom & fill with singing birds ... Hear me that they may once more go back into the sacred hoop & find the good red road, the shielding tree." Aspects of his religion were recorded in Black Elk Speaks (John G. Neihardt, 1932) and The Sacred Pipe (John Epes Brown, 1953).
[ I: Circles, Crosses, Nature's Temple]—One of the symbols that expresses most completely the Plains Indian concept of the relationship between man and nature is a cross inscribed within a circle. Its form is found in the tipi, the Sun Dance and purification lodges, and many ritual movements. Black Elk said: "That is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round ... All our power came to us from the sacred hoop of the nation ... The flowering tree was the living center of the hoop, [and the 4 directions] nourished it. East gave peace and light, south gave warmth, west gave rain, north with its cold and wind gave strength and endurance ... Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle ... The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood ... Our tepees were like the nests of birds, set in a circle, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to hatch our children."
Without the awareness that he bears within himself a sacred center a man is in fact less than a man. Indians have many rites to recall the virtual reality of this center. The concept of man as vertical axis explains the sacred-ness of the number 7. In adding vertical dimensions of sky & earth to the 4 horizontal ones, we have 6 dimensions, with the 7th being the center where all the directions meet. 3 horizontal circles, representing: sky, man, & earth; man's body, soul, & spirit; the gross, subtle, & pure. For the Indian, the world of nature itself was his temple, & within this sanctuary he showed great respect to every form, function, & power. Each form in the world around him bears such a host of precise values & meanings that taken all together they constitute his "doctrine."
[II: "Gospel" Animals; Nature's Guardians]—[It took me a while to realize that when Black Elk spoke] in terms involving animals & natural phenomenon that he was explaining his religion. The Indian has been described as pantheistic, idolatrous, or savage. [The latter 2 deserve no reply]. The charge of pantheism needs clarification. Animals were created before man in their creation myths. In them the Indian sees actual reflection of the Great Spirit's qualities. [Animals] served the same function as revealed scriptures in other religions. They are intermediators or links between man & God. Religious devotions may be directed to the Deity through animals.
Black Elk received spiritual power from visions involving eagle, bison, Thunder beings, and horses; Crazy Horse received power from the rock & a vision of the shadow. Black Elk said: "We should know that He is within all things ... we should understand that He is also above all things & people." Ate is Father/Being in creation; Tunkashila is Essence beyond creation. "God" & "Godhead" serve the same distinctions in Christianity. Man as axis is put 1st as in the center of all things, bearing the Universe within himself. The Indian believes that such knowledge can't be realized unless there be perfect humility, unless man humbles himself before all of creation. Only in being nothing may man become everything. His center or Life, is the same center or Life of all that is.
Because of true man's totality & centrality he has the most divine function of guardianship over the world of nature. If this role is ignored or misused he is in danger of [being revealed as the conquered, not the conqueror]. Nothing is more tragic than the statements of Indians watching others ignore the role of guardianship. An old Omaha said: "Now the face of all the land is changed and sad. The living creatures are gone. I see the land desolate and I suffer unspeakable sadness ... I feel as though I should suffocate from ... this awful feeling of loneliness." Seeing the importance of nature to Indians, we realize we are involved witnesses to a great tragedy.
[Supernatural Rites & Symbols/ Sweat Lodge]—The Plain Indians' remarkable spiritual development derives from nature & through rigorous use of complex rites & symbols of supernatural origin. From them the Indian comes to know, understand & seek values reflected in nature's great mirror. Men such as Black Elk, Little Warrior, Standing Bear, Ohiyesa received sacred power on religious, mountain-top retreats (hanblecheyapi), alone for 4 days or more without food or water, & always praying that the Great Spirit might send a messenger with holy power &/or a message, that he made central to his life; perhaps it gave him a new name. This sacred retreat is still practiced. Without a vision one forgets the purpose for which one was given the gift of life.
In the rites of the annual spring "Sun Dance" (Wiwanyag Wachipi), the entire tribe gathered to insure renewal of the individual, the tribe, world, and Universe. During the complete 3 or 4 day ceremony, one will be impressed & deeply moved by the other-worldly beauty of the sacred songs, by the powerful rhythm of great drum which is struck simultaneously by many men. Let us hope that the young Indian will realize that such "patterns of renewal" are more important today than they were, & that one won't give them up for the sake of "progress."
"Sweat Lodge" rites are carried out in preparation for all the other major rites. They are rites of renewal, or spiritual rebirth, in which all of the 4 elements—earth, air, fire, and water contribute to the physical and psychical purification of man. A small dome-shaped lodge is 1st made of bent willow saplings over which there are placed buffalo hides which make the little house tight and dark inside; aromatic sage is strewn on the floor. Each part of the sweat lodge has its symbolic value, as does the shape and the ritual. Black Elk says: "When we use water [here] we should think of Wakan-tanka who is always flowing and giving His power and life to every-thing. In the real world of Wakan-tanka there is nothing but the spirits of all things; and this true life we may know here on earth if we purify our bodies and minds thus, coming closer to Wakan-tanka who is all-purity"; rocks represents earth. The Indian can be passive to the form, and is thus able to absorb, and become one with, its reflected power. During the 4 periods of sweating within the lodge, prayers are recited, sacred songs are sung and a pipe is ceremoniously smoked 4 times by the circle of men. [After that], the door is opened so that "the light enters into the darkness." In going forth from darkness [and our impurities] into the light, there is represented man's liberation from ignorance, from his ego, and from the cosmos.
[Sacred Pipe/ Spiritual Progress]—The sacred pipe is central to all Plains Indians ceremonies, a portable altar, and a means of grace. If one could understand all the possible meanings and values to be found in the pipe and its accompanying ritual, then one could understand Plains Indian religion in its full depth. For the [Lakota], a miraculous "Buffalo Cow Woman" brought the pipe to the people, and told them how to use it. Pipes are made of black or red stone, an ash stem, and ribbon decorations. These pipes represent man in his totality, or the universe. The bowl is the heart or sacred center, each part of the pipe is identified with some part of man.
The myriad forms of creation are represented in the tobacco. when the fire of the Great Spirit is added a divine sacrifice is enacted. The man who smokes, with his own breath assists in the sacrifice of his own self, or ego. The smoke that rises is "visible prayer," at the sight and fragrance of which the entire creation rejoices. The rite of smoking for the Indian is something very near to the Holy Communion for Christians. In smoking the pipe together each man is aided in remembering his own center, which is understood to be the same center of every man, and of the universe itself; [all of creation comes together in a central bond].
Each of the 3 stages of spiritual progress are each in turn realized, then integrated within the next stage. [The 3 are sometimes referred to as Purification, Perfection, and Union. After being purified, man must cease to be a part, an imperfect fragment; he must realize all that he is and expand to include the universe within. Union is [forsaking] the error that his real self is nothing more than his own body or mind. It is evident that the Plains Indian possesses this 3-fold pattern of realization. Our understanding of the Indians nature relationship, his truths and values, may enrich us, and we can recognize the American Indian heritage as belonging with the great spiritual traditions of humankind. If the Indian can be more aware of this valuable heritage, He may regain much of what has been lost, and will be able to face the world with the pride and dignity that should rightfully be his.
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106. The Way of Man: According to the Teaching of Hasidim (by Martin Buber; 1960)
[About the Author]—Martin Buber (1878-1965) is an important representative of the human spirit. He studied philosophy & art history at the Vienna & Berlin Universities. In 1916 he founded Der Jude periodical that he edited until 1924; it became German-speaking Jewry's leading organ. From 1923-33, Buber taught various religion classes at Frankfurt University. 1938-51, Buber served as social philosophy professor at Hebrew University, Jerusalem. He was awarded the Goethe Prize (Hamburg, 1951) & the German Book Trade Peace Prize (1953). Professor Buber has written in the fields of philosophy, education, community, sociology, psychology, art, Biblical interpretation, [and Jewish subjects]. Buber’s best-known work in America is I and Thou.
FOREWORD (by Maurice Friedman)—After I and Thou, Martin Buber is best known for his re-creation of Hasidism. [He was inspired by the words of] Hasidism's founder. "I was overpowered and experienced the Hasidic soul ... Man's being created in the image of god I grasped as deed, as becoming, as task ... [as my duty] to proclaim it to the world." Buber spent 5 years in isolation studying Hasidic texts. For more than ½ a century, Buber has devoted himself to retelling Hasidic tales & interpreting Hasidic teaching. [He is the one most responsible for] transforming Hasidism into one of the world's great recognized mystical movements.
Of his own relationship to Hasidism, Buber writes: "I couldn't become [i.e masquerade as] a Hasid ... It was necessary, rather, to take into my own existence as much as I actually could of what had been truly exemplified for me there." He goes to Hasidism, more than any other source, for his image of what modern man can and ought to become. Hasidism is mysticism which hallows community and everyday life rather than withdraws from it, [seeking] the joy that can transform and redirect the "alien thoughts," or fantasies, that distract man from the love of God. [For example], despair leads one to believe oneself in the power of sin and hence to give in to it. A great Hasidic teacher said that every mystery has the meditation that opens it. "But God loves the thief who breaks the lock open: I mean the man who breaks his heart for God."
[Our special, self-defining] qualities constitute our special approach to God and our potential use for God. The profane is only a designation for the not-yet-hallowed. We are able to serve God with our anger, fear, love and sexual desire, by becoming "humanly holy." Buber's "The Way of Man According to the Teachings of Hasidism," gives us much of his own simple wisdom. One begins with searching oneself, but one must not be preoccupied with oneself but with "letting God into the world." Sometimes we must direct an evil urge by living a true life "here, where we stand," in order to know our deepest central wish.
INTRODUCTION [by Martin Buber]—Hasidic "cleaving" unto God is achieved by affirming the sensual world & one's own natural being in its God-oriented essence, so as to transform it & offer it up to God. In Hasidism, a divine spark lives in everything & being; each spark is enclosed by an isolating shell. Only humans can liberate it & rejoin it with the Origin, by holding holy converse with the [spark] & using it in a holy manner. In everyone is a force divine, which is to be directed towards its origin. Evil is made when divine force runs directionless, [& seizes on something less than the origin]; if one turns to God, [then the divine force is redeemed]. The task of everyone is to affirm for God's sake the world & oneself and by this means transform both.
I. HEART-SEARCHING—Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Northern White Russia was denounced by anti-hasidic elements and imprisoned in Petersburg. The rav's majestic and quiet face as he meditated impressed the chief of gendarmes. The zaddik said, "God calls to every one: 'Where are you in your world? How far have you gotten? In the story, the gendarme chief quotes Scripture, where the all-knowing God asks of Adam: Where art thou? The hasid gives a reply on a different plane from that on which the question was asked.
The chief wants to expose an alleged contradiction in the Jewish "all-knowing God" doctrine. Instead of explaining the passage and solving the "contradiction," the rabbi takes the text as a starting-point for reproaching the chief's shortcomings. His answer illuminates the situation of the biblical Adam and that of every one in every time & every place. Every one hides to avoid rendering accounts, to escape responsibility for ones way of living; one turns existence into a system of hideouts. In trying to hide from God, one is to hiding from one's self. God wants to produce a [heart-searching] effect in one [with questions like that, so that one comes out of hiding].
Everything now depends on facing the question. Whatever success & enjoyment one may achieve, whatever power one may attain, whatever deeds one may do, ones life will remain way-less, so long as one avoids the Voice [& the question]. [Heart-searching mustn't be the] sterile kind, which leads to only self-torture, despair & deeper [hiding]. There is demonic questioning [that leads to the false conclusion] "From where you are, there is no way out." By representing turning to the way as hopeless, it drives one to living only by demonic pride.
II. THE PARTICULAR WAY—The "Seer" of Lublin said: "It is impossible to tell people what way they should take ... Everyone should carefully observe what way ones heart draws one to, and then choose this way with all ones strength." The great and holy deeds done by others are examples for us, but they are not models which we should copy. Even small achievements have value in that we bring them about in our own way, by our own efforts. Each one in ones own way shall devise something new in the light of teaching and of service, and do what has not yet been done. Ones foremost task is to put ones unique, never-before and never-again capabilities into unique action and deed, not something already achieved. Rabbi Zusya said, "I shall not be asked: 'Why were you not Moses?' I shall be asked: 'Why were you not Zusya?'
All have access to God, but each has a different access. God can be reached by humankind through its multiple advance by all those different, [individual] ways. [When you do a way to God, you must do it in such a manner that it leads you to God]. The way by which one can reach God is revealed to one only through knowledge of ones own being, the knowledge of ones essential quality and inclination. Naturally, ones most powerful desire rushes in the first instance at object which lie across ones path. It is necessary to be diverted from the casual to the essential, from the relative to the absolute.
There is no thing in the world which doesn't point a way to fear of God & to service of God. Everything is commandment. Hasidism teaches that rejoicing in the world, if hallowed with our being, leads to rejoicing in God. Although detachment and abstinence from natural life, may in the cases of some men, be the necessary starting point of their "way," or may mean needing self-isolation at certain crucial moments of existence, it may never mean the whole way. Never should asceticism gain mastery over ones life. One may only detach from nature in order to revert to it again &, in hallowed contact find ones way to God, through hallowed natural acts.
III. Resolution—A hasid of Lublin fasted for a week, & faltered near the end, caught himself, felt pride at passing this test, & nearly abandoned the fast with minutes to go. His only reward, after all his troubles, was harsh disapproval from his master. The object of the reproof is the advance & subsequent retreat; it is the wavering, shilly-shallying, ["patchwork"] character of the man's doing that makes it questionable. How does one achieve [inner] work "all of a piece?" Only with a united soul. [It may seem too harsh to judge a vascillating soul attempting an unusual work, and being willing to sacrifice the goal in order to save the soul from pride]. The teaching implied by the master is that someone with a divided, complicated, contradictory soul isn't helpless. The core of ones soul, the divine force in its depths, is capable of unifying it. Unification must be accomplished before one undertakes some unusual work. Asceticism cannot protect the soul from its own contradiction.
Unification of the soul is never final. Any work I do [towards] a united soul acts in the direction of new and greater unification and leads me ["the long way"] to a steadier unity than was the preceding unity. [The more evolved soul still needs vigilance], but it is a relaxed vigilance. "Unification of the soul" is misunderstood if "soul" were taken to mean anything but body and spirit together. The deeds one does should be done with ones whole physical being; no part of one should remain outside. [In this condition] ones work is all of a piece.
IV. BEGINNING WITH ONES SELF—Baal-Shem [Master of the Name] said: "There is thought, speech and action. Thought [is] one's wife, speech [is] one's children, and action [is] one's servants. Whoever straightens oneself out in regard to all 3 will find that everything prospers at ones hands." Everything depended on myself. Hasidic teaching coincides with [psychological analysis] in that it derives external problems from that of internal life. Hasidic conception realizes that isolation of the elements and partial processes from the whole hinders comprehension of the whole. No one phenomena of the soul should be made the center of attention as if everything else could be derived from it; [all are starting-points in their vital inter-connection].
One should realize that conflict between oneself and others are the effects of conflicts in ones own soul. One who does not see oneself as someone whose transformation helps towards the transformation of the world, makes a fundamental error which hasidic teaching denounces. When one has made peace within oneself, one will be able to make peace in the whole world. The origin of all conflict between me and my fellow humans is that I don't say what I mean, and I don't do what I say. I must decide that: I will straighten myself out. One must find oneself, the deeper self of the person living in a relationship to the world. [I know where other things are in my life, my world]. Where in the world am I? [I have trouble finding my self].
V. NOT TO BE PREOCCUPIED WITH ONESELF—How about forgetting yourself and thinking of the world? What is said here will seem to contradict everything I just said about Hasidic teachings. Why am I choosing my particular way? Why am I unifying my being? Begin with yourself. The first question says: "Apply the soul-power you are wasting on self-reproach, to such active relationship to the world as you are destined for. Be occupied with the world.
Turning to God means something much more than repentance and acts of penance; it means a reversal of ones whole being, ones selfishness, toward a way which fulfills the particular task for which this particular person has been destined by God. The Rabbi of Ger writes: "One who has done ill ... and thinks about it all the time doesn't cast the base thing one did out of ones thoughts ... one's soul is wholly and utterly in what one thinks and so one dwells in baseness ... [and is] not able to turn ... What would you do? Rake the muck this way, rake it that way—it will always be muck ... You have done wrong? Counteract it by doing right.
Judaism regards each person's soul as a serving member of God's Creation, working to transform Creation into the Kingdom of God. Each is to know oneself, purify oneself, perfect oneself, not for ones own sake, happiness, or eternal bliss, but for the sake of the world. Pursuit of one's own salvation is here regarded as self-intending, which is what Hasidism rejects most emphatically. Rabbi Bunam sees humankind's road to redemption as a process involving 2 kinds of people: the proud; and the humble. Only when pride subjects itself to humility can it be redeemed; only when it is redeemed, can the world be redeemed. Rabbi Mendel of Kotzk said: "Don't look furtively outside yourself [don't covet]; don't look furtively into others [respect others' soul-secret]; don't aim at yourself [use self as the highest goal].
VI. HERE WHERE ONE STANDS—There is something that can be found in one place. It is a great treasure, which may be called the fulfillment of existence. It is to be found on the place one stands. Hasidism believes it is a greater thing if the streets of ones native town are as bright as the paths of heaven. It is here where we stand, that we should try to make shine the light of the hidden divine life. The secrets of the upper worlds would not allow us so much actual participation in true existence as we can achieve by performing, with holy intent, a task belonging to our daily duties. Our treasure is hidden beneath the hearth of our own home.
No encounter with a being or thing in the course of our life lacks a hidden significance & a mysterious spiritual substance which depends on us for helping it towards its pure form. If we don't develop a genuine relationship with the beings & things who cross our path, if we neglect this substance, then we shall ourselves be debarred from true fulfilled existence. Some religions don't regard our sojourn on earth as true life, Judaism teaches that what one does now & here with holy intent is no less important, no less true than the life in the world to come. Rabbi Hanokh said: "Israel professes that the 2 worlds are essentially one and shall in fact become one."
Humankind was created for the purpose of unifying the 2 worlds. In Hasidism, God's grace consists in letting God be won by us; God places God's self into human hands. God wants to come to God's world through humans. This is the superhuman chance of humankind. God dwells wherever one lets God in. We can let God in only where we live, where we live a true life. If we maintain holy intercourse with the little world entrusted to us, if we help the holy spiritual substance to accomplish itself in our section of creation, then we are establishing a place for the Divine Presence.
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134. From convincement to conversion (by Martin Cobin; 1964)
1—I grew up in a Jewish home. I tell you this so you may understand a little better how I approach Christianity & Jesus quite differently from most of you. I don't urge you to accept it—merely to try to understand it. I had a Moslem friend who told me he respected Jesus as a great prophet, but that Jesus set goals so high they were beyond the reach of frail human beings. For me, the power, the hold, the intensity, the meaning, the real impact of Jesus’ death on the cross grows out of & is entirely dependent on my understanding of Jesus as a man, as a human being. I urge you to dwell on the concept that it was “as a man” that Jesus gave himself up to the cross and died on the cross. The value of the example is in the awareness it gives you of your capacity, of your strength. The message of the cross is that if we frail human beings will devote ourselves to God, we will find the desire and the strength to take upon ourselves the sufferings of others, [and in doing so], find joy and peace.
2—Why is a prophet without honor in his own country? We like to glamorize our prophets; we like to make them [statues on pedestals]. That’s difficult to achieve when you see your prophet up close. My human frailties are all too obvious. [But] the way has been opened for me to have rich and moving experiences and certain insights. There is a measure of God’s work in what I bring you, so there will be something worth taking.
We speak of birthright Friends and convinced Friends, but I don’t like the word “convinced”—it’s too intellectual. I would submit that some of our Monthly Meetings throughout the country suffer from being too full of Friends who are merely convinced, which is good, but not enough by itself. After Rufus Jones remarked in meeting: “I’ve been thinking this morning . . ., he was admonished: “Rufus, during meeting for worship thou shouldst not have been thinking.”
What do I want beyond birthright and convincement? I also want conversion. I was converted by my wife—and not by anything she ever said, particularly, [but by the relationship itself]. This is conversion—when you come in touch with God, not as a freak accident, but as an experience you can keep repeating. We recognize that the interaction between people provides one of the most fruitful areas for coming into contact with God. When we get converted, we don’t all become saints; most of us simply have to make do as best we can.
3—In situations of tension converts take the pattern of our spiritually centered living into the situation. There people who become entwined with us necessarily become entwined with that-of-God in us; they discover that-of-God within themselves. It is best to go into such situations with a conviction armed with conversion.
[It can be cultivated by joining in meeting for worship; being surrounded by like-minded people helps] you get in the mood, center down. When you’ve learned how to worship, go to your own personal silence. Meeting for worship will become a place to practice, perhaps later a source of irritation, & eventually a joyous experience where it’s easier to feel at one with the universe because there’s a greater sense of the universe’s immediacy.
4—Next you’ll go to meeting for business. Here we learn how to bring to the conduct of business, & the resolution of conflicts, the habit of living consciously in God's presence. Friends of all ages need the training provided by a good meeting for business, [so as to learn to apply spiritual values to everyday life]. [The good habits you learn in business meeting will serve you well as you apply them to tense situations where people aren't aware of] trying to do God’s work. Put aside your importance, your decision, your action. When we can bring awareness of a larger totality into daily living, it becomes difficult for us to be disturbed. You use the life of the Meeting to help you to this awareness, [and eventually] applying it to everyday situations wherever you are.
5—Meditate in the morning on the totality of the universe & then go to work. You’ll do what you can, what you’re led to—what you can move into without leaving God behind. You can move in situations of great tension & conflict if you are led to it and you have grown into it. I came to an awareness of the personal value of the vigil. I realized that I had grown in my ability to live in consciousness of the presence of God. If a peace vigil helped me achieve that growth, it was good for me; if it taught me bitterness or self-esteem, that would be bad.
6—The application of the Quaker way of life to situations of tension lies in the ability of Friends to move into such situations without altering their lives, without losing the capacity for love and calm and [confidence in] the power of God. When our talents are those best suited to meeting the needs of men at a particular point in their development, then we will offer leadership; at other times we will not be greatly influential. Let us move as quickly as we can, as slowly as we must. I see no calamity in those who find the Meeting no longer provides the necessary nourishment & who come to turn elsewhere for it. What will happen if the entire Society of Friends embrace [a rushed response (which is out of character)] to the imminent danger of nuclear destruction, and we meet with large-scale nuclear destruction [anyway]? [Whether or not it comes] the world will have need of us; [if nothing else, we can leave our influence behind].
7—Why did Judas betray Jesus? I think he [expected] that Jesus, backed far enough into the corner, would rise in anger. [He judged Jesus by his own personal standards], and felt that no man could sacrifice himself for other men. Many people today cannot believe deep down within themselves that the real Jesus is anything more than a legend. These people need faith in their own potential as human being. They will come to it only by finding in their midst people who demonstrate man’s capacity for Godliness. While all good comes from God, men help each other to partake of that gift. For such help we must be grateful to one another. O Friends, I thank you for the silent prayer, that places us in one another’s care.
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350. I have always wanted to be Jewish: and now, thanks to the Religious Society of Friends, I am (by Claire Gorfinkel; 2000)
About the Author—Claire Gorfinkel has been an activist for social change all her adult life. She is an active member of Temple Sinai of Glendale, a regular attender at Orange Grove MM in Pasadena, and a full-time fundraiser for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). This pamphlet grew out of a spiritual journey talk to Orange Grove MM In October 1996.
INTRODUCTION—I have always wanted to be Jewish. I found my way home to Judaism through my involvement with the Religious Society of Friends. They would ask me whether I would share my spiritual journey with the Orange Grove MM. [I always said], "not me, I don't have one." In the fall 1996, having found my way back to the tradition of my ancestors, I recognized that I had been on one, and that it was time to share.
I. EARLY YEARS-1945—Religion is what we came here to avoid. A great-great-grandfather on my father's side was recognized as "1 of the 1st progressive rabbis in Baltimore, Maryland." I have a beautiful [ceremonial] cup given to him by his congregation in 1876, near the start of the American Jewish Reform (AJR) movement. It gives individual Jews & congregation wide latitude to reinterpret tradition. Early Reformers rejected many rituals (e.g. praying in Hebrew, dietary laws, & prayer shawls), anything that separated Jews from the mainstream, modern world. They examine & invest in aspects that add meaning to modern lives. My family tried to be as assimilated as possible, yet almost all the important people in my parents' life were Jewish & secular.
Being Jewish 1st of all meant living up to ethical standards. My parents' values were politically & socially liberal, & deeply imbedded. They affirmed Judaism's questioning nature, but dismissed the "God" issue as irrelevant to them, seeing such belief as "primitive" & superstitious. AJR wanted above all to be modern, rational, scientific, a Jew who was blending in. Jews were excluded in some places, but there were enough accepting organizations to satisfy my parents. My father actively fought the covenant excluding Blacks from home ownership in our neighbor; [my mother supported my father in this].
Reform Rabbis wore a black choir robe and a narrow prayer shawl. Services emphasized beautiful music with an organ, a paid choir, and more English than Hebrew. Our leaders were valued for preaching strong social justice messages and taking progressive political action. We hoped that any visiting Protestants would not have anything really weird to report to inquiring folk back home. My parents would ask, Why would anyone want to embrace more traditional Judaism? especially of their children. We observed Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but did not fast during them. We enjoyed pork & shellfish, & ate bread during Passover; we also celebrated Christmas [with all the trimming, trees, and presents]. Religion didn't enter into it.
My father helped Japanese Americans recover from losses during the WWII internment; my mother helped children whose parents couldn't take care of them. My mother's response to Holocaust questions was: "That's unpleasant; we don't talk about it." She successfully shielded me from knowing that the relatives with heavy German accents at family gatherings were a tiny remnant of her father's family that he had sponsored in the late 1930's. Many children Mother helped had parents who were refugees or Holocaust survivors struggling to cope; I didn't know this until I was in my 40's. I read Holocaust literature to find clues for how to make moral choices, & how to survive with integrity in desperate circumstances. I thought of myself as Jewish & [had Jewish dreams & aspirations involving living in Israel, or being] a San Francisco Rabbi's wife. I went to Reed College (OR).
II. ESTRANGEMENT-1962—Reed's intellectualism disparaged religion & "non-rational" topics. Reed's left-wing climate fostered crusades, demonstrations, support of Mississippi Freedom Summer, the Black Student Union's beginnings, & growing awareness of the Viet Nam war. What need is there for religion, in the presence of activism & long-standing concern for justice? After graduation in 1969, I joined San Francisco's AFSC office staff as a secretary in the peace education program; it focused on the Viet Nam war. I met Howard Frederick during a war protest; he persuaded me to confront ambivalence about the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict; I married Howard in 1973. I also had become hostile toward the Jewish community, its Zionism & unwillingness to share Israel's land equitably with Arabs. I didn't want to face people from my childhood on the "other side."
For several years Howard and I worked full-time for reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians, and for Middle East peace; I still feared personal retribution from a Jewish person. I wrote my own Haggadahs, the Exodus story. My text emphasized contemporary liberation struggles and the similarity between ancient Israelites bondage in Egypt and modern Israel's treatment of the Palestinians; I glibly ignored the references to God. Having no place in which to experience, or act on, my Judaism made me insecure in my identity. [I felt like an outsider in Washington D.C., when the] Washington Hebrew Congregation came out after services, and I was apart from them, much like I was trying to "pass," blend in with the mainstream for some better social standing.
In Staunton, VA, I started regularly attending services, held every other Friday night. While there, I had a "religious experience," & renewed my acquaintance with some prayers & rituals. I had a sense of being a legitimate Jew. I began to see myself as a bridge between Jewish & non-Jewish communities. I proudly shared my Temple experience with women from Staunton's Chapter of the American Association of University Women. I was determined to let people know where my values had come from, to be sure they knew how I was "different."
III. BEGINNING TO SEARCH – 1984—In Athens, Ohio, I was invited to join a "Feminist Spirituality" study group, which became my community's center. Howard spoke about Cuba to the local Unitarian Fellowship, which he ended up joining; He found other atheists like himself there. They were a compatible, questioning, intellectually vibrant, spiritual community; mainly we enjoyed the people. Athens had a Quaker Meeting, & was a [mixture of] intentional communities, social activism, artists, & natural beauty. I found I could have & build community without religion, but I couldn't have religion without community. I required other's presence with common visions & searching questions for spiritual growth. I knew that my Jewish tradition & my childhood rabbis had motivated my work in the world. Among strongly principled people in my circle, religion was a prime motivation for their work. I was prejudiced against fundamentalist missionaries. Why would someone believe that faith in the world-to-come would substitute for conscientious work in the world-as-we-knew it?
[4 years later, Back in San Francisco], I was a fundraiser for the AFSC, & started attending Orange Grove MM; I had attended meeting there as part of my AFSC connection. I had organized & attended events that incorporated Quaker practice & worship. I had been deeply moved by the way that better quality decisions & outcomes emerged from often-lengthy waiting for unity. I tried, usually unsuccessfully, to implement consensus decision-making in some unlikely secular settings. I went to Orange Grove MM seeking community, hoping to find a comfortable place for Howard & Carrie. Any spiritual component was secondary to the social one.
IV. RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS-1988—By 1988, I was beginning to look for a spiritual life. The bit of theology, "one God, thus one will of God; if we sit together quietly & wait long enough we will know that will." Mystery exists in the world; God seemed to be a good-enough explanation. My cynicism diminished as I heard others' struggles to interpret God's calling to them. I learned about the path before me, my relationships with others in my life. It was at least an hour long island of reflective quiet in an otherwise too-busy world.
It was once my task to read the Query, which asked about our lives being in accord with Christ's Spirit. As a child I refused to read aloud pre-established prayers that didn't reflect my beliefs. I couldn't now ask Friends whether our behavior met Christ-like standards. I was Jewish. How would anyone [or I] know I was Jewish [or Quaker]? In synagogue shopping, I wanted familiar worship music in an intimate setting, great moral leadership in my rabbi, and a sense of warmth & progressive politics. I went to several temples only once.
Then a friend suggested Temple Sinai. Not only did they have a woman rabbi, but another woman chanted the blessings. A woman held a Torah scroll in her arms like a child whom she loved. She read the words as though they had meaning for her and, [she felt], for us as well; another woman chanted music from my childhood. Myself and a dozen other Temple members struggled in Jewish feminist spirituality class to find its meaning, and to re-insert women into the biblical and ritual tradition without pushing men out. Women and men were present when Moses presented the 10 Commandments to the Jewish people. After our facilitator left, we continued to study the history of Jewish Women's spirituality and Jewish feminism.
V. BELONGING, OR NOT—In 1 weekend, I attended Temple Sinai on Friday, a new "Wohlman Minyan" worship group Saturday, a Jewish hiking group midnight same day, & Orange Grove MM on Sunday. If I could choose, I'd be Quaker, but being Jewish was as irrevocable for me as being female. Being Quaker could include everything from rejecting Christianity & being atheist, agnostic, or universalist, to being rooted in Christian biblical tradition, or struggling with tradition while finding relevance in 200 years of Christian teaching. Quakerism evolved as a Christian stream, as George Fox's reaction to Christian churches. For me, Christianity isn't an "improvement" on my ancestors' tradition. If I am a Jew, I can't be Christian; by my definition, I can't be a Quaker. I recognized I was using non-membership as an excuse to avoid taking increased responsibility in return for the substantial social & emotional benefits; I was missing leadership opportunities not available to non-members.
As I considered joining Temple Sinai, the powerful yet nonsensical Hebrew [became] a language which people read, even spoke and understood. The man who invited me to his family's Seder meal commented that Pharoah's behavior towards the ancient Israelites sounded like modern Israel's treatment of Palestinians. When I could participate and feel like an authentic member of the Congregation, it became easier for me to know where I fit in the Religious Society of Friends. I could not be on Worship and Ministry Committee, or be clerk of the meeting; I could be on [the many committees] that didn't require membership. Some faith groups permit dual membership; Judaism does not. Some Quakers come from Jewish backgrounds, and call themselves Jewish Quakers. I call myself a Quakerish Jew, as I am still attracted by Quaker social values and Quaker silence.
VI. LEARNING TO EXPERIENCE THE SILENCE—In Yearly Meeting, we were assigned to a group of less than 10 people, & the group meets at a set time for at least an hour, & considers a single topic, or a series of queries. We are to meet in Quaker silence, each speak only once, & then from the heart & experience, not from the head or analysis. Year after year, this brief intimacy with strangers has yielded memorable, moving & deeply revealing experiences. When I hear of how even "weighty friends" struggle with [how to use silent meeting best], I have learned to rid myself of unrealistic expectations & to appreciate the serendipity of spiritual insight. Most acknowledge prayer doesn't come easily & what they call God isn't often revealed to them. It is okay to sit & wait. Gradually I discovered mindfulness, attentiveness, wakefulness, thankfulness; I heard that inner voice come back with insight, wisdom, & grace. Over years of practice I learned to draw deep breaths, to focus on gratitude. Blessed by wonderful people in the room, I developed a relationship with God.
VII. LEARNING TO EXPERIENCE THE RITUAL—Learning to handle an hour of silence [or mostly silence] is tough; it can be too quiet one week & too noisy another. Not knowing the rules was as intimidating as thinking everyone else was directly tuned in to God. For me learning to experience Jewish ritual was every bit as tough, if not more so. As a child, lack of time to reflect on congregational words was compounded by Hebrew I couldn't understand. We take familiar ritual for granted and are uncomfortable with the ritual that is unfamiliar.
It took practice to become accustomed to Quaker silence, or become accustom again to Jewish ritual. I once strongly resisted the custom of touching the Torah and then kissing what had touched it. When someone said, "The Torah is like a friend; I love to hug and kiss my friends," I melted. We're not singing about love of knowledge and learning. We're singing because we love this thing, this Torah, this spiritual object. Each scroll stands as a testament to the preservation of the Jewish people despite persecution, and we love the Torah.
I had been a member of Temple Sinai for more than a year, but it was when I heard "This is the day that the lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it in Hebrew ("Zeh ha-yom asah Adonai, nagila venis-mencha vo"), that those words won me over, summing up my gratitude at having found the Temple, the pleasure and usefulness Hebrew gave me, and the gladness to be found in each day. I would walk and emphasize a different word each day [i.e. this particular day; God made it; find gladness in it]. I became more aware of God's presence and more confident that the world is a good place and that God is somehow "gracious" to me.
On Simchat Torah ["rejoicing with the Torah], every member gets to carry the Torah and sing. We read the last words of Deuteronomy and the 1st words of Genesis without pausing, to symbolize the unbroken continuity of Torah teachings. We unroll the entire scroll, [and make a circle of it surrounding all the congregation's children], symbolizing the hope that our children will always be surrounded by and feel the Torah's love. This is far removed from unprogrammed, ["ritual-free"] Quaker service. I had "gone over," and become a practicing Jew.
VIII. I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE JEWISH/ IX. THE FUTURE—What does it mean to me, to be Jewish [or Quaker]? It means feeling authentic, legitimate, OK, not weird [in a room full of fellow-believers]. [My life is being slowly organized, educated, reshaped around Shabbat, Hebrew, & a slightly more kosher diet. My family of origin did not flaunt Jewish symbols; being in Jewish community was enough. For Hannukah 1996, I visited Los Angeles' Jewish cultural center and bought a tiny Star of David charm, which I never take off.
I now have a complex spiritual life & a deep relationship with a loving God amidst others who share some mix of my cynicism, politics, & faith; I often use Shabbat liturgy in my silent meeting for worship. For Quakerism & Judaism, God is directly accessible to the seeker [in our community, in ourselves & in the natural world], without need for priests or intermediaries. Essential similarities enable me to continue comfortably moving & explaining, back & forth within & between the 2 communities. My views on political parties, immigration, welfare, the death penalty, same-gender marriage, & pacifism are more likely to be shared by Quakers than by Jews.
I sometimes still hold my parents' prejudices about other people of religious faith. Having been embraced by Quaker worship's silence, I discovered spiritual life. Now I cherish rituals of spoken prayer, movement, & song, as I cherish sitting in silence. I am honored by being able to learn from & teach others about both of them. God said to Abraham, [& we now sing], "Lechi lach, to a land that I will show you,/ Lech lecha, to a place you don't know/ Lechi lach, on a journey I will send you/ & you will be a blessing,/ Lechi lach." & so my journey [goes].
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135. The Spiritual Legacy of the American Indian (by Joseph Epes Brown; 1964)
About the Author—Born in September 1920, Joseph Epes Brown was an American scholar whose dedication to Native American traditions helped bring the study of American Indian religious traditions into higher education. His seminal work was a book entitled, The Sacred Pipe, an account of discussions with the Lakota holy man, Black Elk, regarding his people's religious rites. Since the writing of this pamphlet, the author has taught American Indian religious traditions at the Universities of Indiana & Montana. He died in September 2000.
This is my prayer: That Peace may come to those people who can understand; an understanding which must be of the heart and not of the head alone. Then they will realize that we Indians know the One True God, and that we pray to Him continually. Hehaka Sapa (Black Elk)
[INTRODUCTION: Tragedies and Misunderstandings]—For centuries American Indian peoples have been involved in a struggle which resembles a tragedy; it is our tragedy as well as theirs. They have great riches in human & spiritual resources, which have been swept aside or actively destroyed by our educational system. By ignoring or denying the spiritual legacy left by the Indian we have contributed to his impoverishment [& our own]. We talk of "progress," "manifest destiny," of the inevitability of our way over all others. It isn't inevitable that the American Indian give up the spiritual values & rituals of their ancient religions. Those who remain faithful should be given encouragement to keep alive a rich & truly American heritage. It is hoped this booklet may clarify misconceptions concerning real & profound spiritual values which exist in American Indian religions.
Early on the American aborigine was depicted as a brutal savage, without civilization & possibly no soul, or as an innocent child of nature. An objective description of religious rites, social customs, and ritual objects can not give an insight into their spirituality; much of this wisdom has been lost. We who have lived close to these peoples for some 400 years should [go beyond objectivity] in our search for the spirit of the people in its deepest aspect. Frithjof Schuon writes: "The ... combination of combative and stoical heroism and priestly bearing gave the Indian of the Plains and Forests something of the majesty of the eagle and the sun ... There must be some cause for our lively, lasting, [and serious] interest in the Indian himself, for 'where there is smoke there is fire."
With our own over-emphasis on mental activity we are apt to think the Indian lacks [the ability] to worship a Supreme Being. Their "lack" may have prevented us from understanding the completeness and depth of his wisdom. [This "lack"] represents in the Indian a very effective type of spiritual participation in which the essential ideas and values, forms and symbols are spontaneously and integrally lived. St. Bernard wrote: "Trees and stones will teach thee more than thou canst acquire from the mouth of a magister." We have a prejudice against a nomadic life and do not realize that complex material achievements of the type which we possess, or rather by which we are often possessed, are usually at the expense of human and spiritual values. The contemporary industrial man is in danger of being crushed by the sheer weight of his civilization. A minimum of material possessions does not necessarily mean a poverty in mental and spiritual achievements.
[Great Plains Indian Traditions]—These traditions, with their intellectuality, great cultural beauty & dignity represent an especially rich development among Amerindian peoples. A secondary reason for using these traditions is simply my familiarity with them. The new understanding I gained from living with Black Elk (He-haka Sapa) & listening to him & Little Warrior, made clear to me why these old men, & others [constantly had] a nobility, serenity, generosity, & kindness that we usually expect in the saints of better known religions.
I found Black Elk in 1948. After a time of smoking in silence, Black Elk, speaking in Lakota, told me through his son's translation that he had anticipated my coming, and asked if I would remain with him. Over nearly a year's time he would speak every day until a veil of silence fell in which one could sense that he was so absorbed within the realities of which he was speaking that words no longer had meaning. The greater part of what I learned from Black Elk was from his very being, which seemed to hover between this world of forms & the world of the spirit. From the age of 9 he had received visions with an unusual frequency & intensity, & had the compulsion to bring back to life the "flower tree" of their religious heritage. Black Elk said: "I must say now that the tree has never bloomed ... I have fallen away & have done nothing ...It may be that some little root of the sacred tree still lives. Nourish it then, that it may leaf & bloom & fill with singing birds ... Hear me that they may once more go back into the sacred hoop & find the good red road, the shielding tree." Aspects of his religion were recorded in Black Elk Speaks (John G. Neihardt, 1932) and The Sacred Pipe (John Epes Brown, 1953).
[ I: Circles, Crosses, Nature's Temple]—One of the symbols that expresses most completely the Plains Indian concept of the relationship between man and nature is a cross inscribed within a circle. Its form is found in the tipi, the Sun Dance and purification lodges, and many ritual movements. Black Elk said: "That is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round ... All our power came to us from the sacred hoop of the nation ... The flowering tree was the living center of the hoop, [and the 4 directions] nourished it. East gave peace and light, south gave warmth, west gave rain, north with its cold and wind gave strength and endurance ... Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle ... The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood ... Our tepees were like the nests of birds, set in a circle, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to hatch our children."
Without the awareness that he bears within himself a sacred center a man is in fact less than a man. Indians have many rites to recall the virtual reality of this center. The concept of man as vertical axis explains the sacred-ness of the number 7. In adding vertical dimensions of sky & earth to the 4 horizontal ones, we have 6 dimensions, with the 7th being the center where all the directions meet. 3 horizontal circles, representing: sky, man, & earth; man's body, soul, & spirit; the gross, subtle, & pure. For the Indian, the world of nature itself was his temple, & within this sanctuary he showed great respect to every form, function, & power. Each form in the world around him bears such a host of precise values & meanings that taken all together they constitute his "doctrine."
[II: "Gospel" Animals; Nature's Guardians]—[It took me a while to realize that when Black Elk spoke] in terms involving animals & natural phenomenon that he was explaining his religion. The Indian has been described as pantheistic, idolatrous, or savage. [The latter 2 deserve no reply]. The charge of pantheism needs clarification. Animals were created before man in their creation myths. In them the Indian sees actual reflection of the Great Spirit's qualities. [Animals] served the same function as revealed scriptures in other religions. They are intermediators or links between man & God. Religious devotions may be directed to the Deity through animals.
Black Elk received spiritual power from visions involving eagle, bison, Thunder beings, and horses; Crazy Horse received power from the rock & a vision of the shadow. Black Elk said: "We should know that He is within all things ... we should understand that He is also above all things & people." Ate is Father/Being in creation; Tunkashila is Essence beyond creation. "God" & "Godhead" serve the same distinctions in Christianity. Man as axis is put 1st as in the center of all things, bearing the Universe within himself. The Indian believes that such knowledge can't be realized unless there be perfect humility, unless man humbles himself before all of creation. Only in being nothing may man become everything. His center or Life, is the same center or Life of all that is.
Because of true man's totality & centrality he has the most divine function of guardianship over the world of nature. If this role is ignored or misused he is in danger of [being revealed as the conquered, not the conqueror]. Nothing is more tragic than the statements of Indians watching others ignore the role of guardianship. An old Omaha said: "Now the face of all the land is changed and sad. The living creatures are gone. I see the land desolate and I suffer unspeakable sadness ... I feel as though I should suffocate from ... this awful feeling of loneliness." Seeing the importance of nature to Indians, we realize we are involved witnesses to a great tragedy.
[Supernatural Rites & Symbols/ Sweat Lodge]—The Plain Indians' remarkable spiritual development derives from nature & through rigorous use of complex rites & symbols of supernatural origin. From them the Indian comes to know, understand & seek values reflected in nature's great mirror. Men such as Black Elk, Little Warrior, Standing Bear, Ohiyesa received sacred power on religious, mountain-top retreats (hanblecheyapi), alone for 4 days or more without food or water, & always praying that the Great Spirit might send a messenger with holy power &/or a message, that he made central to his life; perhaps it gave him a new name. This sacred retreat is still practiced. Without a vision one forgets the purpose for which one was given the gift of life.
In the rites of the annual spring "Sun Dance" (Wiwanyag Wachipi), the entire tribe gathered to insure renewal of the individual, the tribe, world, and Universe. During the complete 3 or 4 day ceremony, one will be impressed & deeply moved by the other-worldly beauty of the sacred songs, by the powerful rhythm of great drum which is struck simultaneously by many men. Let us hope that the young Indian will realize that such "patterns of renewal" are more important today than they were, & that one won't give them up for the sake of "progress."
"Sweat Lodge" rites are carried out in preparation for all the other major rites. They are rites of renewal, or spiritual rebirth, in which all of the 4 elements—earth, air, fire, and water contribute to the physical and psychical purification of man. A small dome-shaped lodge is 1st made of bent willow saplings over which there are placed buffalo hides which make the little house tight and dark inside; aromatic sage is strewn on the floor. Each part of the sweat lodge has its symbolic value, as does the shape and the ritual. Black Elk says: "When we use water [here] we should think of Wakan-tanka who is always flowing and giving His power and life to every-thing. In the real world of Wakan-tanka there is nothing but the spirits of all things; and this true life we may know here on earth if we purify our bodies and minds thus, coming closer to Wakan-tanka who is all-purity"; rocks represents earth. The Indian can be passive to the form, and is thus able to absorb, and become one with, its reflected power. During the 4 periods of sweating within the lodge, prayers are recited, sacred songs are sung and a pipe is ceremoniously smoked 4 times by the circle of men. [After that], the door is opened so that "the light enters into the darkness." In going forth from darkness [and our impurities] into the light, there is represented man's liberation from ignorance, from his ego, and from the cosmos.
[Sacred Pipe/ Spiritual Progress]—The sacred pipe is central to all Plains Indians ceremonies, a portable altar, and a means of grace. If one could understand all the possible meanings and values to be found in the pipe and its accompanying ritual, then one could understand Plains Indian religion in its full depth. For the [Lakota], a miraculous "Buffalo Cow Woman" brought the pipe to the people, and told them how to use it. Pipes are made of black or red stone, an ash stem, and ribbon decorations. These pipes represent man in his totality, or the universe. The bowl is the heart or sacred center, each part of the pipe is identified with some part of man.
The myriad forms of creation are represented in the tobacco. when the fire of the Great Spirit is added a divine sacrifice is enacted. The man who smokes, with his own breath assists in the sacrifice of his own self, or ego. The smoke that rises is "visible prayer," at the sight and fragrance of which the entire creation rejoices. The rite of smoking for the Indian is something very near to the Holy Communion for Christians. In smoking the pipe together each man is aided in remembering his own center, which is understood to be the same center of every man, and of the universe itself; [all of creation comes together in a central bond].
Each of the 3 stages of spiritual progress are each in turn realized, then integrated within the next stage. [The 3 are sometimes referred to as Purification, Perfection, and Union. After being purified, man must cease to be a part, an imperfect fragment; he must realize all that he is and expand to include the universe within. Union is [forsaking] the error that his real self is nothing more than his own body or mind. It is evident that the Plains Indian possesses this 3-fold pattern of realization. Our understanding of the Indians nature relationship, his truths and values, may enrich us, and we can recognize the American Indian heritage as belonging with the great spiritual traditions of humankind. If the Indian can be more aware of this valuable heritage, He may regain much of what has been lost, and will be able to face the world with the pride and dignity that should rightfully be his.
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106. The Way of Man: According to the Teaching of Hasidim (by Martin Buber; 1960)
[About the Author]—Martin Buber (1878-1965) is an important representative of the human spirit. He studied philosophy & art history at the Vienna & Berlin Universities. In 1916 he founded Der Jude periodical that he edited until 1924; it became German-speaking Jewry's leading organ. From 1923-33, Buber taught various religion classes at Frankfurt University. 1938-51, Buber served as social philosophy professor at Hebrew University, Jerusalem. He was awarded the Goethe Prize (Hamburg, 1951) & the German Book Trade Peace Prize (1953). Professor Buber has written in the fields of philosophy, education, community, sociology, psychology, art, Biblical interpretation, [and Jewish subjects]. Buber’s best-known work in America is I and Thou.
FOREWORD (by Maurice Friedman)—After I and Thou, Martin Buber is best known for his re-creation of Hasidism. [He was inspired by the words of] Hasidism's founder. "I was overpowered and experienced the Hasidic soul ... Man's being created in the image of god I grasped as deed, as becoming, as task ... [as my duty] to proclaim it to the world." Buber spent 5 years in isolation studying Hasidic texts. For more than ½ a century, Buber has devoted himself to retelling Hasidic tales & interpreting Hasidic teaching. [He is the one most responsible for] transforming Hasidism into one of the world's great recognized mystical movements.
Of his own relationship to Hasidism, Buber writes: "I couldn't become [i.e masquerade as] a Hasid ... It was necessary, rather, to take into my own existence as much as I actually could of what had been truly exemplified for me there." He goes to Hasidism, more than any other source, for his image of what modern man can and ought to become. Hasidism is mysticism which hallows community and everyday life rather than withdraws from it, [seeking] the joy that can transform and redirect the "alien thoughts," or fantasies, that distract man from the love of God. [For example], despair leads one to believe oneself in the power of sin and hence to give in to it. A great Hasidic teacher said that every mystery has the meditation that opens it. "But God loves the thief who breaks the lock open: I mean the man who breaks his heart for God."
[Our special, self-defining] qualities constitute our special approach to God and our potential use for God. The profane is only a designation for the not-yet-hallowed. We are able to serve God with our anger, fear, love and sexual desire, by becoming "humanly holy." Buber's "The Way of Man According to the Teachings of Hasidism," gives us much of his own simple wisdom. One begins with searching oneself, but one must not be preoccupied with oneself but with "letting God into the world." Sometimes we must direct an evil urge by living a true life "here, where we stand," in order to know our deepest central wish.
INTRODUCTION [by Martin Buber]—Hasidic "cleaving" unto God is achieved by affirming the sensual world & one's own natural being in its God-oriented essence, so as to transform it & offer it up to God. In Hasidism, a divine spark lives in everything & being; each spark is enclosed by an isolating shell. Only humans can liberate it & rejoin it with the Origin, by holding holy converse with the [spark] & using it in a holy manner. In everyone is a force divine, which is to be directed towards its origin. Evil is made when divine force runs directionless, [& seizes on something less than the origin]; if one turns to God, [then the divine force is redeemed]. The task of everyone is to affirm for God's sake the world & oneself and by this means transform both.
I. HEART-SEARCHING—Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Northern White Russia was denounced by anti-hasidic elements and imprisoned in Petersburg. The rav's majestic and quiet face as he meditated impressed the chief of gendarmes. The zaddik said, "God calls to every one: 'Where are you in your world? How far have you gotten? In the story, the gendarme chief quotes Scripture, where the all-knowing God asks of Adam: Where art thou? The hasid gives a reply on a different plane from that on which the question was asked.
The chief wants to expose an alleged contradiction in the Jewish "all-knowing God" doctrine. Instead of explaining the passage and solving the "contradiction," the rabbi takes the text as a starting-point for reproaching the chief's shortcomings. His answer illuminates the situation of the biblical Adam and that of every one in every time & every place. Every one hides to avoid rendering accounts, to escape responsibility for ones way of living; one turns existence into a system of hideouts. In trying to hide from God, one is to hiding from one's self. God wants to produce a [heart-searching] effect in one [with questions like that, so that one comes out of hiding].
Everything now depends on facing the question. Whatever success & enjoyment one may achieve, whatever power one may attain, whatever deeds one may do, ones life will remain way-less, so long as one avoids the Voice [& the question]. [Heart-searching mustn't be the] sterile kind, which leads to only self-torture, despair & deeper [hiding]. There is demonic questioning [that leads to the false conclusion] "From where you are, there is no way out." By representing turning to the way as hopeless, it drives one to living only by demonic pride.
II. THE PARTICULAR WAY—The "Seer" of Lublin said: "It is impossible to tell people what way they should take ... Everyone should carefully observe what way ones heart draws one to, and then choose this way with all ones strength." The great and holy deeds done by others are examples for us, but they are not models which we should copy. Even small achievements have value in that we bring them about in our own way, by our own efforts. Each one in ones own way shall devise something new in the light of teaching and of service, and do what has not yet been done. Ones foremost task is to put ones unique, never-before and never-again capabilities into unique action and deed, not something already achieved. Rabbi Zusya said, "I shall not be asked: 'Why were you not Moses?' I shall be asked: 'Why were you not Zusya?'
All have access to God, but each has a different access. God can be reached by humankind through its multiple advance by all those different, [individual] ways. [When you do a way to God, you must do it in such a manner that it leads you to God]. The way by which one can reach God is revealed to one only through knowledge of ones own being, the knowledge of ones essential quality and inclination. Naturally, ones most powerful desire rushes in the first instance at object which lie across ones path. It is necessary to be diverted from the casual to the essential, from the relative to the absolute.
There is no thing in the world which doesn't point a way to fear of God & to service of God. Everything is commandment. Hasidism teaches that rejoicing in the world, if hallowed with our being, leads to rejoicing in God. Although detachment and abstinence from natural life, may in the cases of some men, be the necessary starting point of their "way," or may mean needing self-isolation at certain crucial moments of existence, it may never mean the whole way. Never should asceticism gain mastery over ones life. One may only detach from nature in order to revert to it again &, in hallowed contact find ones way to God, through hallowed natural acts.
III. Resolution—A hasid of Lublin fasted for a week, & faltered near the end, caught himself, felt pride at passing this test, & nearly abandoned the fast with minutes to go. His only reward, after all his troubles, was harsh disapproval from his master. The object of the reproof is the advance & subsequent retreat; it is the wavering, shilly-shallying, ["patchwork"] character of the man's doing that makes it questionable. How does one achieve [inner] work "all of a piece?" Only with a united soul. [It may seem too harsh to judge a vascillating soul attempting an unusual work, and being willing to sacrifice the goal in order to save the soul from pride]. The teaching implied by the master is that someone with a divided, complicated, contradictory soul isn't helpless. The core of ones soul, the divine force in its depths, is capable of unifying it. Unification must be accomplished before one undertakes some unusual work. Asceticism cannot protect the soul from its own contradiction.
Unification of the soul is never final. Any work I do [towards] a united soul acts in the direction of new and greater unification and leads me ["the long way"] to a steadier unity than was the preceding unity. [The more evolved soul still needs vigilance], but it is a relaxed vigilance. "Unification of the soul" is misunderstood if "soul" were taken to mean anything but body and spirit together. The deeds one does should be done with ones whole physical being; no part of one should remain outside. [In this condition] ones work is all of a piece.
IV. BEGINNING WITH ONES SELF—Baal-Shem [Master of the Name] said: "There is thought, speech and action. Thought [is] one's wife, speech [is] one's children, and action [is] one's servants. Whoever straightens oneself out in regard to all 3 will find that everything prospers at ones hands." Everything depended on myself. Hasidic teaching coincides with [psychological analysis] in that it derives external problems from that of internal life. Hasidic conception realizes that isolation of the elements and partial processes from the whole hinders comprehension of the whole. No one phenomena of the soul should be made the center of attention as if everything else could be derived from it; [all are starting-points in their vital inter-connection].
One should realize that conflict between oneself and others are the effects of conflicts in ones own soul. One who does not see oneself as someone whose transformation helps towards the transformation of the world, makes a fundamental error which hasidic teaching denounces. When one has made peace within oneself, one will be able to make peace in the whole world. The origin of all conflict between me and my fellow humans is that I don't say what I mean, and I don't do what I say. I must decide that: I will straighten myself out. One must find oneself, the deeper self of the person living in a relationship to the world. [I know where other things are in my life, my world]. Where in the world am I? [I have trouble finding my self].
V. NOT TO BE PREOCCUPIED WITH ONESELF—How about forgetting yourself and thinking of the world? What is said here will seem to contradict everything I just said about Hasidic teachings. Why am I choosing my particular way? Why am I unifying my being? Begin with yourself. The first question says: "Apply the soul-power you are wasting on self-reproach, to such active relationship to the world as you are destined for. Be occupied with the world.
Turning to God means something much more than repentance and acts of penance; it means a reversal of ones whole being, ones selfishness, toward a way which fulfills the particular task for which this particular person has been destined by God. The Rabbi of Ger writes: "One who has done ill ... and thinks about it all the time doesn't cast the base thing one did out of ones thoughts ... one's soul is wholly and utterly in what one thinks and so one dwells in baseness ... [and is] not able to turn ... What would you do? Rake the muck this way, rake it that way—it will always be muck ... You have done wrong? Counteract it by doing right.
Judaism regards each person's soul as a serving member of God's Creation, working to transform Creation into the Kingdom of God. Each is to know oneself, purify oneself, perfect oneself, not for ones own sake, happiness, or eternal bliss, but for the sake of the world. Pursuit of one's own salvation is here regarded as self-intending, which is what Hasidism rejects most emphatically. Rabbi Bunam sees humankind's road to redemption as a process involving 2 kinds of people: the proud; and the humble. Only when pride subjects itself to humility can it be redeemed; only when it is redeemed, can the world be redeemed. Rabbi Mendel of Kotzk said: "Don't look furtively outside yourself [don't covet]; don't look furtively into others [respect others' soul-secret]; don't aim at yourself [use self as the highest goal].
VI. HERE WHERE ONE STANDS—There is something that can be found in one place. It is a great treasure, which may be called the fulfillment of existence. It is to be found on the place one stands. Hasidism believes it is a greater thing if the streets of ones native town are as bright as the paths of heaven. It is here where we stand, that we should try to make shine the light of the hidden divine life. The secrets of the upper worlds would not allow us so much actual participation in true existence as we can achieve by performing, with holy intent, a task belonging to our daily duties. Our treasure is hidden beneath the hearth of our own home.
No encounter with a being or thing in the course of our life lacks a hidden significance & a mysterious spiritual substance which depends on us for helping it towards its pure form. If we don't develop a genuine relationship with the beings & things who cross our path, if we neglect this substance, then we shall ourselves be debarred from true fulfilled existence. Some religions don't regard our sojourn on earth as true life, Judaism teaches that what one does now & here with holy intent is no less important, no less true than the life in the world to come. Rabbi Hanokh said: "Israel professes that the 2 worlds are essentially one and shall in fact become one."
Humankind was created for the purpose of unifying the 2 worlds. In Hasidism, God's grace consists in letting God be won by us; God places God's self into human hands. God wants to come to God's world through humans. This is the superhuman chance of humankind. God dwells wherever one lets God in. We can let God in only where we live, where we live a true life. If we maintain holy intercourse with the little world entrusted to us, if we help the holy spiritual substance to accomplish itself in our section of creation, then we are establishing a place for the Divine Presence.
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134. From convincement to conversion (by Martin Cobin; 1964)
1—I grew up in a Jewish home. I tell you this so you may understand a little better how I approach Christianity & Jesus quite differently from most of you. I don't urge you to accept it—merely to try to understand it. I had a Moslem friend who told me he respected Jesus as a great prophet, but that Jesus set goals so high they were beyond the reach of frail human beings. For me, the power, the hold, the intensity, the meaning, the real impact of Jesus’ death on the cross grows out of & is entirely dependent on my understanding of Jesus as a man, as a human being. I urge you to dwell on the concept that it was “as a man” that Jesus gave himself up to the cross and died on the cross. The value of the example is in the awareness it gives you of your capacity, of your strength. The message of the cross is that if we frail human beings will devote ourselves to God, we will find the desire and the strength to take upon ourselves the sufferings of others, [and in doing so], find joy and peace.
2—Why is a prophet without honor in his own country? We like to glamorize our prophets; we like to make them [statues on pedestals]. That’s difficult to achieve when you see your prophet up close. My human frailties are all too obvious. [But] the way has been opened for me to have rich and moving experiences and certain insights. There is a measure of God’s work in what I bring you, so there will be something worth taking.
We speak of birthright Friends and convinced Friends, but I don’t like the word “convinced”—it’s too intellectual. I would submit that some of our Monthly Meetings throughout the country suffer from being too full of Friends who are merely convinced, which is good, but not enough by itself. After Rufus Jones remarked in meeting: “I’ve been thinking this morning . . ., he was admonished: “Rufus, during meeting for worship thou shouldst not have been thinking.”
What do I want beyond birthright and convincement? I also want conversion. I was converted by my wife—and not by anything she ever said, particularly, [but by the relationship itself]. This is conversion—when you come in touch with God, not as a freak accident, but as an experience you can keep repeating. We recognize that the interaction between people provides one of the most fruitful areas for coming into contact with God. When we get converted, we don’t all become saints; most of us simply have to make do as best we can.
3—In situations of tension converts take the pattern of our spiritually centered living into the situation. There people who become entwined with us necessarily become entwined with that-of-God in us; they discover that-of-God within themselves. It is best to go into such situations with a conviction armed with conversion.
[It can be cultivated by joining in meeting for worship; being surrounded by like-minded people helps] you get in the mood, center down. When you’ve learned how to worship, go to your own personal silence. Meeting for worship will become a place to practice, perhaps later a source of irritation, & eventually a joyous experience where it’s easier to feel at one with the universe because there’s a greater sense of the universe’s immediacy.
4—Next you’ll go to meeting for business. Here we learn how to bring to the conduct of business, & the resolution of conflicts, the habit of living consciously in God's presence. Friends of all ages need the training provided by a good meeting for business, [so as to learn to apply spiritual values to everyday life]. [The good habits you learn in business meeting will serve you well as you apply them to tense situations where people aren't aware of] trying to do God’s work. Put aside your importance, your decision, your action. When we can bring awareness of a larger totality into daily living, it becomes difficult for us to be disturbed. You use the life of the Meeting to help you to this awareness, [and eventually] applying it to everyday situations wherever you are.
5—Meditate in the morning on the totality of the universe & then go to work. You’ll do what you can, what you’re led to—what you can move into without leaving God behind. You can move in situations of great tension & conflict if you are led to it and you have grown into it. I came to an awareness of the personal value of the vigil. I realized that I had grown in my ability to live in consciousness of the presence of God. If a peace vigil helped me achieve that growth, it was good for me; if it taught me bitterness or self-esteem, that would be bad.
6—The application of the Quaker way of life to situations of tension lies in the ability of Friends to move into such situations without altering their lives, without losing the capacity for love and calm and [confidence in] the power of God. When our talents are those best suited to meeting the needs of men at a particular point in their development, then we will offer leadership; at other times we will not be greatly influential. Let us move as quickly as we can, as slowly as we must. I see no calamity in those who find the Meeting no longer provides the necessary nourishment & who come to turn elsewhere for it. What will happen if the entire Society of Friends embrace [a rushed response (which is out of character)] to the imminent danger of nuclear destruction, and we meet with large-scale nuclear destruction [anyway]? [Whether or not it comes] the world will have need of us; [if nothing else, we can leave our influence behind].
7—Why did Judas betray Jesus? I think he [expected] that Jesus, backed far enough into the corner, would rise in anger. [He judged Jesus by his own personal standards], and felt that no man could sacrifice himself for other men. Many people today cannot believe deep down within themselves that the real Jesus is anything more than a legend. These people need faith in their own potential as human being. They will come to it only by finding in their midst people who demonstrate man’s capacity for Godliness. While all good comes from God, men help each other to partake of that gift. For such help we must be grateful to one another. O Friends, I thank you for the silent prayer, that places us in one another’s care.
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350. I have always wanted to be Jewish: and now, thanks to the Religious Society of Friends, I am (by Claire Gorfinkel; 2000)
About the Author—Claire Gorfinkel has been an activist for social change all her adult life. She is an active member of Temple Sinai of Glendale, a regular attender at Orange Grove MM in Pasadena, and a full-time fundraiser for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). This pamphlet grew out of a spiritual journey talk to Orange Grove MM In October 1996.
INTRODUCTION—I have always wanted to be Jewish. I found my way home to Judaism through my involvement with the Religious Society of Friends. They would ask me whether I would share my spiritual journey with the Orange Grove MM. [I always said], "not me, I don't have one." In the fall 1996, having found my way back to the tradition of my ancestors, I recognized that I had been on one, and that it was time to share.
I. EARLY YEARS-1945—Religion is what we came here to avoid. A great-great-grandfather on my father's side was recognized as "1 of the 1st progressive rabbis in Baltimore, Maryland." I have a beautiful [ceremonial] cup given to him by his congregation in 1876, near the start of the American Jewish Reform (AJR) movement. It gives individual Jews & congregation wide latitude to reinterpret tradition. Early Reformers rejected many rituals (e.g. praying in Hebrew, dietary laws, & prayer shawls), anything that separated Jews from the mainstream, modern world. They examine & invest in aspects that add meaning to modern lives. My family tried to be as assimilated as possible, yet almost all the important people in my parents' life were Jewish & secular.
Being Jewish 1st of all meant living up to ethical standards. My parents' values were politically & socially liberal, & deeply imbedded. They affirmed Judaism's questioning nature, but dismissed the "God" issue as irrelevant to them, seeing such belief as "primitive" & superstitious. AJR wanted above all to be modern, rational, scientific, a Jew who was blending in. Jews were excluded in some places, but there were enough accepting organizations to satisfy my parents. My father actively fought the covenant excluding Blacks from home ownership in our neighbor; [my mother supported my father in this].
Reform Rabbis wore a black choir robe and a narrow prayer shawl. Services emphasized beautiful music with an organ, a paid choir, and more English than Hebrew. Our leaders were valued for preaching strong social justice messages and taking progressive political action. We hoped that any visiting Protestants would not have anything really weird to report to inquiring folk back home. My parents would ask, Why would anyone want to embrace more traditional Judaism? especially of their children. We observed Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but did not fast during them. We enjoyed pork & shellfish, & ate bread during Passover; we also celebrated Christmas [with all the trimming, trees, and presents]. Religion didn't enter into it.
My father helped Japanese Americans recover from losses during the WWII internment; my mother helped children whose parents couldn't take care of them. My mother's response to Holocaust questions was: "That's unpleasant; we don't talk about it." She successfully shielded me from knowing that the relatives with heavy German accents at family gatherings were a tiny remnant of her father's family that he had sponsored in the late 1930's. Many children Mother helped had parents who were refugees or Holocaust survivors struggling to cope; I didn't know this until I was in my 40's. I read Holocaust literature to find clues for how to make moral choices, & how to survive with integrity in desperate circumstances. I thought of myself as Jewish & [had Jewish dreams & aspirations involving living in Israel, or being] a San Francisco Rabbi's wife. I went to Reed College (OR).
II. ESTRANGEMENT-1962—Reed's intellectualism disparaged religion & "non-rational" topics. Reed's left-wing climate fostered crusades, demonstrations, support of Mississippi Freedom Summer, the Black Student Union's beginnings, & growing awareness of the Viet Nam war. What need is there for religion, in the presence of activism & long-standing concern for justice? After graduation in 1969, I joined San Francisco's AFSC office staff as a secretary in the peace education program; it focused on the Viet Nam war. I met Howard Frederick during a war protest; he persuaded me to confront ambivalence about the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict; I married Howard in 1973. I also had become hostile toward the Jewish community, its Zionism & unwillingness to share Israel's land equitably with Arabs. I didn't want to face people from my childhood on the "other side."
For several years Howard and I worked full-time for reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians, and for Middle East peace; I still feared personal retribution from a Jewish person. I wrote my own Haggadahs, the Exodus story. My text emphasized contemporary liberation struggles and the similarity between ancient Israelites bondage in Egypt and modern Israel's treatment of the Palestinians; I glibly ignored the references to God. Having no place in which to experience, or act on, my Judaism made me insecure in my identity. [I felt like an outsider in Washington D.C., when the] Washington Hebrew Congregation came out after services, and I was apart from them, much like I was trying to "pass," blend in with the mainstream for some better social standing.
In Staunton, VA, I started regularly attending services, held every other Friday night. While there, I had a "religious experience," & renewed my acquaintance with some prayers & rituals. I had a sense of being a legitimate Jew. I began to see myself as a bridge between Jewish & non-Jewish communities. I proudly shared my Temple experience with women from Staunton's Chapter of the American Association of University Women. I was determined to let people know where my values had come from, to be sure they knew how I was "different."
III. BEGINNING TO SEARCH – 1984—In Athens, Ohio, I was invited to join a "Feminist Spirituality" study group, which became my community's center. Howard spoke about Cuba to the local Unitarian Fellowship, which he ended up joining; He found other atheists like himself there. They were a compatible, questioning, intellectually vibrant, spiritual community; mainly we enjoyed the people. Athens had a Quaker Meeting, & was a [mixture of] intentional communities, social activism, artists, & natural beauty. I found I could have & build community without religion, but I couldn't have religion without community. I required other's presence with common visions & searching questions for spiritual growth. I knew that my Jewish tradition & my childhood rabbis had motivated my work in the world. Among strongly principled people in my circle, religion was a prime motivation for their work. I was prejudiced against fundamentalist missionaries. Why would someone believe that faith in the world-to-come would substitute for conscientious work in the world-as-we-knew it?
[4 years later, Back in San Francisco], I was a fundraiser for the AFSC, & started attending Orange Grove MM; I had attended meeting there as part of my AFSC connection. I had organized & attended events that incorporated Quaker practice & worship. I had been deeply moved by the way that better quality decisions & outcomes emerged from often-lengthy waiting for unity. I tried, usually unsuccessfully, to implement consensus decision-making in some unlikely secular settings. I went to Orange Grove MM seeking community, hoping to find a comfortable place for Howard & Carrie. Any spiritual component was secondary to the social one.
IV. RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS-1988—By 1988, I was beginning to look for a spiritual life. The bit of theology, "one God, thus one will of God; if we sit together quietly & wait long enough we will know that will." Mystery exists in the world; God seemed to be a good-enough explanation. My cynicism diminished as I heard others' struggles to interpret God's calling to them. I learned about the path before me, my relationships with others in my life. It was at least an hour long island of reflective quiet in an otherwise too-busy world.
It was once my task to read the Query, which asked about our lives being in accord with Christ's Spirit. As a child I refused to read aloud pre-established prayers that didn't reflect my beliefs. I couldn't now ask Friends whether our behavior met Christ-like standards. I was Jewish. How would anyone [or I] know I was Jewish [or Quaker]? In synagogue shopping, I wanted familiar worship music in an intimate setting, great moral leadership in my rabbi, and a sense of warmth & progressive politics. I went to several temples only once.
Then a friend suggested Temple Sinai. Not only did they have a woman rabbi, but another woman chanted the blessings. A woman held a Torah scroll in her arms like a child whom she loved. She read the words as though they had meaning for her and, [she felt], for us as well; another woman chanted music from my childhood. Myself and a dozen other Temple members struggled in Jewish feminist spirituality class to find its meaning, and to re-insert women into the biblical and ritual tradition without pushing men out. Women and men were present when Moses presented the 10 Commandments to the Jewish people. After our facilitator left, we continued to study the history of Jewish Women's spirituality and Jewish feminism.
V. BELONGING, OR NOT—In 1 weekend, I attended Temple Sinai on Friday, a new "Wohlman Minyan" worship group Saturday, a Jewish hiking group midnight same day, & Orange Grove MM on Sunday. If I could choose, I'd be Quaker, but being Jewish was as irrevocable for me as being female. Being Quaker could include everything from rejecting Christianity & being atheist, agnostic, or universalist, to being rooted in Christian biblical tradition, or struggling with tradition while finding relevance in 200 years of Christian teaching. Quakerism evolved as a Christian stream, as George Fox's reaction to Christian churches. For me, Christianity isn't an "improvement" on my ancestors' tradition. If I am a Jew, I can't be Christian; by my definition, I can't be a Quaker. I recognized I was using non-membership as an excuse to avoid taking increased responsibility in return for the substantial social & emotional benefits; I was missing leadership opportunities not available to non-members.
As I considered joining Temple Sinai, the powerful yet nonsensical Hebrew [became] a language which people read, even spoke and understood. The man who invited me to his family's Seder meal commented that Pharoah's behavior towards the ancient Israelites sounded like modern Israel's treatment of Palestinians. When I could participate and feel like an authentic member of the Congregation, it became easier for me to know where I fit in the Religious Society of Friends. I could not be on Worship and Ministry Committee, or be clerk of the meeting; I could be on [the many committees] that didn't require membership. Some faith groups permit dual membership; Judaism does not. Some Quakers come from Jewish backgrounds, and call themselves Jewish Quakers. I call myself a Quakerish Jew, as I am still attracted by Quaker social values and Quaker silence.
VI. LEARNING TO EXPERIENCE THE SILENCE—In Yearly Meeting, we were assigned to a group of less than 10 people, & the group meets at a set time for at least an hour, & considers a single topic, or a series of queries. We are to meet in Quaker silence, each speak only once, & then from the heart & experience, not from the head or analysis. Year after year, this brief intimacy with strangers has yielded memorable, moving & deeply revealing experiences. When I hear of how even "weighty friends" struggle with [how to use silent meeting best], I have learned to rid myself of unrealistic expectations & to appreciate the serendipity of spiritual insight. Most acknowledge prayer doesn't come easily & what they call God isn't often revealed to them. It is okay to sit & wait. Gradually I discovered mindfulness, attentiveness, wakefulness, thankfulness; I heard that inner voice come back with insight, wisdom, & grace. Over years of practice I learned to draw deep breaths, to focus on gratitude. Blessed by wonderful people in the room, I developed a relationship with God.
VII. LEARNING TO EXPERIENCE THE RITUAL—Learning to handle an hour of silence [or mostly silence] is tough; it can be too quiet one week & too noisy another. Not knowing the rules was as intimidating as thinking everyone else was directly tuned in to God. For me learning to experience Jewish ritual was every bit as tough, if not more so. As a child, lack of time to reflect on congregational words was compounded by Hebrew I couldn't understand. We take familiar ritual for granted and are uncomfortable with the ritual that is unfamiliar.
It took practice to become accustomed to Quaker silence, or become accustom again to Jewish ritual. I once strongly resisted the custom of touching the Torah and then kissing what had touched it. When someone said, "The Torah is like a friend; I love to hug and kiss my friends," I melted. We're not singing about love of knowledge and learning. We're singing because we love this thing, this Torah, this spiritual object. Each scroll stands as a testament to the preservation of the Jewish people despite persecution, and we love the Torah.
I had been a member of Temple Sinai for more than a year, but it was when I heard "This is the day that the lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it in Hebrew ("Zeh ha-yom asah Adonai, nagila venis-mencha vo"), that those words won me over, summing up my gratitude at having found the Temple, the pleasure and usefulness Hebrew gave me, and the gladness to be found in each day. I would walk and emphasize a different word each day [i.e. this particular day; God made it; find gladness in it]. I became more aware of God's presence and more confident that the world is a good place and that God is somehow "gracious" to me.
On Simchat Torah ["rejoicing with the Torah], every member gets to carry the Torah and sing. We read the last words of Deuteronomy and the 1st words of Genesis without pausing, to symbolize the unbroken continuity of Torah teachings. We unroll the entire scroll, [and make a circle of it surrounding all the congregation's children], symbolizing the hope that our children will always be surrounded by and feel the Torah's love. This is far removed from unprogrammed, ["ritual-free"] Quaker service. I had "gone over," and become a practicing Jew.
VIII. I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE JEWISH/ IX. THE FUTURE—What does it mean to me, to be Jewish [or Quaker]? It means feeling authentic, legitimate, OK, not weird [in a room full of fellow-believers]. [My life is being slowly organized, educated, reshaped around Shabbat, Hebrew, & a slightly more kosher diet. My family of origin did not flaunt Jewish symbols; being in Jewish community was enough. For Hannukah 1996, I visited Los Angeles' Jewish cultural center and bought a tiny Star of David charm, which I never take off.
I now have a complex spiritual life & a deep relationship with a loving God amidst others who share some mix of my cynicism, politics, & faith; I often use Shabbat liturgy in my silent meeting for worship. For Quakerism & Judaism, God is directly accessible to the seeker [in our community, in ourselves & in the natural world], without need for priests or intermediaries. Essential similarities enable me to continue comfortably moving & explaining, back & forth within & between the 2 communities. My views on political parties, immigration, welfare, the death penalty, same-gender marriage, & pacifism are more likely to be shared by Quakers than by Jews.
I sometimes still hold my parents' prejudices about other people of religious faith. Having been embraced by Quaker worship's silence, I discovered spiritual life. Now I cherish rituals of spoken prayer, movement, & song, as I cherish sitting in silence. I am honored by being able to learn from & teach others about both of them. God said to Abraham, [& we now sing], "Lechi lach, to a land that I will show you,/ Lech lecha, to a place you don't know/ Lechi lach, on a journey I will send you/ & you will be a blessing,/ Lechi lach." & so my journey [goes].
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