This session we discussed "The Snow Leopard" by Peter Mathiassen. The original inspiration for this choice came from Fr Bob, who has known Peter since the 70's when they were associated with the same Roshi in New York.
The book was published in 1978, and won a National Book Award. While it got mixed reviews from the group, it didn't fail to stimulate three or four meaningful discussions. this had more to do with the group than the book.
I'm glad we did this book in particular because it finally got us onto Fr Bob's turf. He's a Jesuit, he's multi-lingual, he's an author, he's a professor of Theology and Japanese language, he's a Zen meditation Roshi, and he pronounces 'euphoria' as a Greek word (you-four-EE-ah), and takes it ever so mildly when the rest of us ignoramuses correct his pronunciation (no Bob, it's you-FOUR-ee-ah), though we haven't taken a single course of Greek.
The rest of us are business guys, and he's not. So when we inevitably get to talking about buying and selling things and economics, he's not in his comfort zone. This Fight Club, however, we were able to stay away from business more, and we kept to the deeper side of the pool.
Was Mathiassen acting morally when he went on this trip?
After getting through the gripes about the long nature descriptions, the overly-detailed accounts of cultural details that seem to contrast sharply with the ideals of Zen outlook, we came to the discussion of was it right for Mathiassen to go on this nature trip, right after his wife had died, leaving behind his young son for three months (and breaking his promise to get back for Thanksgiving).
Izzy and Ted were moved by the journey, and felt it was justified. Ted might have gotten the most out of the book, because it was able to take the reader on an arduous trip to a remote world. It was a different world then, the Seventies, it was the me-generation and maybe kids back then didn't have the same expectations about parents being present.
Michaal and I thought Mathiassen's trip was self-indulgent, and while the author did experience occasional insights, he didn't seem significantly changed by the trip.
Bob shared an insight that folks that tend to be monastics many times grew up with distant, or absent mothers.
Is Zen Buddhism at odds with personal responsibility?
This discussion followed on the heels of the last, and was particularly meaningful to me. Since high school, I have been drawn to Zen Buddhism, particularly reading Thomas Merton. Zen offered a way to gain perspective in the middle of the rat race. It also had a esoteric quality that was alluring ("if you have to ask, you're not enlightened"). But how to reconcile this with my Catholic upbringing? I remember my friend John Frazee and I at Chaminade H.S. carrying Lao Tzu around, and Brother Gillen wagging his finger at us passing through the hall, pointing to the book, warning "there's no God in there." Man, we were rebels! (Well, well-groomed rebels with short hair, jacket and tie, religiously observant and obedient rebels...)
Bottom line is that while the detachment of one's identity from desire is a very useful way to keep perspective and maybe even avoid sorrow (which is the big idea with Zen Buddhism), the ideal of detachment is self-centered, despite the Zen ideal of self-annihilation. The priority of "love thy neighbor" doesn't figure in to the radical Zen ideal (though plenty of Zen Buddhists exemplify that principle).
In the end, Fr Bob's concept of Christianity, spiked with Zen, seems like the right answer to me.
The discussions are so lively, that it's easy to forget about the wonderful dinner and environment Michael A sets up for us.
