The late Vietnamese Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh said the following to a gathering of monastics and lay Buddhists -
During the Summer Opening one year in Plum Village, some laypeople complained about others, saying: "The laypeople who receive the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings and wear the brown jacket put on quite a show. They act as if they are better than other laypeople. They put on such airs." These laypeople are referring to the members of the Order of Interbeing who wear the brown jacket.
They came to me and said: "We are all your disciples. We all practice together. We are all trying to be compassionate to one another. So why, when people wear the brown jacket, do they act as if they are better than those who do not? Why do they look down on others?" Acting like that means that wearing the brown jacket makes them a worse practitioner than they were before.
*Thich Nhat Hanh. The Admonitions and Encouraging Words of Master Guishan.
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While I have received the Five Mindfulness Trainings, often called precepts in Buddhism, does that make me superior to those in the Buddhist sangha I share in who have not received the transmission? Am I a superior being to them? To anyone. No. One who has never taken the Trainings may be more mature spiritually than I am. That one may be the most mature of all in the sangha. There may be persons who have never partaken in any spiritual tradition that are more mature spiritually than I am.
In the same talk as above, Thich Nhat Hanh said, "Receiving the precepts is an opportunity to strengthen our practice. It is not a promotion." If one receives anything called promotion in any realm of life, that is an invitation to live out that in humbleness, which entails serving others.
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The spiritual life entails accountability and responsibility to others and ourselves. We need to hold ourselves to higher standards than simply right or wrong, acceptable or unacceptable, or allowed and not allowed. We find this Jesus wisdom in the Gospel of Luke 12.48: "When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required" (NLT). Knowing this is inspiring and humbling.
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In a Christian sect where I once served as a pastor, the denomination began using the term "servant leader" for pastors. To be a clergyperson was not for pride or power but for being a servant.
Jesus speaks in the Gospel of Matthew 20 of this call to equality and service. The mother of two disciples, James and John, at their request, said to Jesus, "In your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left." The other ten disciples became indignant. Jesus called them together. He said -
You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man [Jesus] came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom [means of freeing] for many" (NLT).
"Son of Man" speaks of Jesus' humanness and oneness with all humanity, a title contrasted with "Son of God," the latter being a regal title used of kings in the history of the Jewish people.
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We all walk together on a level floor. Hence, in spiritual life, there is no such thing as self-promotion. And when one is promoted ("moved forward), all are promoted ("moved forward") with that one, including, not excluding, others. No one moves apart from the whole communion of Life. No one stands or move above or below. All move with.
Spiritual life is a self-demotion, meaning a demotion of the sense of a separate self and greedy for gain, including gaining power over others, being highly esteemed by them, and getting admiration from them. Humbleness welcomes the openness for others to be present, feel loved, and share freely of themselves in a safe and compassionate space. You become that space, for we are that space.
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*(C) Brian K. Wilcox, 2024. Permission is given to use photographs and writings with credit given to the copyright owner.
*Brian's book is An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love. The book is a collection of poems Brian wrote based on wisdom traditions, predominantly Christian, Buddhist, and Sufi, with extensive notes on the poetry's teachings and imagery.
