Buddhism in Australia Traditions in Change

[26 Subhana

Barzaghi

within anAustralian

secular

society

that has

predominantly

Judco-Christian

culturalnorms.

Initially.

ifeltthat

theZenritualswerealienandextraneousto

the

core

teachings

of

Zen.

yet

overthe

years

I

have

grown

totreasuretheseAsian

rituals

along

withthe

rigorous

andausterenature

ofZen

practice

thatwehave

tnhented.

Theseformsarelikerare

seedlings

thatneedtender

caretotakerootin

a

torergnlandscape.

Yet.thesesameexotic

practices

andrituals

A

bowing

toan

altar.

the

austere

practice

of

sittingcross-legged silentlyfacing

a

wall.

wearing

black

clothing,

walkingslowly

and

mindfully

in

single

file inthe

meditation

hall.

chanting

in

Sine/Japanese.

ancientPaliand

Englishalong

withthe

Japanese

termsand

language

ofZen

—

are

often

alienating

and

culturallyjarring

for

many

newcomers.

Curiously.many

ofthe

early

memberswhowereattractedtoZen

like

myself,

consideredthemselves

pan

ofthenew

age

movementof‘free

spirits:

inthe

19705.

were

instantly

confrontedwiththe

traditional

etiquette

andformal

rules

regulatingeverything

inaZendo:from

eatingetiquette.

to

howtosit bow

andwalk.

‘

I

struggled

withthe

paradox

thatthe

spirit

ofthc

teachingsemphasized

freedom

theformlessandtimelessdimensionofournature.

yet

thattherituals

emphasized

the

particular

form.

This

paradox.

yet

cmcihlcoftheZen

project.

centres

around

the

teachings

intheHeart

Sutra.

‘emptiness

is

form,

formis

exactlyemptiness‘

l

persevered

andrealized that therituals were

thevehicleof. ratherthan an

obstacle

to.

spiritualawakening

anddiscoveredthereis

freedomwithinthestrict

form.InordertounderstandZen

rituals,

Wrightargues

that:“To

makesenseof

thisbasicdimensionofZen.

we

needto

engage

itsfundamental

corporeality

bv

understanding

Zenasa

specifically

emhodied

pmctice'

(2008: ll).

Zazen

tsitting

meditation)

is

integral

tothe

spirit

onen.

whichis

realizing

noformor‘no

mindr

The

beauty

ofZenritualsandformsisthat

theypoint

toa

realizationwhich has

no

race.

gender.

colourornation

theypoint

tothatwhichis

timeless.forrnlcss

anddoesnotabide

anywhere.

howeverthismustberealized in

the

very

actsof

walking.sitting

downand

wearing

clothes.

Innovative

practices,

retreats.conferencesand

workshops

Whilethere

havebeennumerousinnovativeretreats

conductedoverthe

last 20

years.

the

traditionalmodeloftheformalseven

day

sesshrn

(orretreat)

isstill

the

primarypractice

ofthe

Sydney

ZenCentrc.withthreeormore

sesshins

conducted

annually.

Inaddition tothetraditional

seghins.

overthelast 20

years

Ihave

also

developed

and

encouraged

abroadanddiverse

range

of

workshops.

retreats

andconferences.

for

example:

Zenandansretreats.

sociallyengaged

Buddhist

retreats.

women‘s

spirituality

conferences,Buddhismand

psychotherapy

confer.

ences.

dharma

study

andfacilitation

programs,

Zenand

poetryretreats:

walking

the

country

retreats,

deathand

dyingworkshops,

Zen

anddream

workshops

and

dharrna

gatherings.

Along

withthese.theZen

community

hasbeen

exploring

the

resonancesbetweenindigenousspirituality

andZen.Theseinnovative

programs

retreatsand

conferences

have

provided

new

contemporarypathways

that

reachoui

tothewidercommunity.

Theintentiontoreach

out tothewider

communityisin

Thzjaumeyof

a

layfemale

Zen

teacher

l27

direct

contrastto

Japanese

Zen's

selective

legacy.

where

pilgrims

wouldsitinthe

snow

and

bang

on

the

temple

door

threetimes

andsometimes

waitfor

days

before

being

allowedto

enter

1 haveco—led

numerousZen

andarts

retreats,

sometimes

working

alongside

well-knownartists.

In 1998

IinvitedAmerican

artistandactivist.

Mayumi

Odo.

and.

in

1999.

Iinvitedrenowned

calligrapher

andtranslator

KazuakiTanahashi.

to

co-leadthesecreative

retreats.

These

inspiring

retreats

opened

thedoorforwriters

andartiststoencounter

meditation

anddiscover

how

silence.

stillnessandfocused

attentioncan

informandenhance

theirart

and

creativity

andhow

creativity

can

bean

expression

oftheawakened

heart-mind.

Thesecreative

retreatshave

not

beenconducted

elsewhere

intheworldwide

Diamond

Sangha

andare

unique

to

Australia

The ‘World

as Self' retreats

focused

on the interface

between

socially

engaged

work

andBuddhist

practice.

These

retreats

wereheldatthe

Sydney

ZenCentre

citydojoby

fellow

Zenteacher.

GillianCoote

Roshiandme.

These

engaged

Buddhist

retreats

focusedon

taking

meditation

fromthecushion

to

thestreetsand

applying

mindfulness

to

our

everyday

activities.

and

offering

serviceto

thoseinneed

inourwider

community

Retreatants

embarkedon

a

range

ofsocialactions,

for

example:

attending

a

drug

andalcohol

meeting.

visiting

and

supporting

refugees

at

Villawood

Detention

Centre.

bush

regen-

erationwork.

meditations

andreflections

ondeath

and

dying

inthe

Fieldof

Mars

Cemetery.supporting

ahomeless

shelter

and

participating

ina

despair

and

empowerment

ritualcalledthe

TruthMandala

process.

Theultimate

aim

ofthese

engaged

Buddhistretreats

isto

encouragepeople

to

relinquish

the

comfort

oftheir

familiar

worldview.

to broaden

theirminds and.

through

compassionate

action,

help

those

who are

suffering.

This innovative

retreat

format

and

engaged

Buddhist

philosophy

isdocumentedelsewhere(Barzaghi

andCoote

2007).

A

significant

influence on

contemporary

Buddhism as it intersects

with

western

culture

is

psychology

and

psychotherapy.

lhavebeena

psychotherapist

forthe

last 20

years

and

part

of

myjourney

hasbeen

contemplating

thesimilar-

ities

and differences

between

the western

psychological

traditions

approach

to

heating

and

Buddhism.The

interfaceand

dialogue

between

Buddhismand

psychotherapy

has been

bourgeoning

through

conferences. workshops

and

an

array

ofliterature

along

withseminal

research

by

Jon Kabat<Zinn

in

his

Mindfulness-Based

StiessReduction

programs

U990).

As

part

of

my

growing

need

to

explore

this

interface,

I

joined

withGeoffDawson.a

Zenteacher

in

the

Ordinary

MindSchoolof

Zen,

in

conjunction

withthestaff

oftheBuddhist

Library

in

Sydney,

in

organizing

several

nationalBuddhism

and

psychotherapy

conferences

in 2000 and

2002.These

conferences fostered

a rich

dialogue

between

the

western

psychological

traditions‘understanding

ofthe

pathologies

of

theselfand

Enddhist

teachingsemphasis

onselfiessncss

orthatwhich

lies

beyond

the

ego

self,

Ifoundthat

inits

best

form,

psychotherapy

and

spiritualpractice

can

workas

powerful

allies

in

helping

students

awakentotheirtrue

nature.Buddhist

practice