Conscious Choice Seattle: Good Fit

August 2004

Good Fit

As Buddhism gains more followers across the Puget Sound area, from neighbors to co-workers, you will be amazed just who is on the dharma path.

by Silya J. A. Talvi

Buddha is neither a deity nor a savior. It is for this reason, says Seattle resident Tuere Sala, that there is no inherent conflict in her identification as both a devout Christian and a practicing Vipassana Buddhist.

“Buddha never wanted anyone to worship him,” explains Sala, 46, an attorney for the City of Seattle who was raised as a Baptist. “And I honestly wish that more Christians would read Buddha’s words.”

Nationwide — and particularly in multicultural, progressive metropolises like Seattle — Sala is hardly alone. Increasingly in the past two decades, people drawn to Buddhism have included many Christians, Jews, agnostics and even atheists who value the philosophical and meditative aspects of Buddhism without necessarily taking on any spiritual or religious undertones.

Yet, exclusive of trends of immigrant Buddhists arriving from Asian and Himalayan countries, American Buddhist seekers have tended to be white, well educated, middle-aged and usually middle- to upper-class. With the notable exception of one sect of Buddhism, Nichiren, the groundswell of interest in Buddhism and Buddhist meditation techniques had largely bypassed the working class, communities of color, lesbians and gays, and other more marginalized groups.

That’s finally changing — and fast. The newest generation of Buddhists in the Puget Sound region will surprise you — from age (lots of thirtysomethings) to occupation (attorney, carpenter, technical writer, librarian, naming just a few) to lots more variations on the ancient theme.

“I’m definitely seeing a shift and I am a part of that shift,” says Noah Levine, 33, a Buddhist teacher and author of the powerful memoir “Dharma Punx” (Harper SanFrancisco). “People from alternative and more diverse backgrounds are getting introduced [to Buddhism].”

Levine gravitated to the hardcore punk scene and survived a tormented young adult life as a heavy substance abuser and a street kid. He experienced a radical personal transformation after he began to practice Buddhism in 1988. Today, he heads the Mind Body Awareness project, which works with inmates and high-risk populations to teach meditation techniques with the aim of reducing recidivism rates, substance abuse and other self-destructive behaviors.

Tattoo U — and beyond

By appearance, Levine is still a heavily tattooed punk rocker. It is in great part his appearance, he admits, that has helped to draw younger, more diverse people to Buddhist practice.

“A lot of people who might otherwise feel uncomfortable coming to meditate among people of the baby boomer generation are starting to come to my groups,” he says. “As more young people, people of color and gays are trained as teachers, then more of those people will be attracted to the dharma.”

In Seattle, the wide range of Buddhist groups has begun to reflect that very shift. Take, for instance, the Seattle Gay Buddhist Fellowship, alternately known as the Dharma Buddies. Dharma Buddies first came into existence 11 years ago, but then began to dissipate a few years ago for lack of a regular meeting space.

The slowdown occurred about the time technical writer Eric Carter moved back to his native Seattle from the Silicon Valley, looking for a way to expand his burgeoning interest in Buddhism. In particular, Carter wanted to see if it would be possible to bring together other gay, bisexual and transgendered men to build a kind of sangha, or community, where their sexual orientation and interest in Buddhist meditation would fill a need for a spiritual community in a gay-empowered context.

“A lot of people in the gay community grew up feeling connected to spirituality, but then they came out and were treated badly by their [faith communities],” says Carter. “Rather than deal with the pain of that, a lot of gays and lesbians have decided just to toss out spirituality and not deal with it. There’s a lot of suffering because of that.”

Carter helped to jump-start the Dharma Buddies, and it has been going strong ever since. Each Sunday, a group of a dozen or more Dharma Buddies comes together for a 45-minute sitting meditation that proves harder than many initially think.

“It’s amazing how such a simple thing can be so difficult,” says Carter, laughing, speaking from his own personal experience in the initial stages of learning Buddhist meditation.

For Dharma Buddies, there is no prerequisite for knowledge of Buddhist meditation. The group is explicitly nonsectarian to allow as wide a group of people to attend as possible.

“What I and many others find so healing about Buddhism is that its approach is not dogmatic. It’s very experiential.”

Several people who attend each week do not, in fact, identify themselves as Buddhists. Among them is Michael Rhodes, 45, who has been going to Dharma Buddies meditations for a year.

“I was new to Seattle and wanted to meet other gay men who had a spiritual orientation,” says Rhodes, who is an academic librarian. Rhodes follows the teachings of The Movement of Spiritual Awareness, but finds that Buddhist meditation techniques enhance — not detract from — his primary spiritual practices.

“For me, it’s about getting in touch with the soul and spiritual heart within, and being closer to the unconditionally loving part of each of us,” says Rhodes. “[Buddhist] meditation is bringing me into that state where I’m more in alignment with that.”

Today’s path to Buddhism

As Carter points out, Buddha’s very way of life, writings and utterances were devoted to breaking through the veil of illusion that clouds and surrounds our lives. Narcissism, envy, judgment and jealousy can all be considered problematic consequences of overly or inadequately developed egos. Anger, mistrust and sadness arise as we try to navigate an unfair, unjust and often unpredictable world.

It’s fair to say that in this world, we are all imperfect. We are often impatient and intolerant, confused and fearful. And as a result, humanity as we know it is made up of individuals who are constantly grasping, searching, seeking a way to handle, avoid or alleviate the myriad forms of suffering so endemic to our condition.

The framework of monotheistic and polytheistic religions — at least insofar as more literal and traditional interpretations are concerned — typically posit that we can ease the pain and struggle of everyday existence through obeisance, ritual, and the awe and fear of an omniscient, omnipresent higher power.

Buddhism posits something different: that we endeavor to live as consciously and wakefully as possible, with particular attention to “right” or positive intention, speech, livelihood, action, and to the pursuit of mindfulness and meditation.

Through this Middle Way and a comprehension of the Four Noble Truths (see sidebar), Buddha’s teachings relate that achieving true enlightenment in life is indeed possible.

Constructing a different life

It is this realm of possibility and promise that has drawn Ben Hines to Buddhism for the better part of the last 25 years. Hines, 56, is a carpenter who has worked in all aspects of the construction industry. To this day, he works on construction job sites, enduring the physical challenges and accompanying stresses of a high-risk profession with a kind of quiet dignity and internal peace that has earned him the friendship and respect of his mostly younger coworkers.

That wasn’t always the case, says Hines. When he was 18, he enlisted in the Navy during the Vietnam War. After four years of service, he came back to the United States fed up with war. He left for Canada, met his first wife and then finally moved back to the U.S. in 1979. Outraged by the continued escalation in the race for nuclear and military dominance, Hines focused his attentions on the anti-Trident nuclear submarine activism in the Northwest, finding camaraderie among other peace activists of his generation. He was arrested and incarcerated several times.

The movement was nonviolent, explains Hines, but even among self-declared pacifists there existed an underlying level of aggression and an “us versus them” mentality.

“There was a polarized thinking,” Hines says. “I felt at the time that there was something I was missing — that it wasn’t just a matter of educating the public about Trident submarines and their destructive capabilities, but that we had to begin with inner violence. Any expression of violence begins with a state of mind.”

Hines eventually became a student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, a charismatic Tibetan lama who gained tremendous exposure before a scandal eroded his following. But Hines persisted in the teachings and the larger vision of self-realization through meditation. The benefits of practicing Buddhism, he said, were tremendous and life changing.

“When I first began as a practitioner, he recalls, “I was carrying such a stream of negative self-talk. But that changed into a much greater capacity for an appreciation of oneself, which naturally extends to a greater appreciation for other people and the world.” Hines’ work as a teacher and spiritual counselor has not gone unnoticed. At the Seattle Shambhala Center, where he excels in teaching introductory courses to beginners, his presence is considered invaluable.

While he is at work on job sites, younger blue-collar construction workers come to Hines to talk to him about their problems, their anxiety and their depression. Hines sees the inclusion of the working class — plus youth and people of color — as essential for the growth and sustainability of Buddhism in America. Increasing opportunities for leadership roles of women in Buddhism, he adds, is also of great importance.

Seattle seems poised for such growth and new leadership.

“I know what I would like to see,” says Hines. “I’m wondering if increasing diversity in Buddhism doesn’t come back to confidence in practice — and when we become more confident and gain more wisdom, we become less afraid of reaching out.”

Indeed, in the final analysis, it could be argued (from a Buddhist point of view) that we are only truly as separate from one another as we perceive or imagine ourselves to be.

Silja J. A. Talvi is a Seattle-based award-winning writer and regular contributor to Evergreen Monthly.

CLOSER LOOK

The Four Nobel Truths of Buddhism: A brief summary

1. Life involves suffering. All beings will inevitably suffer some kind of discomfort, sadness, pain or disappointment.

2. The root cause of suffering is desire, craving and attachment.

3. Suffering can end with the end of attachment and craving. This represents the attainment of enlightenment, also known as Nirvana. Enlightenment involves letting go of the illusion of a permanent and completely independent self.

4. Enlightenment can only be achieved through a gradual training in the path known as the Middle Way, or the Noble Eightfold Path.

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