Youth and wisdom
March 7, 2008 by katinkaspiritual
Chogyam Trungpa wrote:
We have the idea that an enlightened person is supposed to be more or less an old-wise-man type: not quite like an old professor, but perhaps an old father who can supply sound advice on how to handle all of life’s problems or an old grandmother who knows all the recipes and all the cures. That seems to be the current fantasy that exists in our culture concerning enlightened beings. They are old and wise, grown-up and solid. Tantra has a different notion of enlightenment, which is connected with youth and innocence. We can see this pattern in Padmasambhava’s life, the life of the great teacher who brought the tantric teachings of Buddhism to Tibet. Here the awakened state of mind is portrayed not as old and adult but as young and free. Youth and freedom in this case are connected with the birth of the awakened state of mind. The awakened state of mind has the quality of morning, of dawn — fresh and sparkling, completely awake.
From “Primordial Innocence,” in CRAZY WISDOM, pages 26 to 27.
Not only does tantra have this notion, so did Jiddu Krishnamurti:
To live fully and completely, there must be freedom, not an acceptance of authority; and there can be freedom only when there is virtue. Virtue is not imitation; virtue is creative living. That is, creativeness comes through the freedom which virtue brings; and virtue is not to be cultivated, it does not come through practice or at the end of your life. Either you are virtuous and free now, or you are not.
In Tibetan Buddhism in general, Chogyam Trungpa’s path, some young people are sought out and trained to be spiritual teachers. The Dalai Lama was raised that way, and that’s given the world a remarkable public figure. That’s what happened to Jiddu Krishnamurti as well.
Obviously not all young people are wise, or on the path to wisdom - but I do wonder: why does the Theosophical Society (which I love BTW) put an age minimum on membership of it’s Esoteric Section (E.S.)?
Disclosure: I was myself too young when I applied and therefor not allowed into the E.S.
I’ve spoken to many people about this - and most seem to agree: it’s because wisdom comes with age. I agree. People in their teens, even their late teens, are awful. I was very ignorant and foolish at 19. I made some of my worst mistakes back then. But I have to wonder: would I have made those same mistakes if some wise people had taken me on? I will never know, because they didn’t. Instead, a few years later, I got taken on by a scholarly theosophist, Henk Spierenburg, who gave me the Blavatsky Collected Writings among other things, but no practical life advice. Maybe I wasn’t meant to get that. Anyhow, I’m getting off track here.
The main issue with people getting spiritual teachings ought to be their motivation. Young people are often at their most idealistic in their teenage years. Moral issues are seen in black and white at that age. I’ve known quite a few people who were vegetarians in high school but turned back to eating meat in college. In college social realities catch up with them and the issue of animal welfare is suddenly no longer that big a deal. Does that mean they should not be allowed to be vegetarians in high school? Of course not. It just means that life isn’t through testing them yet. But is life ever through testing any of us?
[And no, this isn't an application to get into the E.S. now. I probably could get in if I wanted to, but that ship has sailed, as far as I'm concerned.]
Chris
Govert
Pablo
katinkaspiritual
latebrake
mitdyob
This is a very interesting point Katinka.
There does seem to be a tension within the TSA. On the one hand, they are intensely, and rightfully, concerned about the visible lack of involved young people and all the implications this has for the future of the organization. On the other, the actual attitude towards young people tends to be wariness and skepticism. This extends to new ideas as well. I don’t think this is a conscious decision, just a natural aversion.
When I first start attending classes at Olcott (TSA headquarters in Wheaton, IL, USA), I was scared, shy and alone. Each night I would desperately hope someone would talk to me, that I could meet someone. It took the formation of a separate group just for young people for that to happen. Later, when I started working at Olcott and asked to move in and become resident staff, I was again treated with skepticism. Again, I think it just fear. The TS tends to draw a lot of introverts, and the age and structure of the organization creates a tendency towards a preservational, protectionist frame of mind rather than an open and innovative one. One of the reasons I wanted to stop the Young Theosophists Movement after a few years is because I didn’t want all young theosophists seen as a separate group, I wanted them integrated into the larger body.
Over the years I earned a place at the table, and I believe the current atmosphere is more open than ever before, but I think the problem is deeply embedded.
And yes, the old wise teacher image is part of it. What I don’t like about that image, and our traditional lecture formats are a perfect example of this, is the passivity it connotes. The wise old teacher stands up in front and tells a passively receptive audience ‘how it is’. The audience nods and smiles, takes their notes, and hopefully reflects on what was said. I want to deconstruct that whole dynamic.
Which is not to say that ‘inspirational youth’ trope should replace the sage, just that, as you said, there should be concerted recognition of the need for a partnership, for mentoring, for a balance of innocence and experience, wisdom and energy.
Chris
I’ve actually never felt alienated in the TS as a whole. On the contrary. I found a welcoming lodge which protected me from my enthusiasm by not agreeing to take me on as a secretary the day I joined the lodge. Some people actually put it that way - we don’t give you more responsibility to protect you from yourself. And you know, they were probably right to do that (I’m not sure they were right about not letting me into the ES - but I already shared that above). Of course I did end up being secretary and later chair in that lodge a few years later. I also served coffee at the International Theosophical Centre at Naarden a lot. Worked in the woods and gardens there and helped out with our Dutch magazine a bit.
But some people are weird. I sold books at one meeting a few years ago and a lady came up to me and said: what you’re doing isn’t going unnoticed. To me that just meant she had not seen all the stuff I’d been doing for the TS before that. Maybe I was just being prickly.
I met Henk Spierenburg through the TS as well. But he was actually lurking on some of the online internet fora where I was making myself heard quite loudly back then (yes: he lurked on theos-l - I think I was the only one who knew). And I think more than 60% of the books in my library were given by him. No way I could have afforded all those books.
I love theosophists. And I get along well with old people, which may be why I never felt too much out of place in the TS. Also - I never would have believed I’d say this - you seem a bit shyer than I am. I guess I’m an extroverted introvert or something?
I always love theosophical meetings as well. I guess the place just suits me. But the English Summer School last year was especially great. Partly it was Michael Gomes’s exuberance that radiated through the whole school. That year the English weren’t hard to reach at all, and I do attribute that to Michael. Partly it was the combination of workshops and lectures and a great variety of speakers. Here’s my full review. The contrast with the American Summer School I attended the year before that - with just three or for speakers for a whole week - couldn’t have been greater.
In general I feel theosophists are very wise and often smart people. This is true not just for the lecturers, but for the person sitting next to you in the audience as well. We’ve got to find ways to tap into that.
[...] is somewhere between the two. Our lodges are meant as places for community building, but as Chris mentioned, sometimes they aren’t so open to outsiders. In fact, community usually implies a firm [...]