The Big H and the Big B
From Brahma to Buddha...Hinduism and Buddhism...
As program directors, Tracy and I put a lot of energy into trying to craft the semester to balance the learning around these two traditions, in addition to including aspects of other faiths such as Islam, Sufism, Sikhism, and Jainism. It's been both satisfying and inspiring to witness the overarching connections of history and content of the "Big H" and the "Big B" as they naturally arise out of our speakers and conversations.
Check it: about 2,500 years ago in India there were individuals and groups living in and outside of society in search of life's Truth. What is reality? Why do humans exist and what is our purpose while we are here? How can one best live to realize this purpose? Many of these practitioners embraced the Vedas, either by overseeing priestly rituals or through various meditation routines. We refer to them now under the label "Hindu." Others lived with extreme attention to non-violence and asceticism, the Jains. One man began as Hindu, (probably) moved to Jainism, and then found his balance in the Middle Way, picking up the nickname Buddha (awakened one).
In our first month, we've had such a strong line up of speakers who've really hit on the core ideas of these faiths...the stuff underneath appearances...the juicy heady soul-searching inspirational concepts that make brushing your teeth in the morning fun because you get to play human for the day and see how the news travels from your head to your heart and out into the world through your body and speech. Words like "self" and "soul," "attachment" and "unity," "rebirth" and "realization" are floating around in a soup of human potential, and we get to slurp it up.
So, as a leader, it's been great to plan for a balance of attention, but even more enlightening to be shown how these religions are overlapping responses (sharing many similarities) to the same situation- human life. I'm looking forward to spending the next two months of mine with this excellent family of traveling students.