Thursday, September 18, 2008
Isolation
I saw Tenzin Palmo in the streets of Mcleod Ganj. It was pretty weird in the sense that I only saw her last week, as the subject of the documentary movie “Cave in the Snow” which tells the story of this famous nun who lived in retreat in a cave in Lahaul for 12 years. (I would never had recognized her had I not recently seen the film). Growing up in the East End of London as Diane Perry, she left to India at the age of 20 and received tuition from a high lama. In the documentary Tenzin Palmo was asked what had she learnt from the experience? She said that it was the only way she could really get to know herself. When we are part of a societal relationship, we are always playing a role; a friend, confidante, an associate, a work colleague, etc. It is only when one is confined to oneself that these “roles” can be fully eradicated and we can get to understand our real self. 12 years wasted? I think not. Fancy living in a desolate cave in the middle of a freezing cold desert for more than a decade? Probably not.
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Aubs
ReplyDeleteInteresting idea that if you pull off the mask there is a human essence. Sartre claimed existence precedes essence (so you are before you do and it what you do [the roles you play] merely constitute the only way you can understand your self ie mediated by your actions).
Some might say (myself for example) that sitting in a cave and negating all the human relations you have (call them societal if you fancy) is an abject denial of your human existent (your dasein or being-in-the-world) and if you do that, you do not reveal yourself, you merely reveal the role of the person-in-the-cave-living-in-denial-of-normative-human-relations.
I'm not denigrating the 12 year cave tasks, or the meditation, just offering a very different conclusion from the same facts. Others (perhaps myself included) might argue that holding down a dreary job for 12 years in a crappy company with no real joy in the world or hope for improvement is an equally amazing accomplishment, but you don't get documentaries made about you ;-)
Cheers
Graeme
Thank you for this sharing
ReplyDeletemuch love
I accept Sartres´claim that existence precedes essence. Our actions are a huge insight into our essence. It´s scary that we can sometimes act with such impulsiveness! However, I would still not undermine the power of meditation and the denial of human relationships. She spent her first 20 years in Bethnal Green – an excellent place to learn about human relationships! However social interactions are not the only way we can learn about ones self.
ReplyDeleteI guess that she became a subject of a documentary because her lifestyle is unusual - there are too many people stuck in shite jobs. Tenzin Palmo is an extremely media-shy nun. She had to be persuaded to be subject to both the film and book to enable her to raise money for a nunnery. Nuns are often negated in Buddhism and is very difficult for them to find teachers. She has now sufficient money for the Nunnery and will stop the touring and interviews to further devote her energies to meditation and contemplation at the end of this year.
Aubs
ReplyDeleteSure. I'm not saying that mediation etc is a bad thing or should be underestimated. What I'm saying is that it shouldn't necessarily be reified either. And one should be careful about what conclusions are drawn from the luxury of contemplative thought.
The fact that nuns are given a bad time in Budhism (as I understand it) dosn't make the thoughts of an individual woman any better/more worthy than someone still sat in Bethnal Green. Or anywhere else for that matter.
Graeme
I think Lahaul is a more pleasant place for meditation than Bethnal Green ;0)
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