Ethan Nichtern is the one Shambhala teacher who teaches in a way that speaks truth to me. He doesn’t sugarcoat anything. It’s not the typical “I’m OK You’re OK” brand of buddhism that Shambhala have become the global purveyors of. [Go ahead and rant back at me in the comments below.] He has a frankness that cuts through self and cultural delusions. His teaching here on “What is Tantra?” is really a three-yana approach to the spiritual path, which in it’s fullness culminates in tantric practice. Ethan’s talk personally helped me break through a problem that I’ve been stuck on for the last six months; his frankness really gets through to me
Preview and download the podcast Meditation in the City: A Shambhala Podcast on iTunes.
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true enough, and this brings up another very critical point–which is that the western emphasis on the “I’m OK You’re OK” brand of buddhism means that no one can accept responsibility for collective injustices. That’s not to say that “I” am personally responsible for the suffering of e.g. racialized minorities or gender minorities, but “I” am responsible to know how these systems of oppression work and what I can do to help relieve that suffering. Or at least not contribute to making them worse. No, that brand of buddhism wants to avoid any feeling or threat of guilt whatsoever.