Just call me Bodhi......

      I was taking a stroll through a beautiful, but notoriously liberal city in my part of the Western United States, when a self-imposed challenge entered my mind. Before I tell you what the challenge was, let me preface by saying that up until this moment, my practice and my politics never intersected. They have never been at odds with each other, and unless the laws of nature change, I can't see them ever being opposed to each other. I will try to explain.
     The beauty of the dharma, or teaching, is something that constantly amazes me with it's simplicity, yet astonishes me with it's complexity. It gives me peace and satisfies my mind and consciousness when I meditate upon it, but leaves me craving more, like a delicious meal that I can't stop eating even though my body tells me its full. I love the culture that surrounds it, including the fellow practicioners in my Sangha(the Sanskrit word for a local congregation, much like a church group or bible study). Although it is not something we ever discuss, I have to assume I am at odds with most of them politically. I feel  the same when I walk down the sidewalk in a town like Boulder or read a magazine like Shambhala Sun. The wisdom that I learn makes so much sense and enriches my life completely, and I feel such a connection to the people on a spiritual level, but I haven't been able to figure out how they can glean so many liberal ideas and beliefs from a doctrine that is so completely centered on soul-searching and personal responsibility. And thus is the challenge. How do I coherently reconcile the politics of a Ron Paul with the spirituality of a Zen monk? What does Ayn Rand have in common with the Dalai Lama?  What does a businessman like myself have in common with a monastic?

   Intrigued? I'll give it my best shot in the next few posts. Tell your friends...this is going to get interesting.