13/07/2026
One Reason Our Sangha Will Always Be Small
A little story from my last night showed me clearly one reason our Treeleaf Sangha always will have limited appeal in the wider Buddhist and Spirituality world ...
So, I recently made a new friend here in Tsukuba "Science City" Japan, a town heavy in science and medical researchers from around the world. He is a neurological researcher from Eastern Europe, a good chap, and I invited him out for an evening to introduce him to other local friends.
A few weeks ago, he asked me for my business card, and I gave him two: One card for my little office as a a translator of Japanese and retired lawyer, and one as Zen teacher Jundo. When meeting people for the first time, I am always a little concerned about the second card, and most especially in this case of introducing myself to a man of science, peer-reviewed papers and reason. Will he think it strange and too exotic, unscientific, perhaps a sign of some cult and pyramid scheme to sell crystals, seances and alternative cures?
In any case, over dinner with my brain researching new friend, the topic eventually came up as to whether he thought consciousness solely the product of the brain or (as I do, although I did not say then) the brain with something more.
Not only did he say, "something more," but he then began to relay, for the next hour, tales of his personal and frequent experiences of speaking with the dead, energy beams flowing through his body from other realms, witnessed extraterrestrial UFOs, distance healing, travel through multi-dimensional tunnels to other planes, meeting higher "beings" in those planes, encountering the "keeper" of the "book of fates" where our lives are written, mind reading, foreseeing future death days (fortunately, he did not see mine ... or was just being polite not to tell me! ), his several out of body experiences, spirit possessions and exorcisms ... and more. He discovered that the universe, and those higher beings, are seeking to teach us lessons in this life. In fact, it is not the first time that I have had this kind of thing happen when chatting with apparently "grounded," otherwise hard nosed scientists here in Tsukuba.
I was quickly forced to realize that, not only was I not strange and too exotic as the Zen teacher at that table ... I was, by far, the most boring and uninteresting fellow at the table!
But I was also left with some other realizations.
First, the brain researcher helped me feel deeply that I preach a "left brain" Zen wherein, while I consider myself a mystic who believes that the point of Zen is to see through the purely material surface appearances of this world to something wondrous and easy to miss and deathless and timeless, I nonetheless remain the skeptical lawyer with a love for science, evidence, demanding of some basis in what is reasonable and not outlandish. I call myself a "pragma-mystic" who knows that something "is afoot" in this universe beyond what meets the eye, who finds all time and space in every grain of sand, and knows everything as a great dance ... but has little trust in crystals, unearthly UFO, out-of-body experiences (the doctor said his were something more than just some trick of the spatial-temporal brain centers), distance healing and most of the rest, for there may be some truth there but also a lot that deserves skepticism. Sorry, In fact, I feel that much of that gets in the way of the real power and mystical wonder of what Zen has to teach!
But that also means that we will never attract to Treeleaf the people (the vast majority?) who want energy healing, talking with the dead, wild realms (taken literally, rather than psychologically or symbolically), and all those other colorful things and experiences in their religion. Again, sorry.
On the other hand, listening closely to the doctor, I realized not only his deep sincerity about these adventures, but that the final lessons that such phenomena left to him were basically identical with the wisdom and compassion of our flavor of boring Zen practice! It was only the packaging that was different. For just one example, the "keeper" of the "book of fates" has left him with the message that each of us both should accept what is written in the book, but also know that much of it can be changed! Even if a bit less colorful in presentation, that is Zen wisdom too!!
Maybe it is only the vehicle and packaging of the message that is different. Maybe different people need to learn these lessons in their own ways. Maybe the Catholics and ancient Aztecs, Daoists and Wickans, Tibetans and Norsemen ... and yes, mystical lawyers and scientists who sense the "beauty of the math and music of the spheres" ... just express something basic, but each in their own language and myths and images. It is the insights that matter, not the artwork and trippiness of the trip.
So, finally, I realized that I am happy to be the boring "left brain mystic" that I am, because there are people out there ... even if not the majority ... who need to hear the wisdom packaged that way and delivered as it is here, maybe because they are left brain "pragma-mystics" like me too and a bit skeptical. One can transcend the cosmos AND be down to earth at the same timeless time. I will leave the Aztec gods to the Aztecs, the other realms to other realms. For many folks, the song and dance and distracting scenery can get in the way, when it is the wisdom and compassion that really matters.
This world is not as meets the eye, but the point is to see clearly with a Buddha's Eye, not clouded or colored or confused eyes.
I know that the universe is teaching us something profound, but it can be heard and mastered in many ways.
