Currently Reading:
Not Always So
by Shunryu Suzuki



A Thin Line:
What is the difference between a mindful practice and dogma?

Both are ritualistic.
Both are done with great thought.
Both are done with great care.
Both require great attention.

I submit that most dogmas began as mindful practices. I further submit that the difference is selflessness versus selfishness.

If you have a ritual of any sort that you do with great thought, care, and attention; then the difference is you.

Are you selfish? Do you desire that others perform it correctly because it annoys you when they do not? That is dogma.

Are you selfless? When you perform your rituals, do you have their benefit in mind? That is a mindful practice.


A Mindful Practice within a Mindful Practice:
It is easy for a mindful practice to become a dogma, just cross that thin line between selflessness and selfishness. Therefore, watching that thin line is in itself a mindful practice.


Cheers,
CET

"Much of the suffering in the world comes from the illusion that we are separate from one another." - Gautama Buddha