Tibetan temple bells

[Michael Herman]

hi raffi,

i have always used them and occasionally wondered about using them here or
there.

a tibetan teacher once told me that the sound of the bells leads out, that
one can follow the sound of them, to the 'space of awareness.'  maybe that's
mystical, but it seems sort of in line with what we're about.  bigger issues
and larger awareness than usuall meetings.  yes they have a mystical
quality, sometimes people are laughing or otherwise squirming about this,
but they might also be cringing at being yelled at or otherwise hearded by
microphonic nudgings.  i always respond to questions or chuckles about the
bells by suggesting that they're simply very functional.  they are
inviting.  and that's very consistent with how i see open space, as
invitation.

as for appropriating other's culture or ritual.  the tibetans seem pretty
willing to share.  though i'd been treating my bells as working tools, and
somewhere along the way in india somebody pointed out that i should not be
setting them on the floor.  since then i've made sure to treat them better,
while not making any special show of that.

when used as simple tool for inviting attention back to the center of the
space, they seem to work well.  the more importance or  other magic we
ascribe to them, the more likely they are to arouse questions or
discomfort.

m





On Wed, Mar 19, 2008 at 2:39 PM, Raffi Aftandelian <raffi at bk.ru> wrote:

> Dear friends and colleagues,
>
> The recent discussion on choosing not to talk about bumblebees reminds me
> of
> my hesitation in using Tibetan temple bells to open the space and to
> invite
> everyone to the closing circle.
>
> I really like Tibetan temple bells and their place in OST meetings. They
> seem to mark an entrance into a different time and space, from chronos
> (sequential time) to kairos (spacious, potential-filled time). They seem
> to
> invite presence. And I particularly like the bells given to me because of
> their story.
>
> And, I worry that by using these bells, I am appropriating something that
> is
> not from my original culture.
>
> And very occasionally, the bells seem to evoke something mystical,
> bringing
> on great discomfort to some participants. I am not sure this dissonance is
> necessarily something harmful for participants, however.
>
> How do others see the questions, concerns I raise here?
>
> appreciatively,
> raffi
>
> raffi at bk.ru, raffi_1970 at yahoo.com
>
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-- 

Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates

http://www.michaelherman.com
http://www.openspaceworld.org
http://www.chicagoconservationcorps.org

312-280-7838 (mobile)

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