I had hoped by now to write on the media and St Mary's but I wanted to address another issue about what's been happening there, what I would term syncretism as neo-colonialism. For some time now St Mary's has had a regular Buddhist meditation group. I only found out about it last year.
Of course the obvious question arises why Buddhist meditation at a Christian church? It's not as if there aren't Christian traditions of meditation. Indeed there is a world wide movement for Christian meditation which comes out of the work of a Benedictine monk, John Main, and under the currrent drection of his student the Benedictine, Laurence Freeman. They have many groups in Brisbane including one at St Francis church in West End but nothing listed at St Mary's. Furthermore there are rich meditation traditions in both eastern and western Christianity, including the Jesus Prayer of Eastern Orthodoxy. So I am curious as to why a Buddhist meditation group.
I'm not criticising Buddhist meditation. Of all religions, Buddhism is the most adaptable and can sit together with just about any other religion. I further appreciate how mutually enriching inter-faith dialogue of Christian, Buddhist, Hindu monastics has been. Long may it flourish! But I also know that there are varieties of Buddhism and of meditation practices. One of my friends and colleagues while doing my PhD was Patrick a practitioner and teacher of Vipassana or insight meditation. So I wonder what sort of Buddhist meditation is being taught at St Mary's?
Very recently I found out that it is the unofficial priest, Terry Fitzpatrick, who runs this group and presumably is the meditation teacher. Now I have a number of friends who are Buddhist practitioners. some of whom have entered the sangha. I think I have a grasp of what is going on in Buddhist meditation. Patrick especially taught me much about vipassana and I think I can understand its dynamics. Patrick learnt much of it in monasteries in southeast Asia. So I also know that there's a lot of work involved before someone can teach this stuff. I might have a grasp of what's going on but I would never set out to teach it although I could teach people about it which is a different thing altogether.
So what's happening at St Mary's. Is it a case of trendy neo-colonial appropriation as was the case with the supposed 'native american dance for peace' we were invited to join at the opening of the Good Friday liturgy back in 2003? If there were Native Americans in the congregation at the time I would have but St Mary's is one of the whitest congregations I've been in in Brisbane. So my friend and I walked out and went to the cathedral because that was clearly a case of Native American = 'spiritual' = cool, lets appropriate it. I wonder if the Buddhist meditation is more of the same. And I wonder what credentials, if any, Terry has to teach it or whether this is just another case of appropriating neo-colonial spiritual cool.
Of course the obvious question arises why Buddhist meditation at a Christian church? It's not as if there aren't Christian traditions of meditation. Indeed there is a world wide movement for Christian meditation which comes out of the work of a Benedictine monk, John Main, and under the currrent drection of his student the Benedictine, Laurence Freeman. They have many groups in Brisbane including one at St Francis church in West End but nothing listed at St Mary's. Furthermore there are rich meditation traditions in both eastern and western Christianity, including the Jesus Prayer of Eastern Orthodoxy. So I am curious as to why a Buddhist meditation group.
I'm not criticising Buddhist meditation. Of all religions, Buddhism is the most adaptable and can sit together with just about any other religion. I further appreciate how mutually enriching inter-faith dialogue of Christian, Buddhist, Hindu monastics has been. Long may it flourish! But I also know that there are varieties of Buddhism and of meditation practices. One of my friends and colleagues while doing my PhD was Patrick a practitioner and teacher of Vipassana or insight meditation. So I wonder what sort of Buddhist meditation is being taught at St Mary's?
Very recently I found out that it is the unofficial priest, Terry Fitzpatrick, who runs this group and presumably is the meditation teacher. Now I have a number of friends who are Buddhist practitioners. some of whom have entered the sangha. I think I have a grasp of what is going on in Buddhist meditation. Patrick especially taught me much about vipassana and I think I can understand its dynamics. Patrick learnt much of it in monasteries in southeast Asia. So I also know that there's a lot of work involved before someone can teach this stuff. I might have a grasp of what's going on but I would never set out to teach it although I could teach people about it which is a different thing altogether.
So what's happening at St Mary's. Is it a case of trendy neo-colonial appropriation as was the case with the supposed 'native american dance for peace' we were invited to join at the opening of the Good Friday liturgy back in 2003? If there were Native Americans in the congregation at the time I would have but St Mary's is one of the whitest congregations I've been in in Brisbane. So my friend and I walked out and went to the cathedral because that was clearly a case of Native American = 'spiritual' = cool, lets appropriate it. I wonder if the Buddhist meditation is more of the same. And I wonder what credentials, if any, Terry has to teach it or whether this is just another case of appropriating neo-colonial spiritual cool.
