Episode 39: Navigating Rough Waters
At a time when corporations, countries, and individuals are speaking out, taking a moral stand, and considering action to support the Burmese people as state-sponsored terror grips their nation, what is the ethical responsibility of the vipassana organization of S.N. Goenka, who always reminded students of their “debt of gratitude” to the geographical region where their lineage hails from?
This is one of several questions asked of Daniel Mayer, who speaks to us between the courses he is currently conducting in Argentina. Daniel can certainly talk to questions about the uneven intersection between spiritual practice and worldly crises. He personally left Argentina as a young man because he could not tolerate the loss of freedoms that accompanied Juan Perón’s seizure of power. After being appointed as a vipassana teacher, he ran courses throughout South America, and then became the Coordinating Area Teacher (CAT) “to serve the Rest of Africa.” So Daniel has helped practitioners on the path in countries that have recently gone through periods of disorder and instability.
In the interview, he advises meditators to not stray towards one extreme or another. For those caught up in the heavy emotions of the current moment, he advises them to be patient with themselves and remember the wider context, saying, “I think in some cases, it can take a whole lifetime. But don't think that you are an exception. And don't think that what is happening now in a certain part of the world, is any different to what's happening, and happened in other parts of the world.”
On the other hand, he also speaks out strongly against a tendency for yogis to go into spiritual bypassing. He notes, “As a meditator, I totally disagree with this disengagement… I do feel that mettā should not be an excuse. And you should also understand that, yes, karma is an opportunity to overcome certain challenges… So to say, it doesn't affect me just because I am not there, or I'm not part of it, or I don't agree… that is not really understanding what is our role as meditators.”
Daniel feels inspired by how such Dhammic ideals as sīla, mettā, dana, and an appreciation of karma are so characteristic of the current protest movement, as well as the courage and maturity in Dhamma demonstrated by the protesters faced with such tense and dangerous circumstances in continuing to respond nonviolently.
Regarding what support his vipassana organization may be able to provide at this moment to a place so rooted in the practice being promoted at hundreds of centers around the world, Daniel references how earlier in the year he was at Dhamma Giri in Igatpuri, India. As many of the poorer residents did not have enough food due to the coronavirus pandemic, a fund was collected to provide for these impoverished communities. In other words, he notes the importance of “[seeing] how we can fit, with what we understand, with what we know, and with what we can give.” It is inspiring to hear how the main vipassana headquarters took strides to care address the food insecurity of the poverty-stricken in their community, and although no action has yet been initiated by the Organization about the crisis in Myanmar to this point, we look forward to seeing how different centers may be able to put Daniel’s optimism into action.
Daniel makes a forceful argument that it is not simply enough to only send metta, and that those yogis who attribute the current situation to an understanding of karma have drastically misunderstood the Buddhist framework.