A Partial Diary of the Collective Buddha

[Averbuch]

Julie
thank you very much , this is very valuable for me,
please share
thank you again
Tova

----- Original Message -----
From: Julie Smith <jsmith at MOSQUITONET.COM>
To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Sent: Monday, May 06, 2002 9:33 PM
Subject: A Partial Diary of the Collective Buddha


> Greetings ~
>
> Several months ago I came across the idea that the next Buddha might be
> a collective Buddha, and that the venerable Thich Naht Hanh was at least
> one person who had spoken this thought.  My first impulse was to share
> that provocative idea here, but I resisted.  (I'm not sure why any of us
> resist expressing ideas that make our hearts soar, but it's clear we
> do.)
>
> This past weekend I spent some time re-reading some of the September 11
> posts in the archives.  I don't have words to express how deeply those
> posts impacted me the first time they came to me.  They have a similar
> impact on me even now, after repeated readings.
>
> I couldn't remember exactly when I had joined the OSLIST, but knew it
> was just a short time before 9.11.  I decided to go back to see how it
> all started for me.  I learned I joined the list on August 27 and began
> chiming in on August 28.  (The conversation that was emerging at that
> time was irresistible to me, as it explicitly named a core question of
> my life.)
>
> That was all well and good, but then I wondered what was going on before
> I entered the fray.  I decided to take a look.  Imagine my surprise when
> I found this:
>
> ***
>
> Date:         Sat, 25 Aug 2001 19:45:35 -0700
> From:         "Mark R. Jones" <mark_r_jones at worldnet.att.net>
> Subject:      (RESPONSE):   Inquiry Regarding Collective Buddha  "Story
> of a
>               recent 2.5 day OST"
>
> Hi.
>
> Tich Nhat Hahn is the Buddhist teacher that made the proclamation
> regarding the "Collective" as the next manifestation of the Buddha.
>
> I believe that Open Space as a life practice creates the minimal
> structure
> required to begin to grok "Community / Collective"  -- in terms of
> intention, communication, and behavior.
>
> I believe that communities like the (Centers for) Spirited Work
> that practice ongoing (3 years now) community, organization,
> and business model using Open Space as the core practice  -- are the
> training grounds for the manifestation of the Buddha as the Collective.
>
> I note that the active inclusion of children into the Spirited Work
> community in the USA has had a positive and profound transformative
> effect on the community and the practice of Open Space as a Life
> Practice
> (in contrast to using Open Space as just a "facilitation" tool.
>
>
> Mark R. Jones
>
> ***
>
> In looking more deeply at the posts I discovered there was a short
> conversation about this collective Buddha idea just before I arrived.
> That ended with a post on August 27 that Harrison ends with the comment
> "Me and Typhfoid Mary... Great."  I don't know if that was posted before
> or after I signed on.
>
> Just as that conversation was ending, another one was gathering steam. I
> was engaged the instant I read these words from Birgitt to Kenoli on
> August 28:
>
> "I am wondering what your thoughts are about "truth"--> relative truth,
> absolute truth, truth for the moment???? I agree it is powerful and I
> know
> my personal experience when I hear a "truth" and yet I cannot define
> what
> truth is."
>
> What followed was a rather amazing conversation about truth.  That
> conversation ended on September 3.  Then there was a distinct lull in
> conversation.  The next item of note is Birgitt's September 9 invitation
> "to participate with us... to "open space" for harmony in the world with
> a commitment to collectively holding this space."  And then another
> lull.  And then September 11 and everything that followed.
>
> As I sat on my couch yesterday trying to absorb all of this, all I could
> think was ohhhhh...... all of this is our diary..... a partial diary of
> the collective Buddha.....
>
> So I started cutting and pasting, back and forth and back and forth.....
> everything in chronological order, as it happened.....
>
> I've made my way from August 26 through the end of September.  I
> included almost everything during that time period, but not quite.  I
> didn't include any of the housekeeping kinds of things, but pretty much
> everything else.  I'm not sure whether to edit things out, and if so
> what the criteria should be.  I don't yet know when or how to end it.
> The problem is, it's LONG.  287 pages so far in a Word document.
>
> I don't know what I'll do with it when I'm done.  I'm willing to share
> it if people are willing for it to be shared, and I'm willing to not
> share it if people don't want it shared.  I'm willing to share the
> creative decision-making aspects of whatever comes next if others are
> interested in what this might manifest into.  I'm willing to drop the
> whole thing if people are uncomfortable with any of this.
>
> At the very least, I think I will print one copy of whatever I end up
> with.  It's a collective diary that has value to me.  Maybe like so many
> personal diaries, it'll end up in some dusty trunk somewhere to be found
> at some later time for whatever purpose it might serve.  Maybe not.
> This just feels like something I need to do.
>
> Since this belongs to all of us, I wanted to share my intentions with
> you.  I'm willing to alter my course if there is a collective sense that
> I should do so.
>
> Julie
>
> *
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